LXer Weekly Roundup for 28-Feb-2010

LXer Feature: 28-Feb-2010 In this week's LXWR we have a Ubuntu fanboy who comes clean, A Windows metrics source lies about his identity, is Linux Distro-hopping a Thing of the Past?, SCALE 8x: Review Of My Road Trip To L.A. and a whole lot more.

10 things you should do to improve every new Windows PC: This document lists 10 enhancements you should make to every new Windows PC, no matter whether it is a workstation or the family media computer.

Confessions of an Ubuntu Fanboy: Hi, my name is Jim and I’m a recovering Ubuntu fanboy. The Urban Dictionary defines a fanboy as “a person who is completely loyal to a game or company regardless of if they suck or not.” In the past, I’ve been exactly that, and I think that a lot of other people in the Ubuntu community have been too. We’ve been loyal fans of Ubuntu, telling all our friends, blogging the praises of Ubuntu and Open Source Software, being quick to point out the faults of the evil Microsoft, and all this time overlooking whenever there’s a problem with our favorite operating system. Let me be clear, I’m still a huge fan of Ubuntu. I still think Linux is the best operating system on the market today, and that Ubuntu is a great choice for most people’s desktop computers. What I’m saying today is that I no longer want to be a fanboy!

Windows metrics source lies about identity : One of the more interesting people I've talked with in the last two years is a figment of his own imagination. "Craig Barth," the chief technology officer of Florida-based Devil Mountain Software, a company that makes and markets Windows performance metrics software, is, I have discovered, nobody. He doesn't exist. Barth is, in fact, a nom de plume, which is a fancy, French way of saying "alias." The real man behind the curtain is Randall C. Kennedy, a popular, sometimes outrageous blogger for and frequent contributor to Infoworld, a publication that like Computerworld is part of IDG. Kennedy's connection to InfoWorld was severed on Friday.

Linux frustrates!: I have heard of my geeky friends talking about this Linux stuff. I wasn't sure what it was so I asked them about it. Honestly, I thought they were trying to sell me some religion the way they jumped all over me trying to explain what Linux is. They did make some very good points though. I have always felt uncomfortable with using a pirated version of windows but I can't justify the expense of buying an original version. I am also tired of all the problems I have been having because of virus and spyware infestations. These Linux guys tell me that they don't have any problems with that stuff.

Microsoft-Amazon patent deal covers Kindle, Linux: Microsoft and Amazon.com have signed a wide-ranging patent cross-licensing agreement that provides each company with access to the other's patent portfolio. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but it was made clear that Amazon will be paying Microsoft an undisclosed amount of money as part of the arrangement. While Microsoft wouldn't say which of its products and technologies Amazon is interested in, Microsoft did mention that Amazon's Kindle, which employs open source and proprietary software components, as well as Amazon's use of Linux-based servers are covered.

Fedora Splits and Goes Faster: Red Hat's community Linux has undergone a major development change, with the bleeding edge Rawhide splitting off to become its own branch. A look at what this means, and why it matters.

Is Linux Distro-hopping a Thing of the Past?: Distro-hopping is easy and fun. Linux users distro-hop to solve problems and to try new software. But is it necessary? Haven't most Linux distributions reached a state of polish that makes distro-hopping unnecessary? Brian Proffitt wonders.

Use open source? Then you're a pirate!: There's a fantastic little story in the Guardian today that says a US lobby group is trying to get the US government to consider open source as the equivalent to piracy. The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), an umbrella group for American publishing, software, film, television and music associations, has asked with the US Trade Representative (USTR) to consider countries like Indonesia, Brazil and India for its "Special 301 watchlist" because they encourage the use of open source software. A Special 301, according to Guardian's Bobbie Johnson is: "a report that examines the 'adequacy and effectiveness of intellectual property rights' around the planet - effectively the list of countries that the US government considers enemies of capitalism. It often gets wheeled out as a form of trading pressure - often around pharmaceuticals and counterfeited goods - to try and force governments to change their behaviours."

Microsoft Takes Down Whistleblower Site, Read the Secret Doc Here: Microsoft has managed to do what a roomful of secretive, three-letter government agencies have wanted to do for years: get the whistleblowing, government-document sharing site Cryptome shut down. Microsoft dropped a DMCA notice alleging copyright infringement on Cryptome’s proprietor John Young on Tuesday after he posted a Microsoft surveillance compliance document that the company gives to law enforcement agents seeking information on Microsoft users. Young filed a counterclaim on Wednesday — arguing he had a fair use to publishing the document, a full day before the Thursday deadline set by his hosting provider, Network Solutions.

SCALE 8x: Review Of My Road Trip To L.A.: I was going to just cover the 2nd and 3rd days of SCALE 8x but after getting back home and sitting myself down in front of my favorite compy and started thinking about it, I figured I might as well go all out and give you a full recap of my road trip from Phoenix to Los Angeles for SCALE 8x and back.

How do I run a remote Linux desktop in Windows?: cently I wrote an article, How do I connect to a remote Windows 7 desktop from a Linux machine, and was asked to show how to do the same trick - the other way around. You might assume this trick to be a challenge. You will be surprised how little of a challenge it really is. But first off - you might be asking yourself “Why would I need this?” The answer is to use a single point of administration. How many times have you be scurrying around computers to try to resolve a problem only to have to waste time going back and forth. With the previous article you were given the means to connect from Linux to Windows. Now, with the ability to connect from Windows to Linux, you have all you need to make administrating from a central location much easier. And with that said, let’s get on with the setup.

Geek Girls Make a Point at Linux Conference: Mirano Cafiero and Saskia and Malakai Wade really do believe that in the future women will play a more prominent role in the world of high tech and computing. No, the record to date hasn't been good. But you can afford to be optimistic when you're 8, as Saskia is, or 12, as Mirano and Malakai are. Still, the girls aren't leaving anything to chance. Which is how they found themselves last week standing before a crowd of people giving a presentation during the Women in Open Source segment at the Southern California Linux Expo, one of the biggest open-source software conventions on the West Coast. They were there to be seen and heard, never mind the old admonition concerning children.