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● 10.06.15

● Links 6/10/2015: Linux 4.3 RC4, HP OpenSwitch, Wind River Linux 8

Posted in News Roundup at 11:33 am by Dr. Roy SchestowitzContentsGNU/LinuxGNU/Linux

=> ↺ Meet #WorldWithoutLinux Animator Amelia Lorenz

• I have a much better appreciation for Linux after having worked on the series! To be very honest, Linux intimidated me a little when I had to use it at Pixar over my internship a few years ago. But now, I would welcome any classes on how to use it. There is such a strong, positive, intelligent community creating Linux together, that I am honored now to somehow be a part of that. Thank you, Linux!

=> ↺ World Without Linux Video Series Debuts

• How many times did you use Linux this morning? Chances are you used Linux a lot as you went through your morning routine, from checking your phone to switching on your TV to hear the morning’s news as you ironed your shirt or made your coffee.

=> ↺ The Linux Foundation Announces Project to Advance Real-Time Linux

• LinuxCon Europe and Embedded Linux Conference Europe — The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and collaborative development, today announced the new Real-Time Linux (RTL) Collaborative Project. RTL will bring together industry leaders and experts to advance and maximize technologies for the robotics, telecom, manufacturing, aviation and medical industries, among others.

=> ↺ AV-TEST Laboratory Says Free Anti-Virus Apps on Linux Are the Worst

• First of all, they just mention Ubuntu, without any other details about the version number. Secondly, there are other Linux distributions out there, a lot of them, many use different file systems, kernels, and so on. There are too many unknowns and stuff that’s been left out from the report, stuff that is usually important, so it’s up to you to decide if you want to believe them or not.

=> ↺ Linux Antivirus Software Tested, Many Products Fail

=> ↺ AV-Test Lab tests 16 Linux antivirus products against Windows and Linux malware

=> ↺ Most free Anti-virus software fare poorly on Linux machines – AV-Test Laboratory

=> ↺ The Rest Of The Year Should Be Super Exciting For Linux Enthusiasts

Desktop

=> ↺ Top Tips For Migrating from Windows to Linux

• It’s easy to forget how intimidating it can be when trying something completely new for the first time. This is especially true when a power-user comfortable with Windows tries Linux. Since I’m a power user of various Linux distros, Windows and OS X, I have some insights that I think people looking to migrate to Linux need to read. Let’s get started, shall we?

=> ↺ Majority of Linux users still use Windows or MacOS

• Majority of voters, more than one third, use two operating systems on their computer, one of them being a flavour of Linux and another – Windows or MacOS

=> ↺ 2015 Productivity, Linux-Style

• This is the stack and the tools that keep me productive in my day to day programming experience on Linux. First of all, let me tell you, that this might not fit your needs: I’m a full time java programmer and so have OS choices.

• Linux is my choice for some years already and while this post won’t detail the reasons, it will focus on tools and utilities that help me survive in it.

Server

=> ↺ CoreOS is Funding Kubernetes Development on AWS

• An Amazon EC2 customer can install the Kubernetes orchestrator to manage container workloads using CoreOS with containers. That fact happened to have been brought to light at this time last year, just before the opening of Amazon’s re:Invent conference. A tested and confirmed version of the method now appears as part of Kubernetes’ official documentation.

=> ↺ Linux Vs Windows – What To Choose And Why

Kernel Space

=> ↺ Linux 4.3-rc4

• You all know the drill by now. It’s Sunday, and there is a new release candidate out there.

=> ↺ Linus Torvalds Announces Linux Kernel 4.3 RC4 on the Eve of the Project’s 24th Birthday

• Linus Torvalds has just announced that Linux kernel 4.3 RC4 has been released, taking this kernel branch a little bit closer to a final release.

=> ↺ Linux 4.3-rc4 Kernel Released: Adds A New & Better String Copy Function

=> ↺ Linux Kernel 4.1.10 LTS Is Now Available for Download with Networking Fixes

• After announcing the release of the Linux 4.2.3 kernel, Greg Kroah-Hartman has informed the world today, October 3, about the release and immediate availability for download of the tenth maintenance version of the Linux 4.1 LTS kernel series.

=> ↺ Linux 3.18.22

• I’m announcing the release of the 3.18.22 kernel.

• All users of the 3.18 kernel series must upgrade.

• The updated 3.18.y git tree can be found at: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git linux-3.18.y and can be browsed at the normal kernel.org git web browser:

• http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git;a=summary

=> ↺ Linux Foundation Takes Reins of FOSSology Open Source Licensing Tools

• Open source licenses only work well when people use them properly. That’s why the Linux Foundation has made compliance with licenses such as the GPL and the Apache License a more central focus this week by announcing that it will now host the FOSSology project.

=> ↺ Sources: Apple Dumps VMware Licensing Agreement, Will Step Up Deployment Of Open-Source KVM Virtualization

• Several VMware partners told CRN that their customers are looking at KVM and OpenStack as a way to lower their VMware licensing costs. While OpenStack and KVM aren’t easy to deploy, large organizations can afford to hire the necessary talent and expertise, solution providers said.

• “While most companies don’t have the technical chops to ditch VMware and go with KVM, ones with mature IT departments may look at this and reconsider their VMware strategies,” said one longtime VMware partner executive, who didn’t want to be named

=> ↺ Kernel Anniversary Marked by “Without Linux” and Resignation

• Today marks 24 years since Linux Torvalds released version 0.01 of the Linux kernel to the benefit of humanity. The day was marred by the resignation of Sarah Sharp saying, “I am no longer a part of the Linux kernel community” due to “blunt, rude, or brutal” communication. The Linux Foundation today announced a new video series titled World Without Linux that will highlight the vast ecosystem spawned from that original 10,239 lines of code.

=> ↺ Sarah Sharp Steps Down As Linux Kernel Developer

=> ↺ Linux kernel dev Sarah Sharp quits, citing ‘brutal’ communications style

=> ↺ Sharp: Closing a door

=> ↺ Closing a door

=> ↺ Sarah Sharp Quits as a Linux Kernel Developer, Blames the Toxic Behavior of the Community

=> ↺ Sarah Sharp: “I’m not a Linux kernel developer any more”

=> ↺ Linux kernel dev who asked Linus Torvalds to stop verbal abuse quits over verbal abuse

=> ↺ Linux Foundation Doubles-Down on Real-Time Linux

• The Linux Foundation today is announcing a new Real-Time Linux Collaborative Project, though it’s important to first understand and realize that efforts to develop Real-Time Linux have been ongoing for over a decade.

• Back in October of 2004, MontaVista Linux (now owned by Cavium) launched its Real-Time Linux effort, which saw multiple kernel developments land Real-Time Linux Kernelin 2005. In 2006, Wind River (now owned by Intel) joined the Real-Time Linux market, pushing it forward.

• Until 2006, Real-Time Linux had been a separate area of development from the mainline Linux kernel, but that changed with the Linux 2.6.22 kernel, which was the first to include Real-Time. Various improvements have been incorporated and integrated in multiple kernels since as Real-Time has evolved.

=> ↺ Watch: A World Without Linux Is a World Without the Internet

• On the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the first Linux kernel release (do not confuse it with the anniversary of birth of Linux kernel, on August 25), the Linux Foundation non-profit organization debuts the world’s first Linux animated video series.

=> ↺ Linux Kernel 3.18.22 LTS Gets Multiple x86 Improvements, Updated Drivers

• Sasha Levin, a kernel developer and maintainer of the Linux 3.18 LTS (Long-Term Support) kernel branch, has announced the release and immediate availability for download of Linux kernel 3.18.22.

=> ↺ Linux Foundation Announces Workgroup to Standardize the Future of the Software Supply Chain

• The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and collaborative development, today announced the OpenChain Workgroup, a community effort to standardize common best practices for open software compliance. It is expected to reduce costs and duplication of efforts and ease friction points in the software supply chain.

=> ↺ Media Advisory: Linux Foundation Debuts Digital Video Series to Raise Awareness of the Ubiquity of Linux

=> ↺ Linux Foundation to Host Open License Compliance Project FOSSology

=> ↺ Real-Time Linux Project Now Sustained by Google, IBM, Intel, and More

• A new Real-Time Linux (RTL) Collaborative Project has been put together under the umbrella of The Linux Foundation and it looks like a lot of heavy hitters are on board, including Google, IBM, Intel, and quite a few others.

=> ↺ Linux Foundation straps a rocket on Real Time Linux

• The Linux Foundation has launched a Real-Time Linux (RTL) Collaborative Project to accelerate the upstreaming of real-time RT-Preempt patches.

