Linux Kernel Attracting More Developers

Category: Open Source
Posted: August 19, 2009 03:24PM
Author: Nick Harezga

The Linux kernel is one of the largest Open Source projects currently out there, with contributions coming from individual programmers to big corporations. The good news is that the number of contributors is increasing. A report published by the Linux Foundation indicates that the number of developers has grown by ten percent since the study done in 2008. Companies like IBM and Intel help make up the nearly seventy percent of contributions made by companies. With the number of developers contributing to the development of Linux, the various operating systems based on the kernel will continue to see improvements across all platforms.

Google Working Towards 3D Internet

Category: Open Source
Posted: July 26, 2009 07:04PM
Author: JifDaKiwi

The team at Google have begun working on their O3D plug-in which brings hardware 3D acceleration into Chrome. Right now, the team is focusing on integrating the new code into Chromium, the pre-stable, open-source build of Chrome. This opens up possibilities of not only decent web-based 3D gaming, but also adding a CAD-design program to Google's already formidable Google Docs suite, further bringing Google's vision of a cloud-computing based future one step closer. It is not expressly mentioned, but assumed that this plug-in will also be an integral part of Chrome OS.

Microsoft Releases Hyper-V Linux Drivers Under GNU GPLv2

Category: Open Source
Posted: July 20, 2009 03:40PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Microsoft is contributing 20,000 lines of source code to the Linux kernel relating to its' Hyper-V virtualization software. The move is intended to create greater compatibility for virtualized Linux on Windows based servers. Since it is being released under the GNU GPL, the code will now be part of the Open Source community and will be included on all Linux distributions as soon as it is integrated into the kernel. This is the first time Microsoft has contributed directly to Linux development, and is very exciting to people involved with Open Source. This is likely a move by Microsoft to take some market share away from VMWare, which controls a great deal of the virtualization market already.

USB 3.0 on Linux

Category: Open Source
Posted: June 11, 2009 06:50AM
Author: David Solymosi

Do you ever find yourself in an argument with fellow enthusiasts against how bad and slow Linux hardware support is? Well fret no more, you now have a new point to bring up. Linux drivers for USB 3.0 have been created, before the first USB 3.0 controllers are being mass produced. The drivers, under Sarah Sharp's name, will soon be added to the Linux kernel code, and will be officially supported sometime around September, which would probably make Linux the first operating system with official USB 3.0 support. Until then, we'll just have to make do with USB 2.0 and one-tenth the speed.

Developers Attempting to Bring Android to Ubuntu

Category: Open Source
Posted: May 27, 2009 03:34PM
Author: Nick Harezga

Developers at Canonical are working on creating an Android execution environment for the Ubuntu Operating System. With this development, users would be able to take advantage of the rapidly expanding pool of Android applications on their Ubuntu machines and perhaps other Linux distributions in the future. Some difficulties are currently being encountered due to the fact that despite being based on the Linux kernel, Android was built using a custom runtime environment from Google. A key to the success of the project is finding a way around the Android interprocess communication system. The source code for this hasn't been released yet, but will be soon in hopes that the community will be able to aid in the development.

Google Update Becomes Open Source

Category: Open Source
Posted: April 14, 2009 05:16PM
Author: David Solymosi

Google Update is a small program included with all Google software, which quietly checks for and downloads updates in the background. Now, the source code has been released under an open source license, allowing anyone to view and use it. Google says that they are releasing the code to help developers, and to make Google Update completely transparent. Yup, it's just an updater, not a key device for world domination.

More Businesses Use Open Source Software

Category: Open Source
Posted: April 12, 2009 07:59PM
Author: Brentt Moore

In a recent survey of 2,200 IT executives ranging from Germany, France the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, around forty six percent of those businesses involved used open source software or are planning on implementing it sometime this year. The main reason for the immense open source movement is due to the cost savings made instead of buying commercial software that technically does the same exact thing. Many programs found on the market have counterparts that are free for personal use, as well as commercial use, which aids businesses immensely. As of right now, France leads the adoption of open source software with a steady fifty eight percent, with Germany trailing behind with forty nine percent. According to the survey, the United Kingdom is the country lagging the slowest behind as far as open source adoption goes. Even past these statistics of adoption, one out of every three firms stated that they had no formal policy with open source software or coding.

