Ubuntu 11.11 Almost Here
Hard tohold on for 13 October? The second beta of Ubuntu 11.10 is available for download for those who are impatient. Ubuntu 10.11 will be released in October 13 but it is already possible to download the second beta. (more…)
Linux 3.0 Kernel – What’s New?
Twenty years after the Linux kernel was first released and eight years after Linux 2.6 arrived, we have arrived at Linux 3.0. What’s new in the latest kernel? (more…)
World’s Cheapest PC?
How cheap can a Linux computerbe? If we are to believe the English Foundation Raspberry Pi may be just £15 or roughly $25. This includes a circuit with an ARM processor, 128 megabytes of memory, a USB port and an HDMI port for the display. There will also be support for SD memory.
The computer, which also is one of the world’s smallest, is still at the prototype stage, but Raspberry think they may be for sale within a year. The OS is a stripped down version of Ubuntu 9.04. The computer should be able to run 1080p displays, capable of OpenGL and even touchscreens.
The price is just for the bare necessities though. You will have to “upgrade” it with a keyboard, monitor and USB hub, but the sticker price away is nevertheless the lowest we’ve seen so far. According to the Foundation these little machines are targeted for schools and institutes.
Via Linux Devices
News in OpenSuse 11.4
OpenSUSE is a community-driven Linux distribution sponsored by Novell. The technology in openSUSE usually finds its way into Suse Linux Enterprise Server and Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop eventually. Now OpenSuse 11.4 is available for download and there are lots of news.
In opensuse you can choose from several window managers, including KDE Plasma desktop 4.6.1, Gnome 2:32, Xfce 4.8 and LXDE. FreeType in openSUSE 11.4 will provide better-looking fonts. Opensuse 11.4 will also come with a preview of Gnome 3 due later this spring. (more…)
Ubuntu Moves to Wayland
Ubuntu is arguably one of the most popular, if not the most popular Linux distribution today. Ubuntu has managed to create a strong suite and built a professional organization that delivers new versions consistently on schedule and are distributing fresh and updated. (more…)
Intel and Nokia’s mobile Linux can now be used for phone calls
The new version of the mobile Linux variant MeeGo is now ready and have added an important feature: Phone calls and SMS messages. Nokia and Intel’s joint mobile Linux effort MeeGo is now available in version 1.1. The new edition has MeeGo example been a stack of new features that support mobile telephony.
Course it is right essential for an OS to be used, inter alia, mobile phones, but the first version of MeeGo had no support among other phone calls or SMS messages.
Customers plaintiff Apple: iOS operating system stinks
Apple, on purpose, made the operating system iOS 4 so bad for iPhone 3G users that they had to buy the new iPhone 4th That is the accusation in a new class action lawsuit against Apple in the U.S.
Since Apple launched version 4 of Mobile Platform IOS in June, it was not a happy day for the owners of an iPhone 3G. The new control system gave the tens of iPhone customers problems with lower speed and poor battery life. Matter drowned then suffered in the simultaneous launch of the iPhone 4, then the highly publicized antenna problems, but now it pops it back up.
In the U.S., namely Apple, now withdrawn in court by disgruntled customers who accuse the company to display all the problems within IOS 4 was launched. The writes PCmag.com .
Gmail Video Chat Now on Linux
One recurring issue that some have with Linux is the lack of video chat over different instant messaging protocols. Now it has at least been fixed in the Google service Google Talk, and you can video chat directly from Google Mail.
All you need to get started is to download and install the plugin necessary for Ubuntu and all other Debian-based Linux distributions. Support for the RPM package format used by Fedora among others will be available soon.
The code is however not free software. Google also writes that the software contains a patent-pending technology from Global IP Solutions and Vidyo, Inc. After the software is installed, you should be able to video chat via GMail, by starting a chat and call via the Video & More. Support is available for all major browsers. Firefox, Internet exporters, Safari and Google Chrome. More info/download here.
Amazon offers its own Linux cloud
Amazon is now launching its own Linux Cloud in EC2. It should provide an easy starting point to deploy Linux-based applications in Amazon’s cloud. The new Linux AMI (Amazon Machine Images), still in beta, comes in 32 – and 64-bit and is purified from unnecessary programs and services. Several packages can be added from a package repository which Amazon itself supplies from its storage service S3.
With the package comes the Ubuntu tool Cloudinit, which makes it easier to customize each instance after booting, including putting country code, hostname, generate SSH keys and set mount points. You can also run your own chosen commands and scripts by rebooting.
ZFS for Linux – Legal Issues Persist
ZFS is one of the best file systems for large volumes. So good, in fact, that NetApp opted to sue Sun Microsystems as they felt the technology was encroaching on a number of their patents. Zfs is owned by Oracle. ZFS has been released as open source, but due to incompatibility between the GPL and CDDL licenses, it can’t be distributed as part of the Linux kernel.
Some efforts have been made to run the file system outside the kernel’s address space in a concept is called FUSE (filesystem in userspace), but this means running it outside the kernel with large performance losses, making the solution less attractive.
However, now Phoronix reports that the company KQ Infotech is almost finished with a real port of ZFS to the Linux kernel, which means that the file system can operate at full speed. There’ only one hurdle to overcome – KQ Infotech code remains licensed under the CDDL, so the kernel module can not be distributed as part of the Linux kernel. The code must be distributed outside the Linux kernel and compiled separately. Distributing the code separately might cause problems with security or other updates of the Linux kernel.
The code is based on zfs pool 18, which is three versions old – in other words you will be missing out on all the goodies from the latest zfs pool 21. The plan is to release the code September 15. ZFS on Linux will only work if you have 64-bit operating system installed. There will be packages for Fedora 12 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux beta 2. Ubuntu users can also install the file system but will have to compile it on their own.
It remains to be seen what impact ZFS will have on Linux.