• For the last decade, the RTL project, overseen by the Open Source Automation Development Lab (OSADL), has been responsible for maintaining Real-Time Linux patches under the guidance of Thomas Gleixner, with important contributions from Ingo Molnar and others. OSADL has been periodically upstreaming the project’s RT-Preempt (or “Preempt-RT”) patches to mainstream Linux. Now, OSADL is turning over control of the project to the Linux Foundation to bring it closer in line with mainstream Linux kernel development.

=> ↺ World Without Linux video gets chilly reception on Reddit

• The Linux Foundation has released a video called a “World Without Linux” that offers a quick look at what life might be like without Linux. The video is the first in a series of videos apparently designed to garner appreciation for Linux.

=> ↺ Linux Foundation takes on the FOSSology project

=> ↺ Expanded Real-Time Linux support is on the way

=> ↺ Linux turns 24 in time for the party in Dublin

=> ↺ Linux Foundation’s Digital Video

=> ↺ Linux Foundation Doubles Down on Real-Time Linux

=> ↺ Linux Foundation ropes in Google and Intel to accelerate real-time Linux development

=> ↺ Kingston HyperX Predator M.2 SSD On Ubuntu: Linux Might Have Problems With It

=> ↺ Systemd 227 To Gain Crash Automatic Reboot Option, New Network Features

• Systemd 227 hasn’t been released yet but it appears that it will be coming out quite soon. Here’s a look at some of the changes.

• First up, systemd 227 has a system requirement now on util-linux 2.27 for its mount monitor feature in libmount, which systemd is making use of to replace some of their own code. Util-linux 2.27 was just officially released earlier this month so make sure you have it prior to jumping to this soon-to-be-out systemd update.

Graphics Stack

=> ↺ Gallium3D Clover Gets OpenCL 1.2 clCreateImage Support

• Mesa’s Gallium3D “Clover” state tracker still lacks full OpenCL 1.2 support, but as of yesterday the CL 1.2′s clCreateImage() function was hooked up.

=> ↺ Intel’s Mesa Driver Tacks On Another GL Extension For Old Hardware

• The OpenGL EXT_polygon_offset_clamp extension has been supported in mainline Mesa for the Intel i965 Mesa DRI driver for some time while now this extension is supported for older Intel Gen 4/5 hardware.

• If you’re stuck with an older Intel Gen 4 or Gen 5 graphics processor, with this commit the GL_EXT_polygon_offset_clamp extension is supported. The patch for this enablement on the older Intel IGPs was done by prolific community contributor Ilia Mirkin as opposed to being from the Intel OTC staff.

=> ↺ New Patch Series Provides Better Re-Clocking For Some NVIDIA GPUs

=> ↺ Intel’s Mesa Vec4 Code Now Unconditionally Uses NIR

Applications

=> ↺ Audacious 3.7 Finally Enters Beta, Ports the Winamp Classic Interface Plugin to Qt

• The developers of the Audacious open-source and cross-platform advanced audio player software for GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows operating system, have announced the release and immediate availability for download of the first Beta build of the upcoming Audacious 3.7.

=> ↺ OpenShot 2.0 Is Baking Performance Improvements, Other Features

=> ↺ Git 2.6 Brings Some New Functionality, Bug Fixes

• Git 2.6 brings additions to a number of Git sub-commands, improvements to Git send-email, better performance, reduced memory consumption in some areas, and various bug-fixes.

=> ↺ Cutegram, the Best Telegram Client, Reaches Version 2.7 with Many Changes

• Earlier today, October 6, Aseman has announced the release and immediate availabilty for download of Cutegram 2.7.0 for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

• According to the internal release notes, attached at the end of the article for reference, Cutegram 2.7.0 introduces a great number of new features, as well as many under-the-hood improvements, among which we can mention Sticker-Set support, the implementation of an encrypted authentication file, KWallet support under the KDE desktop environment, and support for sending messages via Ctrl+Enter.

=> ↺ Meld 3.14.1 Open Source Diff and Merge App Can Now Open Binary Files Externally

• On October 4, the developers of the Meld open-source diff and merge software that is distributed as part of the GNOME Project have announced the release and immediate availability for download of Meld 3.14.1.

=> ↺ PPSSPP 1.1 Gets ARM64 and Android TV Support, Still the Best Free PSP Emulator

• The developers of PPSSPP, an open-source, free, and cross-platform PSP (PlayStation Portable) emulator for PCs (Windows, BSD, Mac OS X, and Linux) and mobile devices powered by either Android or iOS operating systems, have announced the release of PPSSPP 1.1.

=> ↺ PeaZip 5.8.0 Open Source Archive Manager Has UTF-8 Support, Based on 7z 15.07

• The developers of the popular, independent, open-source, and cross-platform archive manager PeaZip software have announced earlier today, October 4, 2015, the immediate availability for download of PeaZip 5.8.0 for GNU/Linux/UNIX, and Windows OSes.

=> ↺ Famous Mplayer 1.2 Released with FFmpeg 2.8 Support

• Last we heard of the famous Mplayer was all the way back in 2013 and it was only about a minor update. The developers have now returned with a new update, but this time it’s a more consistent one.

=> ↺ FFmpeg’s Player Gets Inspired By MPlayer-Forked MPV Player

• FFmpeg’s ffplay media player has interactive volume controls now that are inspired by the MPlayer-fork MPV.

=> ↺ SMPlayer 15.9 Brings MPV Support, 3D Stereo Filter

Proprietary

=> ↺ Confirmation Of Substance Designer Being Ported To Linux

• Substance Designer is a node-based texturing tool and is quite advanced software. Up to now Allegorithmic’s Substance software has just been available for Windows and OS X, but now it’s being ported to Linux.

=> ↺ Professional Non-Linear Video Editing App Lightworks 12.5 Released with 4K Support

• Lightworks is a professional non-linear editing solution that’s used for mastering videos and is available on multiple platforms, including Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. A new version has been released, and it integrates a lot of new features.

Instructionals/Technical

=> ↺ How to install Zabbix on an Ubuntu 14.04 VPS

=> ↺ Aligning images to make an animation (or an image stack)

=> ↺ Root on LVM on Debian s390x, new Hercules

=> ↺ How to Install Boonex Dolphin 7 on an Ubuntu VPS

=> ↺ How to install Oxwall on a Linux VPS

=> ↺ How to do image steganography on Linux

=> ↺ How to force password change at the next login on Linux

=> ↺ Cockpit – A remote manager for GNU/Linux servers

=> ↺ How would work changing “enable_isolated_metadata” from false to true && openstack-service restart neutron on the fly on RDO Liberty ?

=> ↺ How to Convert Videos in Linux Using the Command Line

=> ↺ Deploy a Go (golang) application to a minimal sized Docker container

Wine or Emulation

=> ↺ Wine Staging: Release 1.7.52

• Some minutes ago we released Wine Staging 1.7.52. This is the first release after WineConf 2015 and the integration into WineHQ.

• Some of the changes related to the integration have been realized in the meantime and you should now use the WineHQ bug tracker for reporting bugs. Just open them as regular Wine bugs and mention the used wine version. Although this news is mostly about the source code changes, I would like to mention that Arch Linux now provides an official package which is also named wine-staging and therefore conflicts with our packages. The package installs into /usr instead of /opt/wine-staging so you might run into conflicts with other wine versions. Take a look at our Wiki for more information.

=> ↺ Wine Staging Now a Part of Wine, Binary Packages to Be Provided

• The Wine project is evolving, and developers have announced that Wine Staging and the regular Wine project have been merged, which should help users get their hands on the latest improvements and changes faster.

=> ↺ Wine-Staging 1.7.52 Adds Tool To Make MSI Installers

• Building off Friday’s release of Wine 1.7.52 is now Wine-Staging 1.7.52 with a few more updates added in.

=> ↺ Wine 1.7.52 Released, Adds Unicode 8.0 & More Direct3D 11 Work

Games

=> ↺ Some Steam Controller Pre-Orders Started Shipping

• While Valve’s Steam Controller isn’t expected to formally launch until 10 November, at least some of those who pre-ordered this gaming controller early are now reportedly set to receive their device any day now.

=> ↺ Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power MAC AND LINUX BETA RELEASED

=> ↺ Linux Beta Released For Trine 3: Artifacts of Power

• The first public beta has been released for the Linux (and OS X) build of Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power.