Google Taking Applications For Summer of Code Program

Category: Open Source
Posted: March 26, 2009 04:24AM
Author: Nick Harezga

Google is once again taking applications for the Summer of Code program, which offers students the opportunity to work with a mentor and contribute to various open-source projects. The program will accept 1000 students, down from 1175 last year, and will reward those who complete their given project with up to $4500. Some projects that have been worked on in the past include the Linux Kernel and working with the Apache Foundation. This will likely provide a great chance to get your feet wet in the industry as well as make important contacts for when you graduate. If I wasn’t already working full time I’d certainly throw my name in the hat for this.

French Police Force Adopts Ubuntu Linux

Category: Open Source
Posted: March 12, 2009 05:40AM
Author: Nick Harezga

The national police force of France have begun to transition all of their workstations from Windows XP to Ubuntu Linux. The change was initiated after they decided that it would be easier to switch to Ubuntu than Vista. An initial test of 5,000 workstations showed that they would be able to cut costs without reducing their capabilities or efficiency. The police force has saved an estimated 50 million Euros since 2004 by making this switch along with switching some of their software to open source as well. They plan to finish the conversion of all 90,000 workstations by 2015. Perhaps the success of this program will inspire others to make the change as well.

Fedora 10 Released

Category: Operating Systems, Open Source
Posted: November 25, 2008 11:35AM
Author: Dale Shuck

The Fedora Project released Fedora Core 10 today that includes enhancements in the areas of virtualization management, boot time and security. The latest release also includes the Open Office 3.0 software suite. System admins will like the new remote virtual host and storage management features. Users can now share their Internet connections and machines can boot quicker using the new Plymouth graphical boot system. PackageKit, introduced in Fedora 9, has been updated to offer to search for codecs used to play media files when a user clicks on a multimedia file to open it. Other features include improved hardware support, support for a wider range of webcams and improved printing capabilities.

New Version of Ubuntu Released

Category: Operating Systems, Open Source
Posted: October 30, 2008 03:23PM
Author: Brentt Moore

Numerous alpha versions of the new Ubuntu have been looming around the Internet for multiple months. Many users have been anticipating the major release of Ubuntu 8.10 due to its many improvements in performance and usability, a brand new connection manager that contains 3G support, and the ability to put a bootable version of the Linux operating system onto a USB drive. Also included are guest sessions and a system cleaner application that will show any unneeded software packages that are on the computer that Ubuntu is installed on. As of today, both desktop and server editions are available for download from the official Ubuntu website. Both editions of 8.10 will continue to be maintained until the year 2010.

End of Security Updates for Firefox 2.0

Category: Software, Open Source
Posted: October 29, 2008 06:50PM
Author: Brentt Moore

Mozilla Corporation’s policy is to support a browser for six months after it has been replaced by a new version. Firefox 3.0 has been out for some time now, and version 2.0 has continually been updated with numerous security fixes; the last of which had patched fourteen vulnerabilities. But because of the policy that the corporation holds, Mozilla only plans to supply two more security updates to the aging browser. Mike Beltzner, the director of Firefox, stated that the plan for the end of development for version 2.0 is set for the latter part of December. He also noted that a large number of Firefox 2.0 users have already upgraded their browser to version 3.0. Firefox 2.0.0.19 will be the last release of the open source browser at the end of its life span.

 

Firefox 3 Beta 5 Released Today

Category: Internet, Open Source
Posted: April 2, 2008 12:41PM
Author: Chris Benjamin

Hey there, Firefox users - Mozilla announced today that Firefox 3's Beta 5 is now available for download.  New features in this release include - improvements in the user interface across multiple platforms, and alterations for new features like bookmark backup and restore, and full page zoom.  Also, core functions like security, web compatibility, and overall stability have been improved.  Beta 5 also incorporates changes aimed at improving speed, performance, and memory usage.  Interested users can download Firefox 3 Beta 5 - in 45 different languages - for Windows, OSX, and Linux.

News: Google Desktop goes Linux

Category: Internet, Open Source, General News
Posted: June 27, 2007 06:35PM
Author: Josh Jones

c|net - Google was set to launch late on Wednesday a beta version of Google Desktop search for Linux in a sign of encouragement by the search giant for Linux on the desktop. Google Desktop allows people to search the Web while also searching the full text of all the information on their computer, including Gmail and their Web search history. Because the index is stored locally on the computer, users can access Gmail and Web history while offline.