=> ↺ Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power Beta Now Available for Linux, Ubuntu Is the Recommended OS

• After teasing fans of the Trine trilogy with a trailer for the third installment of the long-running platforming and adventure series back in March 2015, Frozenbyte Games unveiled the availability of Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power in Steam Early Access for the Windows platform in May.

=> ↺ ILikeMoney Is One Of The Weirdest Games I’ve Seen For A While, I Like It

• They have confirmed to me the Linux version already exists, and is regularly tested on Ubuntu. They are aiming to release the game at the end of October, and I’m pretty excited to give this insanely fun looking game a good run.

=> ↺ Red Eclipse: A Lightweight, Open-source, Highly-engaging FPS

• Red Eclipse ranks among my top five FPS games of all time, which is surprising given how light-weight and feature-less it is when compared to AAA titles (and even other more well-known indie titles). It is open-source and built on top of the Cube Engine 2. It is available for BSD, Linux, Mac, and Windows.

=> ↺ Scraps: Modular Vehicle Combat Released For Linux, Looks Like Fun

• Scraps: Modular Vehicle Combat is one of the types of games that I simply love, there’s nothing more fun that building your own death machine.

=> ↺ This War Of Mine Finally Fixed For Linux, Includes Other Fixes & Workshop Support

• I’m going to be honest, how long it took them to actually fix this is surprising, annoying even, but they did finally do it. Honestly, 7 months to fix the broken launching on Linux when the community put out workarounds within a couple days is shocking, and I’ve not been very impressed with how 11bit handled it with no official announcement on what was going on. They have been pretty hard to get any word out of, and it annoyed me a lot.

=> ↺ Xoreos 0.0.3 Is Another Step Towards Re-Implementing BioWare’s Aurora Engine

• It’s been a while since last having anything to report on Xoreos, but this week they’re out with a new release. For those out of the loop, Xoreos is an open-source re-implementation of BioWare’s proprietary Aurora Engine. With Xoreos the aim is to make it possible to power Neverwinter Nights and similar games off this GPLv3+ engine while still relying upon the game’s assets.

=> ↺ Alien Isolation Has Been Delayed For Linux

• sIf you woke up this morning expecting to play Alien: Isolation with today being the expected release date for OS X and Linux, Feral Interactive has unfortunately had to push back the release.

• In a brief news posting, Feral explains that the Linux/Mac release “has been delayed due to an issue that affects both platforms, and will not be released today. We are committed to releasing games only once they reach our high standards.”

=> ↺ SteamOS Brewmaster Now Has Improved Auto-Repair Function

• Valve seems to put a lot of effort into the SteamOS Brewmaster branch, which is based on Debian 8, although it’s not giving any indications that it wants to migrate to the new version before the Steam Machines are launched.

=> ↺ Trine 3: The Artifacts Of Power Linux Beta Released

• After waiting a while, we now have access to Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power in beta form. There are a number of issues though. You can find the announcement post here.

• I’ve been very interested in trying it out, but the negative reaction the game does have me a little worried. People haven’t been happy with how long the game is, and the story seems to be cut quite short.

Desktop Environments/WMs

K Desktop Environment/KDE SC/Qt

=> ↺ Kubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) Now Has Latest KDE Plasma 5.4.2

• Kubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf) is almost ready for launch, but it looks like the developers are still pushing some important changes even this late in the cycle.

=> ↺ Down to Business with Major Deployments

• KDE software has been used in many large scale deployments, including universities, governments and countless companies.

• One of these organizations suggested that KDE create a deployment forum so that others can benefit from their deployment experience. The forum would provide an opportunity for sysadmins and developers to ask questions and discuss problems/solutions related to deploying KDE software in large, complex environments.

=> ↺ My experience at Randa Meetings, 2015

• It has been nearly a month since I got back from the Randa Meetings this year, and the memories are still fresh in my mind. This was my first KDE event that I have attended, and the overall experience was awesome!

=> ↺ KDE at Qt World Summit

=> ↺ Mesa 10.6.9 Fixes KDE Crashes with Intel GPUs, Users Urged to Move to Mesa 11.0

• Earlier today, October 3, Collabora’s Emil Velikov had the pleasure of announcing the immediate availability for download of the ninth and last maintenance release of the Mesa 3D Graphics Library 10.6 branch.

=> ↺ KDE Project Wants to Help Developers with Major Deployments of KDE

• The KDE project has created a special mailing list for big entities that use this type of desktop environment in an effort to provide some much-needed support.

GNOME Desktop/GTK

=> ↺ Unicode 8.0 Support Added To GNOME’s GLib

• Within the latest development code of GNOME’s key GLib library leading up to GNOME 3.20 is Unicode 8.0 support.

• Unicode 8.0 as released back in June adds 7,716 characters with six new scripts, many new symbols, and various character additions.

• Per this commit today by Red Hat’s Matthias Clasen, GLib’s Unicode support has been updated to version 8.0. Clasen wrote, “Regenerate data tables from the Unicode Character Database, add new scripts, and update tests to include some of the new data.”

=> ↺ First Point Release of GTK+ 3.18 Introduces Faster Popover Animations, More

• The GTK+ developers have announced this past weekend the immediate availability for download of the first maintenance release of the GTK+ 3.18 open-source and cross-platform GUI toolkit software.

=> ↺ Circular App Launcher Gnome Pie 0.6.7 Gets New Clipboard Slice Group, Other Changes

• Gnome Pie is an application launcher inspired by a World of Warcraft addon called OPie. The app consists of multiple “pies”, each being triggered by a keyboard shortcut or mouse button you set. Each pie has its own role: applications, bookmarks, main menu, multimedia (play/pause/previous/next), a pie that allows you to control the focused window (maximize, close, etc.) and so on.

Distributions

=> ↺ HP goes after Cisco, Arista with open source OS

• HP is spearheading multivendor development of an open source network operating system for data centers in an effort to address scale, dynamic operation and vendor independence.

• HP is banding together with three other hardware companies and a hypervisor vendor to launch the OpenSwitch Community, which will seek community-like participation in the development of a Linux-based OpenSwitch NOS. The other participants are Intel, Broadcom, Accton and VMware.

=> ↺ HP releases its own Linux OS flavour for open source network switches

=> ↺ HP Launches Open-Source Network OS, Community

=> ↺ HP announces OpenSwitch

=> ↺ HP goes after Cisco, Arista with open source OS

=> ↺ HP announces OpenSwitch, its own Linux-based OS for switches

=> ↺ HP launches OpenSwitch community, open source NOS

=> ↺ New OpenSwitch Developers Community Accelerates Data Center Networking With a Consistent, Modern Open Source Network OS

=> ↺ HP launching open source network OS, OpenSwitch dev community

=> ↺ HP Unveils Open Source Network Operating System

=> ↺ HP launches OpenSwitch community to boost open networking

=> ↺ HP announces new open source network OS

=> ↺ HP launches its very own open-source SDN stack

=> ↺ HP Launches Open Source OS for Data Center Networking

=> ↺ HP launches open source network OS, OpenSwitch community

=> ↺ HP Opens Up Homegrown Network Operating System

=> ↺ HP Announces New Open-Source Network Operating System

=> ↺ HP Launches OpenSwitch Linux Network Operating System

• Today, HP officially launches the open source Open Switch network operating system. Intended to be the base of an open community, the new effort is supported by VMware, Intel, Broadcom, Broadcom and Arista. Mark Carroll, Vice-President and CTO at HP, emphasized that the OpenSwitch operating system is really a community-driven development base. Though HP is announcing the OpenSwitch OS at the Linuxcon EU conference, the effort is not formally backed by the Linux Foundation.

New Releases

=> ↺ Black Lab Core Server 7 Released

• Today we are happy to announce the release of Black Lab Core Server 7. Black Lab Core Server 7 is the base of the Black Lab Server distribution. Black Lab Core Server is for users to design their own servers or workstations and to include their own selection of software. Black Lab core Server 7 has some basic system requirements. Here are the minimum system requirements for running Black Lab Core Server 7.

=> ↺ 4MRecover 14.0 Distrolette Enters Beta with TestDisk 7.0, Based on 4MLinux 14.0

• We have been informed by Zbigniew Konojacki, the creator and lead developer of the 4MLinux project, that the Beta release of his upcoming 4MRecover 14.0 distrolette is now available for download and testing.

=> ↺ Parsix GNU/Linux 8.5 “Atticus” Is One of the First Distributions with GNOME 3.18

• The developers of the Parsix GNU/Linux operating system have announced on October 4, 2015, that the first TEST build of their upcoming Parsix GNU/Linux 8.5 release is available for download and testing.

=> ↺ Solus Operating System Is Being Delayed Due to Bad Karma

• The Solus operating system was supposed to launch on October 1, but it looks like it’s running a little bit late. Its developers have had a number of small setbacks, but things seem to be back on track now.

=> ↺ Manjaro JWM Edition 41015 released

• The Manjaro community is proud to present a new Manjaro JWM Edition installation media.

• JWM (Joe’s Window Manager) is a lightweight stacking window manager for the X Window System written by Joe Wingbermuehle. JWM is written in C and uses only Xlib at a minimum. Configuration is by editing an XML file – no graphical configuration is supplied.

=> ↺ Netrunner Rolling 2015.09 Released With New Plasma 5 And Apps updates

=> ↺ Netrunner Rolling 2015.09 Finally Migrates to KDE Plasma 5, Looks Sleek – Gallery

• The guys over Netrunner, an open-source GNU/Linux computer operating system that uses a rolling-release model and is based on the KDE technologies, were more than happy to announce today, October 3, the release of Netrunner Rolling 2015.09.

=> ↺ Introducing the New Manjaro Linux JWM (Joe’s Window Manager) Edition

• On October 5, the Manjaro Linux community was extremely proud to announce the release and immediate availability for download of the first-ever build of the new Manjaro Linux JWM Community Edition distribution.

Screenshots/Screencasts

=> ↺ NixOS 15.09 Screenshot Tour

Arch Family

=> ↺ Manjaro Update 2015-10-04 (testing)

• I’m happy to announce another review of Manjaro 15.09 (Bellatrix)!

• With this we repacked most of our packages against python 3.5. Please check if we have missed some. Also some of our kernels got updated: 3.18.22, 4.1.10 and 4.2.3. Last but not least we updated pamac to 2.4.2 and fixed some squashfs compression issue in our manjaro-tools for lower kernels than 4.0.

• Also we ship the usual Archlinux upstream fixes (Sun Oct 4 08:25:34 CEST 2015)

=> ↺ Thus versus Calamares: Comparing Manjaro 15.09 installers

• So, the two installers are very similar. I don’t understand why the Manjaro developers feel it is necessary to develop their own installer, but perhaps there is some longer-term objective here. The two major differences in Thus are places where they seem to have borrowed ideas from the Ubuntu installer (Ubiquity), and I question the usefulness of both.

=> ↺ Latest Manjaro Linux 15.09 Update Brings Linux Kernel 4.2.3, Python 3.5 Support

• After announcing the release of the Manjaro Linux GNOME 15.09, Manjaro Linux LXDE 15.09, Manjaro Linux LXQt 15.09, and Manjaro Linux i3 15.09 distributions, the Manjaro team is happy to announce the availability of a new update for their stable Manjaro Linux 15.09 (Bellatrix) operating system.

Ballnux/SUSE

=> ↺ Benchmarks Of The OpenSUSE Leap Kernel Flavors

• Those unfamiliar with the openSUSE kernel flavors can see this Wiki page. Tested for this article was the default, desktop, debug, and vanilla kernel options. During testing, installed by default was the -desktop kernel when installing the openSUSE 42.1 Leap Beta and thus that was what ended up being used in last week’s Linux distribution comparison, although the Wiki page indicates that the -default kernel should be the default for desktops and servers. The 4.1.6-10 kernel was used when testing the -debug, -default, -desktop, and -vanilla kernel images obtained from the official openSUSE Leap repository.

Red Hat Family

=> ↺ Meet the Open Organization Ambassadors

• The Open Organization Ambassadors Program identifies and spotlights members of the Opensource.com community who are exceptionally engaged in discussions regarding the management philosophy Jim Whitehurst outlines in his book, The Open Organization.

• Interested in becoming an ambassador? Read more about the program and get in touch!

=> ↺ Red Hat on track to hit 70 per cent channel sales goal

• Red Hat has revealed that channel sales for the fiscal quarter to the end of August rose to 75 per cent of its total top line, marking solid progress towards its annual goal of 70 per cent.

=> ↺ Company Shares of Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE:RHT) Rally 0.96%

• Shares of Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE:RHT) rose by 0.96% in the past week and 7.22% for the last 4 weeks. The shares have underperformed the S&P 500 by 0.08% during the past week but Red Hat, Inc. (NYSE:RHT) has outperformed the index in 4 weeks by 5.57%.

=> ↺ The Open Organization book club: Driving change through inclusive decisions

=> ↺ SME Server 9.1 Beta 3 Adds Windows 10 Support for SME Domain, Based on CentOS 6.7

• The Koozali SME Server development team, through Terry Fage, announced this past weekend the general availability for download and testing of the third Beta build of the upcoming SME Server 9.1 GNU/Linux distribution.

=> ↺ Create a culture where difficult conversations aren’t so hard

• I worked as a consultant for many years before becoming the CEO of Red Hat. One of the most surprising aspects of that work was that people would open up to me, an outsider, about all the elephants in the room—but they were too polite or embarrassed to call out the obvious issues or blame their peers inside their own organizations. My fellow consultants and I would sometimes joke that just about every individual inside a company could immediately tell you what was going wrong and what needed fixing. But whenever everybody convened for a meeting to point out those very issues, you wouldn’t hear a peep about anything that could be perceived as negative. To our amazement, they were more open to hearing feedback from us, the outsiders, than from their own colleagues.

Fedora

=> ↺ Linux: Chapeau has now dropped the Korora software repository

• An update to the chapeau-repos package has been pushed out this weekend that disables the ‘korora’ software repository on Chapeau going forward. This repository will not be used in future releases of Chapeau.

=> ↺ Fedora 24 Linux Operating System to Use NetworkManager 1.2 by Default

• After proposing the transition from the Python 3.4 to the Python 3.5 stack for the upcoming Fedora 24 Linux distribution, Jan Kurik comes today with a new proposal, the update of the NetworkManager packages to version 1.2.

=> ↺ DNF 1.1.2 and DNF-PLUGINS-CORE 0.1.12 Released

• The new release of DNF and DNF-PLUGINS-CORE is coming to Fedora stable repositories. The –downloadonly option supported in yum is now available in DNF and repoquery from DNF-PLUGINS-CORE has extended it’s functionality of reverse RPM tag queries (–what*) for glob patterns. Aside from that nearly 20 bug fixes have been made in this DNF stack release. For further details look at DNF and DNF plugins release notes.

=> ↺ Chapeau Linux Is No Longer Using the Korora Software Repositories

• Vince Pooley, the creator and lead developer of the Fedora-based Chapeau GNU/Linux operating system, has recently announced that the distribution has dropped support for the official software repositories of the Korora Linux project, another Fedora-based distro.

=> ↺ PHP 5.4 is dead

• As announced, PHP version 5.4.45 is the last official release of PHP 5.4

• Which means that since version 5.5.30 and version 5.6.14 have been released, some security vulnerabilities are not, and won’t be, fixed by the PHP project.

=> ↺ QElectroTech on the road to 0.5

• RPM of QElectroTech version 0.5b (beta), an application to design electric diagrams, are available in remi-test for Fedora and Enterprise Linux 7.

=> ↺ Python 3.5 Planned For Fedora 24

=> ↺ Fedora 24 Poised To Have NetworkManager 1.2

• The latest feature proposed for Fedora 24 and should almost certainly be approved is the landing of NetworkManager 1.2.

• NetworkManager 1.2 brings a new libnma library for GUIs, numerous VPN-related additions, support for arbitrary software device hierarchy, support for managing container connectivity, RFC7217 stable privacy addressing, and various CLI improvements.

Debian Family

=> ↺ How Debian managed the systemd transition

• Debian’s decision to move to systemd as the default init system was a famously contentious (and rather public) debate. Once all the chaos regarding the decision itself had died down, however, it was left to project members to implement the change. At DebConf 2015 in Heidelberg, Martin Pitt and Michael Biebl gave a down-to-earth talk about how that implementation work had gone and what was still ahead.

• Pitt and Biebl are the current maintainers of the systemd package in Debian, with Pitt also maintaining the corresponding Ubuntu package. The pair began with a brief recap of the init-replacement story, albeit one that steered mercifully clear of the quarrels and stuck to the technical side. Initial discussions for replacing the System V init system began as far back as 2007, but pressure grew in recent years, included considerable demand from system administrators and upstream projects (typically wanting specific features like support for logind or journald). Once the Technical Committee had made its decision to adopt systemd as the default, Pitt said, “the real work” began.