Article: Top Five Amarok Tips

Category: Software, Open Source
Posted: June 18, 2007 07:38PM
Author: airman

Techgage - Amarok is one of the best audio players for Linux, but there is a lot more it can do than just play your tunes. We are taking a look at our top five tips of things you can do with this amazing player.

News: New Google Linux Apps Coming Soon

Category: Operating Systems, Open Source, General News
Posted: June 17, 2007 04:29PM
Author: airman

[Phoronix] - In addition to Chris DiBona's words about NVIDIA and ATI binary display drivers, Google had also made an interesting splash at the first-ever Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit during a presentation by the Google Linux Client Team. What was it? Well, there are some "significant accomplishments" and other new Google desktop applications coming out this year for the Linux platform.

Article: IBM SVP Steve Mills: Open Source Is Inevitable

Category: Manufacturers, Open Source, General News
Posted: June 17, 2007 05:38AM
Author: Josh Jones

Tech News World - The [free] WebSphere Community Edition conforms to the Apache Geronimo standard, and we download more than 20,000 copies a week -- a week! The majority of users don't buy a maintenance contract from us. They are just happy to get a copy and do what they do, and they don't have to tell us what they are doing.

News: Firefox 3 (Alpha 5) Grand Paradiso available for download

Category: Internet, Open Source
Posted: June 7, 2007 07:30AM
Author: Josh Jones

Webware - Although it's not intended for public consumption, a new build of Firefox 3 Alpha 5 (code name Gran Paradiso) is available for download from Mozilla. In this release add-ons created for Firefox 2 may not work. For end users, Firefox 2 remains the latest public version. The final public release for Firefox 3 is not expected until the fall of 2007. Intended for developers and beta testers, Firefox 3 Alpha 5 features a new rendering engine. The Gekko 1.9 rendering engine will introduce some changes. For example, Firefox 3 will no longer support Windows 95, 98, and Me, and for the Mac OS X, versions 10.2 and earlier will not longer be supported. There will also be numerous changes made to the Document Object Model (DOM) in Gekko 1.9, which will affect developers more than end users. Also, there will be changes in the way Firefox renders frames within its display and the way object tags are handled, as well as changes in event threading.

News: Novell worries that GPL 3 could foil Microsoft pact

Category: Manufacturers, Open Source, General News
Posted: May 29, 2007 06:51AM
Author: Josh Jones

c|net - Novell is concerned that Microsoft could stop selling Suse Linux coupons if the third version of the General Public License remains in its current form. Its worries were aired on Friday in the delayed regulatory filing of its annual report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006. The 144-page document posted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Web site contained redacted versions of Novell's business, patent and technology agreements with Microsoft, which it signed in November 2006.

News: Red Hat CEO decries software patents

Category: Open Source, General News
Posted: May 22, 2007 05:48PM
Author: Josh Jones

c|net - Software patents are slowing innovation, Red Hat Chief Executive Matthew Szulik said Tuesday. "In the last 30 years, we've continued to see patents really being a challenge to innovation. The industry moves much faster than a remedy process," Szulik told hundreds of attendees at the Open Source Business Conference here. "There is very little empirical evidence that builds a correlation between patents and innovation." In an interview after the speech, Szulik said software patents "absolutely" retard the pace of innovation. But he stopped short of calling for their abolition, as have some of his colleagues in the free and open-source software movement. Instead, he urged reform of the patent process.

Guide: Hacking the Ubuntu Installation

Category: Operating Systems, Open Source
Posted: May 19, 2007 03:46PM
Author: Josh Jones

ExtremeTech - This is the first chapter in the ExtremeTech book Hacking Ubuntu: Serious Hacks Mods and Customizations. This feature explores options for installing and configuring devices in Ubuntu's installation process, including where to install Ubuntu, which variation to install, and what options to select that will impact system usability. Visit two of our previous features from this book: Hacking Ubuntu to Improve Performance and Making Ubuntu Usable.

News: NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) v3.4a Program Released

Category: Open Source, General News
Posted: May 12, 2007 06:51AM
Author: Josh Jones

MVKTech - We have has just released a new version of NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) software. NiBiTor is the original and definitive BIOS tweaker that supports the latest NVIDIA graphics cards, and which is updated on a regular basis. NiBiTor allows graphics card enthusiasts, or the hardcore overclockers to have full control over some advanced features and functionality found on firmware of supporting cards.