=> ↺ Debian success stories: Automated signature verification

• Debian was not generally seen as a bleeding-edge distribution, but it offered a perfect combination of stability and up-to-date software in our field when we chose the platform for our signature verification project. Having an active Debian Developer in the team also helped ensuring that packages which we use were in good shape when the freeze, then the release came and we can still rely on Jessie images with only a few extra packages to run our software stack.

=> ↺ Raspberry Pi’s Raspbian Rebased To Debian 8 “Jessie”

=> ↺ Reproducible builds: week 23 in Stretch cycle

Derivatives

Canonical/Ubuntu

=> ↺ Scibuntu 0.4 Beta Is Out, Transforms Ubuntu Into an OS for Scientists and Science Students

• After many months of silence, the guys over Scibuntu were more than happy to announce the release of the Beta build of their Scibuntu 0.4 open-source and free software for Ubuntu users.

=> ↺ Canonical launches new ‘#InternetOfToys’ initiative with partners

• Canonical is taking its Internet of Things (IoT) innovation on tour over the few days; bringing a host of new developments to the European market to show the emerging commercial opportunities surrounding IoT and robotics.

=> ↺ Ubuntu 15.10: More kitten than beast – but beware the claws

• Normally, I’d argue that’s a good thing. No news is good news these days, when it comes to operating systems. Except Ubuntu’s October releases have historically been more experimental, less stable releases that tried to push the envelope a little. It’s been two years since we’ve seen that sort of fun-filled, experimental release from Canonical.

=> ↺ Launchpad Is Preparing for Snappy Packages, More Improvements Coming

• The Launchpad developers are working around the clock to improve this repository, and it looks like they intend to make it fully compatible with the upcoming Snappy packages.

=> ↺ No, Microsoft Is Not Buying Canonical

• The response came very quickly from both companies, who denied the rumors. While Microsoft’s response was “Microsoft declines to comment as they do not comment on rumors or speculation,” Canonical’s CEO Jane Silber responded with “Your sources are wrong; there are no such discussions.”

=> ↺ Canonical Patches Critical Kernel Vulnerability in Ubuntu 15.04 and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

• Just a few moments ago, October 5, Canonical published two new Ubuntu Security Notice reports on their website, informing users of Ubuntu 15.04 (Vivid Vervet) and Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) about the availability of a new kernel update.

=> ↺ Ubuntu Unity 8 Convergence: Nexus 4 Phone Converging into a Desktop – Gallery

• I have been recently asked by some of my readers if Ubuntu convergence is almost here, so I’ve had to say yes because of the posts coming from Ubuntu developers about the latest convergence features added to the Unity 8 user interface.

=> ↺ OTA-7 Update for Ubuntu Touch to Enter Final Freeze This Week

• A new OTA update is being prepared for Ubuntu Touch, and it looks like developers are currently putting the final touches on it. The update is approaching final freeze, which will be put in place this week.

=> ↺ Create A Custom Ubuntu Or Linux Mint ISO With PinguyBuilder

• PinguyBuilder is a script which allows creating a customized Live CD/Live USB (remaster) of Ubuntu or Linux Mint, that can be used either as a distributable ISO or as a backup.

=> ↺ Microsoft Recommends Ubuntu as the Most Popular Linux for Cloud

• The change in Microsoft’s rhetoric regarding Linux has been clear even since the new CEO, Satya Nadella, took the place of the Linux-hater Steve Balmer, and now we’re witnessing the impossible. Microsoft recommends Linux on Twitter.

=> ↺ India’s First Ubuntu Hackathon Offers an Ubuntu Dell Laptop, BQ Aquaris E5 HD Phones

• On October 5, Canonical announced that the next Ubuntu Hackathon event would take place next week in Bangalore, the capital of India’s southern Karnataka state, between October 15-16, 2015.

=> ↺ Ubuntu Hackathon: Bangalore Mobile Developer Summit

• Canonical are platinum sponsors at the Mobile Developer Summit in Bangalore this year, and will be hosting the very first Ubuntu hackathon in India from 15-16 October 2015.

=> ↺ Canonical Wants Ubuntu to Power the IoT for Smart Toys

• IoT World Europe in Berlin is an event that takes place between 5 and 7 October, and it will be host to a lot of cool new smart devices. Canonical is launching there a new initiative named The Internet of Toys.

=> ↺ Mir 0.16 Brings Smoother/Higher Frame Rates

• Mir 0.16.0 brings a much shorter buffer holding time for system compositors to provide higher and smoother frame-rates, progress on new buffer semantics, Mir-on-X11 changes, improved logging, the start of code refactoring to support renderers other than OpenGL (such as Vulkan in the future), and a variety of other changes.

=> ↺ It Looks Like The Converged Ubuntu Phone Device Is Delayed To Next Year

• While Mark Shuttleworth talked up before that an Ubuntu Phone supporting their much talked about “converged” experience would be available in 2015, it appears now to be delayed until some time in 2016.

• We’ve been waiting for an Ubuntu Phone to support the convergence experience for transforming the phone into a PC when connected to a display and keyboard/mouse while the software will adapt accordingly. We had heard that BQ was the company manufacturing this first converged phone and that it would ship in October 2015.

=> ↺ Ubuntu Is Doing A UI Makeover To Their Installer / Setup Process

Devices/Embedded

=> ↺ Wind River Continues Advancing Development of IoT Devices with Latest Version of Market-Leading Linux Offering

• Wind River®, a global leader in delivering software for the Internet of Things (IoT), today introduced the latest version of Wind River Linux. Wind River Linux 8 brings together the flexibility and interoperability of open source along with improved user experience and scalability for addressing the opportunities and challenges of IoT. The company also introduced new features for Wind River Open Virtualization.

=> ↺ Exploring the Raspberry Pi Sense HAT

• In my first article in my series, I wrote about the Astro Pi competition, an opportunity for UK school students to have their coded experiments run in space. We’re getting closer and closer to the launch date of December 15, when British European Space Agency (ESA) Astronaut Tim Peake will embark on his six-month mission, Principia. He’ll be conducting scientific experiments and engaging with young people in educational outreach activities. As part of this, he’s taking up two Raspberry Pi computers in purpose-built flight cases, each with camera modules and sensor boards attached. These will be running Python programs written by the Astro Pi competition winners.

=> ↺ Astro Pi Is an Awesome Raspberry Pi That’s Going to Space This December

• The Astro Pi is an original Raspberry Pi that’s been modified to go into space and the mission to take it there is about to launch in just a couple of months.

=> ↺ Latest version of Linux continues development of IoT devices

=> ↺ Wind River announces upgraded IoT software platform

=> ↺ Wind River Linux 8 launched to address opportunities, challenges of IoT

=> ↺ Linux: Wind River moves to Yocto Project 2.0 kernel

=> ↺ Wind River Linux 8 supports Yocto 2.0, Intel Skylake CPUs

• The Wind River Linux 8 embedded distribution has arrived with Yocto Project 2.0 and Linux 4.1, featuring faster setup, plus support for Intel Skylake CPUs.

• Wind River released the version eight of its industry-leading commercial embedded Linux distribution with an updated open source foundation based on the soon-to-be-released Yocto Project 2.0 platform and BitBake build system. Other updated components include Linux kernel 4.1 and GNU toolchain 5.2. Wind River Linux 8 also reduces setup and installation time by up to 50 percent, says Wind River.

Phones

Android

=> ↺ Apple’s ‘Move to iOS’ Android App: Easy to Use but with Data Loss

• Following Apple’s launch of “Move to iOS” Android app on Sept. 16, users affirm that the process of migrating data to an iPhone or iPad running on iOS 9 is relatively easy, albeit the loss of some data. According to Mac World, users should know which contents are transferred and where they get stored in the iOS device.

=> ↺ Motorola, you’ve let us down

• The company that worked to rebuild its reputation as the Android manufacturer that does things right has just taken a wrong turn. And in the context of Motorola’s brand, this turn is particularly troubling.

• In a blog posted this afternoon, Motorola revealed which of its phones will be receiving an upgrade to the upcoming Android 6.0 Marshmallow release. And the list contains some surprising omissions.

=> ↺ 8 Advantages and Disadvantages of Rooting your Android Phone

=> ↺ 5 Best Tools You Need To Create Your Next Big Android App

=> ↺ Top 5 Best New Android Action Games of September 2015

=> ↺ Google Told by Russian Regulator to Unbundle Android Search

=> ↺ Why Google Will Still Bet on Both Chrome OS and Android

=> ↺ CodeWeavers Will Soon Release CrossOver/Wine For Android, DirectX11 Support Progressing

=> ↺ Huawei Watch Review: Best Android Wear Smartwatch Available

• The Huawei Watch currently offers the best option on the Android Wear platform. The Huawei Watch looks elegant and offers great design as well as multiple attractive style options depending on the buyer’s cash flow. Even iPhone owners can take a look. If an iPhone owner prefers a stainless steel round watch, then the Huawei Watch is a usable option at a lower price than the Stainless Steel Apple Watch. Android Wear works well on iPhone, but does not give users the same level of integration. The most important features work fine, including notifications and fitness tracking.

• We give the Huawei Watch a hearty recommendation. It is worth paying a little more for this attractive and well-designed Android Wear smartwatch.

=> ↺ Android 6.0 Marshmallow, thoroughly reviewed

• After a lengthy developer preview, the newest version of Google’s flagship operating system is finally ready for the masses. Android 6.0 Marshmallow is the twenty-third version of Google’s “mobile” operating system, though it can accurately be described as “mobile” only if you’re referring to how much it gets around. With all the areas in which Google now tinkers, Marshmallow is destined for smartphones, tablets, watches, televisions, and cars, among others.

=> ↺ Wine Is Coming to Android for Intel Processors

• The CEO of CodeWeavers, the makers of Wine and CrossOver, has revealed that Wine is coming to Android, but it’s not clear how they will be able to monetize that.

=> ↺ Android Marshmallow: What, when, and where?

• Once you get beyond Nexus devices, your guess is as good as mine as to when you will see the upgrade happen. If Verizon is your carrier, you’ll likely see it sooner than later. However, if you’re locked into an AT&T contract, the upgrade might be a bit slower.

• Are you excited about the Android Marshmallow update? If so, what feature are you looking forward to the most? Share your thoughts in the discussion thread below.

=> ↺ An Android living in your computer

• The Android-x86 project is an on-going effort to make Google’s Android operating system, typically run on phones and other mobile devices, run smoothly on laptops, desktop computers and tablets equipped with x86 processors. Android-x86, on paper at least, offers most of the features one would expect from a desktop operating system.

• This week I decided to download the project’s latest release, version 4.4-r3, and see how well it would work as a desktop operating system. The Android-x86 download page is a bit cluttered, but I eventually found what I was looking for, a 411MB ISO file I could use to install this unusual operating system.

=> ↺ RoboPhone: Sharp to Sell Real Android Phones in Japan

• The Osaka-based electronics maker said Tuesday it would introduce a new mobile communication device in 2016 that is a tiny android robot. It will come with features of a smartphone including email, Internet connectivity, camera and a 2-inch display. Still to be decided is whether the device will use Google Inc.’s Android mobile operating system or another operating system.

Free Software/Open Source

=> ↺ KPMG: five good reasons to use open souce

• You’d have to be looking hoard to find this… but deep inside a PDF white paper written by KPMG, the firm has justified its reasons for using, adopting, developing and subsequently releasing open source software.

=> ↺ Navigating a sea of frontend frameworks

• When I teach beginners, I doubt many of them have any idea what open source really means! What I do know they notice (and care deeply about) is how easy it is to find information and answers to their questions (“Can I Google this?”). Open source, and the fact that it requires a community to work really well, benefits these beginners whether they know it or not.

=> ↺ Open source signals end to enterprise one-size fits all approach

• Many enterprise customers are moving away from a ‘one-size fits all approach’, instead they are looking to open source.

• Using open source software means that they are able to build more customised business solutions. Open source provides a relatively lower total cost of ownership and its rapid development is creating greater demand in enterprises.

=> ↺ Open-sourcing Windows: If I ran Microsoft, here’s how I’d do it

• If you were running Microsoft, how would you go about converting Windows into a fully Open Source project?

• It may seem like a ludicrous idea to many – the notion that Microsoft would ever willingly open source their cash cow operating system – but I want to think this through. If I had control of Microsoft, how would I accomplish this seemingly impossible task? What are the specific steps I would take to get us from point A to point B?

=> ↺ Hipster 2015.10 is here

=> ↺ OpenIndiana 2015.10 “Hipster” Released To Continue On The OpenSolaris Dream

• A new update to OpenIndiana is available, the operating system powered by Illumos that’s derived from what was the OpenSolaris code-base prior to it being killed by Oracle. OpenIndiana 2015.10 “Hipster” is the name of this new release.

=> ↺ OpenIndiana 2015.10 “Hipster” Solaris OS Is Here, Available for Download Now

• On October 4, Alexander Pyhalov had the great pleasure of announcing the immediate availability for download of the OpenIndiana 2015.10 (Hipster) open-source Solaris-based operating system.

=> ↺ A kid in an open source candy store

• In 2009, I decided to leave HP and become an independent consultant. I presented at the inaugural LinuxCon on “Transforming Your Company with Open Source.” Over time, my engagement with open source became more introspective. I wanted to integrate its lessons more fully into the personal development lessons that I was learning through my ongoing studies of psychology and spirituality. I thought back to the kid in the candy store. What open source was doing was connecting (and confronting!) me with the energy of abundance. This is the kind of energy that encourages positive action while loosening attachment to the fruits of that action, increasing self-awareness in the process. I wrote about this in a 2011 article on Opensource.com, and expanded on it further in chapter 3 of my book Enlightening Technical Leadership in 2013.

=> ↺ Q&A: H20′s Oleg Rogynskyy on Open Source and Machine Learning

• H2O, formerly known as Oxdata, has steadily been carving out a niche with its open source software for big data analysis and machine learning. There is a community aligned behind the company’s tools, and machine learning is a rapidly expanding field.

=> ↺ FOSS Hits & Misses on a Monday Morning

• The day has changed, but the commentary remains the same: In a minor FOSS Force shuffle, I’ve moved from giving commentary on Wednesdays to giving it on Mondays. And while there is no one item that stands out in a grand way to start the week, there’s no reason we can’t begin the week with several smaller items, right?

Web Browsers

Mozilla

=> ↺ Mozilla’s Servo Gets A Experimental Renderer To Draw On The GPU

• Mozilla’s next-generation, Rust-written Servo web layout engine now has an experimental renderer for drawing web content on the GPU. The Servo WebRender aims to do all the rasterization work on the graphics processor and the initial results are promising.

SaaS/Big Data

=> ↺ Cloudera’s Kudu Storage Does Fast Analytics on Fast Data

• Here on OStatic, we’ve covered Cloudera since its early roots in 2008, as the Big Data trend started to ramp up and Hadoop become an uber-successful open source project. And last year, the company announced a staggering $900 million round of financing with participation by top tier institutional and strategic investors.

=> ↺ Pivotal Open Sources Key Analytics, Hadoop Tools

=> ↺ MapR Introduces an In-Hadoop Document Database

=> ↺ Hortonworks’ Big Data Scorecard Seeks to Ease Transition to Hadoop and More

• At many organizations, Big Data tools are being called on to help reveal deeper insights from data stores, but not every organization has an organized plan for onboarding the right tools. Likewise, there is evidence that some organizations are finding tools such as Hadoop hard to deploy and understand. For example, Gartner, Inc.’s 2015 Hadoop Adoption Study, involving 284 Gartner Research Circle members, found that only 125 respondents who completed the whole survey had already invested in Hadoop or had plans to do so within the next two years. The study found that there are difficulties in implementing Hadoop.

=> ↺ Databricks Survey Shows Massive Commitments to Spark

=> ↺ Mirantis and Partners to Leverage OpenStack with NFV

=> ↺ Mirantis OpenStack 7.0 Focuses on “Day Two” Strengths

• Mirantis, which continues to focus squarely on the OpenStack cloud platform, has announced the availability of a new version of its own OpenStack distribution. Mirantis OpenStack 7.0 enhances scalability and resilience, improves developer productivity and maximizes infrastructure flexibility, according to the company.

=> ↺ Your first patch, PTL election results, and more OpenStack news

Databases

=> ↺ Tesora Database as a Service Adds Support for Many More Databases

• As the OpenStack cloud computing scene evolves, a whole ecosystem of tools is growing along with it. Tesora, the leading contributor to the OpenStack Trove open source project, came out months ago with what it billed as the first enterprise-ready, commercial implementation of OpenStack Trove database as a service (DBaaS). The company also announced that it had open sourced its Tesora Database Virtualization Engine, and delivered its TroveSpeed Program that includes the Tesora DBaaS Platform along with technical resources necessary to quickly roll out multi-database, database as a service.