Article: The Best Extensions for Thunderbird 2.0

Category: Software, Open Source
Posted: April 24, 2007 05:48PM
Author: Josh Jones

XYZ Computing - The recent upgrade to Thunderbird 2.0 marked a nice evolution of the client and while it did not bring a lot of major changes it did include a few much needed tweaks. Between these changes and my general requirement of using as few extensions as possible I have found that Thunderbird does not need many extensions to get it set up properly. There are a few excellent ones out there that everyone should know about.

News:The New 'Matrix': The World of Second Life

Category: Internet, Gaming, Open Source
Posted: April 19, 2007 10:08PM
Author: Christopher Murphy

OCModShop - All we had to do is develop cheap, high-powered chips, build out an inexpensive to use, large-piped sensory path and let fertile, creative minds do the rest. SecondLife is the mash-up of personal/competitive gaming, multimedia PCs, Faith Popcorn’s projections on cocooning, interrelationships and…entertainment. To prove to Neo that we control the machines rather than their controlling us, SecondLife and similar virtual worlds have emerged. In many ways they are an extension, a dramatic enhancement of the power and capabilities of the Internet.

News: Ubuntu's 'feisty' spin on virtualization

Category: Operating Systems, Open Source, General News
Posted: April 16, 2007 08:19AM
Author: Josh Jones

c|net - The Ubuntu version of Linux is getting more virtualization-friendly, but in a different way than its top rivals. Canonical on Thursday is releasing Ubuntu 7.04, also known as Feisty Fawn, sporting two newer virtualization technologies. First is paravirt-ops, a layer that lets Linux get along better with the dominant virtualization software today, VMware. Second is KVM, which lets Linux run other operating systems as guests.

News: Tim O'Reilly: Web 2.0 Is About Controlling Data

Category: Internet, Open Source
Posted: April 13, 2007 05:32AM
Author: Christopher Murphy

Wired - It's not too late to get on the "web 2.0" bandwagon, says publishing magnate Tim O'Reilly, who coined the term. And if you're wondering what it takes to build a web 2.0 startup, O'Reilly has just the conference for you -- the Web 2.0 Expo.O'Reilly Media and CMP are co-hosting the conference, which runs April 15 to 18 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.Organizers expect between 7,000 and 10,000 people to check out the conference's 120 exhibitors and seven educational tracks, covering topics from the elementary (web 2.0 fundamentals) to the complex and critical (web operations). O'Reilly describes it as a "how-to conference for web 2.0 developers.

News: Cedega 6.0 Performance Preview

Category: Operating Systems, Gaming, Software, Open Source
Posted: April 11, 2007 05:45AM
Author: Christopher Murphy

Phoronix - For those new to Linux or the yet to be converts, Cedega is an application that emulates Microsoft's DirectX and allows the user to play a variety of games within Linux that otherwise wouldn't be possible. While Cedega is not completely open-source and requires a monthly subscription, it is based upon WINE. WINE, or WINE Is Not an Emulator, is a popular open-source Linux project that allows a PC with an x86 processor to run programs that were originally written for Microsoft Windows. WINE supports a variety of games but isn't designed solely for gaming and often lacks support for some of the newer DirectX titles.

Review: Cedega 6.0

Category: Operating Systems, Gaming, Software, Open Source
Posted: April 11, 2007 05:39AM
Author: Christopher Murphy

Techgage - The anticipated 6.0 version of Cedega is now upon us, and we are taking a look at what's new and notable. Updates include Shader Model 2.0 support, file optimizations and a larger games database with the additions of Oblivion and Need For Speed: Carbon. Is this the version Linux gamers everywhere have been waiting for?

News: Young Scientists Design Open-Source Program at NASA

Category: Internet, Open Source
Posted: April 9, 2007 12:50PM
Author: Christopher Murphy

Wired - NASA scientists plan to announce a new open-source project this month called CosmosCode -- it's aimed at recruiting volunteers to write code for live space missions, Wired News has learned. Members of the CosmosCode group have been meeting in Second Life and will open the program to the public in the coming weeks, organizers said.

News: Is the 'Web OS' just a geek's dream?

Category: Internet, Operating Systems, Open Source
Posted: April 9, 2007 05:18AM
Author: Christopher Murphy

c|net - Technically, so-called Web OS software still relies on an underlying operating system, like Windows or Linux, to translate a user's actions to hardware functions. But proponents of the Web OS or "Webtops" are bringing more end user computing into the Web browser, arguably making the choice of operating system less important.