Oracle/Java/LibreOffice

=> ↺ LibreOffice Being Ported To The Web Browser Via EmScripten

• While there is already LibreOffice Online as a cloud-based version of the open-source office suite, there’s a new, separate effort underway for getting LibreOffice in web browsers.

=> ↺ Next Version of Apache OpenOffice Coming Soon

• There is a new version of OpenOffice on the way. The suite of productivity tools has a long and stories history, and the Apache Software Foundation is now the steward of it. According to an announcement, development of Apache OpenOffice 4.1.2 is almost complete and the release is coming shortly.

• The new version is slated to bring better Microsoft Office interoperability (including Sharepoint compatibility), as well as multiple improvements to all individual applications, including Writer, Impress, Draw, Calc, and Base.

=> ↺ Apache Is Going To Release A New Version Of OpenOffice

• Five years ago today marked the fork of OpenOffice.org into LibreOffice and coincidentally the Apache Software Foundation put out news this weekend that a new version of OpenOffice is coming.

=> ↺ Is Oracle Abandoning Java?

• It appears as if Java can be added to the list of things that Oracle spent big bucks acquiring from Sun for no apparent reason. Last Wednesday, InfoWorld’s Paul Krill wrote an article around an email the site received from “a former high-ranking Java official” who said, “Java has no interest to them anymore.”

OStatic (older)

=> ↺ Facebook’s Open Source Data Fetching Tool Appeals to Developers

=> ↺ Google Open Sources its Internal Bazel Build Tool

=> ↺ Pinterest’s Terrapin: An Open Source Solution for Serving Data from Hadoop

=> ↺ Salesforce Rolls Out Powerful IoT Platform Built Around Open Source

=> ↺ IBM Officially Launches its Internet of Things Unit

=> ↺ IBM Tool Aims to Clean Up Cloud App Usage Patterns

• Cloud computing is all the rage, and so is the trend toward employees using every stripe of cloud applications in and out of the office. That creates security problems, which has prompted IBM to release Cloud Security Enforcer, a tool that scans corporate networks for apps frequently used by employees. The goal is to help IT identify any unauthorized cloud apps inside organizations, and the tool can be leveraged across various cloud platforms.

=> ↺ Dropbox Open Sources Zulip Group Chat Tool

Business

Semi-Open Source

=> ↺ Broadcom Enables New Open Source Networking Innovations with Release of OpenNSL 2.0

• Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced the second release of the Broadcom Open Network Switch Library (OpenNSL), the industry’s most complete collection of open network application programming interfaces (APIs). With double the number of production-ready Open APIs now available, OpenNSL 2.0 enables the development of innovative open source networking projects on Broadcom’s best-in-class silicon platforms. For more news, visit Broadcom’s Newsroom.

BSD

=> ↺ LLVM 3.7.1 Release Planned For Next Month

=> ↺ Sony Lands More PlayStation 4 Code Into LLVM’s Clang

=> ↺ An AVR Backend To LLVM Is Working Towards Being Mainlined

=> ↺ LLVM Drops Windows XP Support; Work Continues On CMake To Replace Autoconf

• It’s been discussed before, but now LLVM developers have firmly decided to drop LLVM on Windows XP with LLVM 3.8. The LLVM 3.7 series is the last with Windows XP.

=> ↺ MIPS P5600 Support Added To The LLVM Compiler Stack

FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC

=> ↺ FSF Endorses Yet Another (Outdated) Laptop

• The Taurinus X200 is a refrubished Lenovo ThinkPad X200 that is then loaded with Libreboot and the Intel Management Engine disabled. The operating system in use is the FSF-certified Trisquel Linux distribution. The Taurinus X200 is sold by Libiquity LLC.

=> ↺ FLIF: The Newest Free Software Image Format For Smaller Web Images

• FLIF is short for the Free Lossless Image Format and is the newest open-source (GPLv3) attempt at being a better image for the web than JPEG, PNG, WebP, etc.

=> ↺ GNU Debugger or GDB: A Powerful Source Code Debugging tool for Linux Programs

=> ↺ AMD Is Ready To Land Zen Processor Support In The GCC Compiler

• Back in March was a patch enabling next-generation AMD Zen processor support for GCC and now it looks like this patch is ready to be added to the GNU Compiler Collect’s trunk code-base for GCC 6.

Public Services/Government

=> ↺ Danish public libraries unite around open source

• Open source has united Denmark’s public libraries, working together on an ‘open system of tools for cultural innovation, collaboration, and sharing of results in a digital society’. The TING community, in which libraries are developing open source solutions to help bring their services online, includes 50 of the country’s 98 municipalities.

Licensing

=> ↺ Does your company know how much open source it uses?

• Licenses are the legal underpinning of open source projects, but companies don’t always know how to manage them. Jeff Luszcz founded Palamida to help organizations ensure they were complying with upstream software licenses. Along the way, he and his team discovered that being unaware of the open source licenses in use leads to being unaware of vulnerabilities that need to be patched.

Openness/Sharing

Open Hardware

=> ↺ The world’s first DIY 3D printed open source bicycle

• Two Dutch design students are developing a 3D printed bicycle – an open source project through which they hope to encourage others to customise and manufacture their own versions.

• The OBI, or Open Bicycle, has been created by industrial designers Stef de Groot and Paul De Medeiros. The open source template will allow the construction of a fully-functioning bicycle for around €400 (approx. £300) – far cheaper than buying a brand new set of wheels.

• Read more

Programming

=> ↺ Portable Computing Language 0.12 To Bring A New Kernel Cache System (POCL)

=> ↺ Jane Austen on Python: The intersection of literature and tech

• This article is for the English majors, the bookworms, the lovers of literature, and the people with humanities backgrounds who sometimes struggle with the question, “So do you ever use your English degree?” It’s also for the people who’ve asked that question of their colleagues with non-STEM backgrounds, who’ve been confused about how someone could start in psychology and end up in Python.

Leftovers

=> ↺ Spider scare causes bus crash

• A child was transported to a hospital with minor head injuries after a shock from spider caused a crash involving a school bus and a “driverless” car, according to the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department.

• Around 4:15 p.m. Friday, deputies, along with Syracuse Police and Fire Units, responded to the area of 5571 E CR 1400 N on reports of a vehicle striking a school bus.

Security

=> ↺ Security advisories for Monday

=> ↺ Adobe Fixes 18 Critical Flaws in Latest Flash Player 19.0.0.185 Release: Update Now

• This is a very tiny application that usually does its thing behind the scenes, without interfering with the normal functioning of a phone, tablet or PC.

=> ↺ Incompetence, not Linux, is behind the XOR DDoS botnet

• First, no operating system or program is secure. Some are more secure than others. So sure, Linux is inherently more secure than Windows. But a badly managed Linux server will still be more insecure than a well-administered Windows system.

=> ↺ Linux.Wifatch ‘malware’ is actually making routers more secure

• We seem to have a vigilante white hat hacker on our hands, as newly discovered ‘malware’ aimed at Internet of Things devices and certain routers appears to be making these devices more secure. The Linux.Wifatch virus is doing the exact opposite of what most viruses would, rather than stealing user information or holding systems for ransom, it is actually improving security.

=> ↺ Linux vigilante fixes your router

• A new form of “malware” appears to have been set up by a Linux vigilante who wants to improve your security.

• Software called Linux.Wifatch compromises routers and other Internet of Things devices and appears to try and improve infected devices’ security.

=> ↺ Linux routers under attack — for their own good

• Symantec reports on an unusual “Linux.Wifatch” threat that improves the security of old Linux routers. Meanwhile, a new XOR botnet poses a deadlier threat.

• Linux may still be the most secure general-purpose OS in existence, but as its presence grows in the embedded and Internet of Things (IoT) market, it’s increasingly being targeted by malware. Linux-based routers with outdated firmware (see farther below) and wireless enabled home automaton devices seem particularly vulnerable.

Defence/Police/Secrecy/Aggression

=> ↺ The US decision to send weapons to Syria repeats a historical mistake

• Why does the US continually send deadly weapons to the Middle East, make things even more chaotic than they were before and expect better results the next time?

• As pretty much everyone who was paying attention predicted, the $500m program to train and arm “moderate” Syrian rebels is an unmitigated, Bay of Pigs-style disaster, with the head of US central command admitting to Congress this week that the year-old program now only has “four or five” rebels fighting inside Syria, with dozens more killed or captured.

• Even more bizarre, the White House is claiming little to do with it. White House spokesman Josh Earnest attempted to distance Obama from the program, claiming that it was actually the president’s “critics” who “were wrong.” The New York Times reported, “In effect, Mr Obama is arguing that he reluctantly went along with those who said it was the way to combat the Islamic State, but that he never wanted to do it and has now has been vindicated in his original judgment.”

=> ↺ Russia’s False Hopes — Paul Craig Roberts

• Russia miscalculated that diplomacy could solve the crisis that Washington created in Ukraine and placed its hopes on the Minsk Agreement, which has no Western support whatsoever, neither in Kiev nor in Washington, London, and NATO.

• Russia can end the Ukraine crisis by simply accepting the requests of the former Russian territories to reunite with Russia. Once the breakaway republics are again part of Russia, the crisis is over. Ukraine is not going to attack Russia.

• Russia doesn’t end the crisis, because Russia thinks it would be provocative and upset Europe. Actually, that is what Russia needs to do—upset Europe. Russia needs to make Europe aware that being Washington’s tool against Russia is risky and has costs for Europe.

=> ↺ Media Are Blamed as US Bombing of Afghan Hospital Is Covered Up

• A US-led NATO military coalition bombed a hospital run by international humanitarian aid organization Doctors Without Borders (known internationally as Medecins Sans Frontières, MSF) in Afghanistan, killing at least 22 people—12 staff members and 10 patients, including three children—and wounding 37 more.

Finance

=> ↺ Prof. Wolff on TRNN: 38% of American Workforce Still Jobless.

• Prof. Wolff discusses discusses why labor force participation is the lowest since 1977 and what’s really needed to stimulate the economy.

=> ↺ Why Debates Over the Fed’s Interest Rate Miss the Point

• Sometimes public debates focus on important social issues; at other times, debates distract from them. Disputes over whether the Federal Reserve System should raise interest rates illustrate that second sort. Yes, “serious people” take strong positions for or against interest rate hikes. They sharply question one another’s motives to spice up what passes for mainstream media economic news. But it is not the debate we could and should have, not even close.

• Both sides of that debate celebrate capitalism. They differ only on how best to have government serve the reproduction of capitalism: by leaving it alone, by intervening intensely or somewhere in between. These days they hassle over raising, lowering or leaving interest rates unchanged. The possibility that capitalism – rather than the Fed or interest rates – might be the problem troubles none of these folks. It does not occur to them. Nor is that surprising given the monotonous mantra of academic economics departments and the journalists and politicians trained by them.

=> ↺ Developing Countries Especially Vulnerable to TPP Deal – Trade Union

• Developing countries are most likely to suffer from the effects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, Daniel Bertossa, director of policy and governance at the Public Services International (PSI) global trade union, told Sputnik Monday.

• Earlier on Monday, 12 Pacific Rim countries, including the United States, reached a consensus on the wording and subject matter of the TPP free trade agreement.

=> ↺ Canada’s auto industry could lose 20,000 jobs because of TPP trade deal, union says

• The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal could have major ramifications for Canada’s already struggling auto industry, resulting in cheaper vehicles for consumers, but a more competitive landscape for Canadian manufacturers.

• Unifor, the union that represents Canadian workers at the Detroit Three, said the deal would put an estimated 20,000 auto jobs at risk by eliminating tariffs and significantly reducing content rules for vehicles and auto parts.

• Under the TPP agreement, Canada will phase out its existing 6.1 per cent tariff on imported passenger vehicles over the next five years — a move that is expected to lower the cost of Japanese-made vehicles for Canadian consumers.

PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying

=> ↺ How Larry Lessig’s one-year presidency platform is winning over Silicon Valley

• He’s the only presidential candidate that’s been called a freedom fighter and a geek guru.

• In Silicon Valley, Harvard professor Larry Lessig’s following goes back almost two decades and is rooted in his devotion to a free and open internet.

• As Lessig struggles to be included in the national presidential polls and win a spot in the upcoming democratic debates, he’s banking on his loyal high-tech followers to step out from behind their computers and rally around his election and campaign finance reform platform.

=> ↺ 5 Ways Donald Trump Perfectly Mirrors Hitler’s Rise To Power

• … where I’m joined by my Cracked co-worker Randol Maynard and comic/activist/word doctor Genevieve Mueller. Specifically, we talk about all of the terrifyingly real ways that, no matter how crazy it sounds, Donald Trump is the closest the United States has ever come to producing our very own version of Adolf Hitler. Here are a few reasons why.

Censorship

=> ↺ France tells Google to remove search results globally, or face big fines

Privacy

=> ↺ Top EU court suspends data-sharing deal

Civil Rights

=> ↺ How a Canadian scientist became the voice of the anti-Harper movement

• As protest songs go, it wasn’t exactly Pussy Riot. Harperman is a jaunty folk song with acoustic guitars, an amateur choir, and a chorus politely telling Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper, “It’s time for you to go.”

• But the five-minute protest song became a viral hit, got its mild-mannered creator suspended from his job at the country’s environment department – and gave voice to the pent-up frustrations of Canada’s public servants who say they have found themselves at the receiving end of Harper’s policies.

=> ↺ Social media post leads to 2 arrests, drug bust, seizure of guns

• The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office arrested two people Friday after one of the suspects posted video of himself committing a crime to social media, according to the sheriff’s office.

• On Thursday night, the sheriff’s office says road signs were shot on the west end of the bridge on CR 400 N, east of US 31.

=> ↺ White kid builds nuclear reactor and Homeland Security offers help

• Wilson, now 21 years old, later won $50,000 at a science fair for an anti-terrorism device he invented that can detect nuclear materials in cargo containers.

=> ↺ How Hungary’s Prime Minister Turned From Young Liberal Into Refugee-Bashing Autocrat

• Unshaven, without a tie, the young dissident surveyed the crowd before him. It was June 16, 1989, and 250,000 people had gathered in Heroes’ Square for the reburial of Imre Nagy, the leader of the failed 1956 revolution. Viktor Orban demanded that Soviet troops leave Hungary. Soon afterward, they did.

• “It proved to be the right sentence, because it was true and came from the people’s hearts,” Orban told me a decade later.

=> ↺ Hungary: New Border Regime Threatens Asylum Seekers

• Hungary’s new border regime denies access to asylum and exposes vulnerable people to violence and prosecution, Human Rights Watch said today.

=> ↺ British State Viciously Abuses Child Fantasist

• The sentencing of a 15 year old Blackburn boy – 14 at the time he committed his thought crimes – to life imprisonment is grossly inhuman. It is not quite as evil as the decision of the appalling Saudi regime to crucify and behead a child dissident, but it is recognisably a product of the same world view. History books will look back on this era as one of astonishing state cruelty.

=> ↺ Racism Works In the Tories

• That is why Theresa May is going today to give a bloodcurdling speech attempting to stir up racism against immigrants by saying they are making us poor and making our society less cohesive. She will even pander to the ludicrous notion that an economy is of a fixed size no matter how many people are in it, with a fixed number of jobs, so “they” are taking “our” jobs. Doubtless she will also outline yet more definitions of thought crime and new reasons to lock up young Muslims.

=> ↺ Hillary Clinton wants gun firms liable for shootings

• She proposes abolishing legislation that protects gun makers and dealers from being sued by shooting victims.

=> ↺ Rush Limbaugh Falsely Claims That 92 Percent Of Mass Shootings Since 2009 Have Occurred In Gun-Free Zones

Internet/Net Neutrality

=> ↺ ‘We Need Free Speech Protections Across All of Those Networks’

• CounterSpin interview with Tim Karr about efforts to undermine net neutrality

Intellectual Monopolies

=> ↺ Company hikes price 5,000% for drug that fights complication of AIDS, cancer

• A drug treating a common parasite that attacks people with weakened immune systems increased in cost 5,000% to $750 per pill.

• At a time of heightened attention to the rising cost of prescription drugs, doctors who treat patients with AIDS and cancer are denouncing the new cost to treat a condition that can be life-threatening.

Copyrights

=> ↺ Greek court says that it doesn’t matter whether the content you link to is lawful or unlawful

• Did you think that the story with hyperlinks and copyright was over?

• Of course it’s not.

• On the one hand, there is a new case currently pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union(CJEU): GS Media v Sanoma, C-160/15). This Dutch reference is seeking clarification as to how linking to content (leaked Playboy photographs in this case) freely accessible online, but which is communicated to the public without the consent of the copyright holder, should be qualified.

=> ↺ Intellectual Property? Why Words Matter In The Copyright Debate

• Language matters. Whether we get to keep our liberties or not depends on whether those liberties are generally named in positive words. The same thing goes for the privileges of corporations.

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