Showing headlines posted by Scott_Ruecker

Earlier this week, the GNU project announced a major release of the popular GNU Compiler Collection. GCC 4.2.0 introduces new features and several improvements for developers, but most of the distribution developers we spoke with aren't rushing to take advantage of the new release.

Last week, Red Hat announced the release of three Liberation typefaces as free replacements for the Windows core fonts Arial, Courier New, and Times New Roman -- respectively, the leading sans serif, monospaced, and serif fonts in use today.

A chance encounter with a Linux-based laptop started South Carolina-based radio communications dealer Voicelink Communications on the path to replacing almost its entire range of Windows-based productivity and desktop software with free and open source software (FOSS).

Search Status is a great Firefox extension that provides a handful of additional information on any site you're visiting at the time, including the page's Google and Alexa rankings.

[I use this extension but Alexa's rankings are not as accurate as I would like. - Scott]

WordPress plugins abound for Google AdSense and other third-party text ad brokers, but what happens when someone wants to buy ad space directly from you, on a specific category page in your blog? You can easily add static HTML text ads to your category search result pages by creating category-specific page templates.

Every time you use Google you're using Linux. So says Google programs manager Chris DiBona in a wide ranging interview that also touches, naturally, on the Microsoft patent threats and what it means for businesses like Google.

After more than a year of active design and development ClearHealth 2.0 is about to lift off. A developer preview demonstration is available atdemo.clear-health.com but please note that it is a BETA pre-release edition of CH 2.0 undoubtedly with some rough edges remaining to be fixed. There will be a June 14th webex call to walk through the new features so please stay tuned for that information on ourforums. More details on new features in body.

May 14, 2007 -- Bellevue, WA -- ITTIA is further strengthening its ITTIA Database management software for embedded systems and devices with the release of version 2.0. ITTIA previews this new release at one of Japan’s largest embedded gatherings, ESEC -- Embedded Systems Expo and Conference. ESEC provides embedded developers with an opportunity to learn about exciting new technologies, such as ITTIA Database.

Two weeks ago, I heard that Progeny Linux Systems of Indianapolis had closed its doors for the last time. The end was a long-time coming – in fact, six years longer than I predicted. All the same, I paused last week for a bit of nostalgia. Working for the company in 2000-01 gave me my first sense of my potential and gave me a sense of self-worth at a time when I badly needed it.

Technalign on May 16 released the final version of Pioneer Stagecoach, a combined workstation and server Linux distribution based on Kubuntu. The distro sports a 2.6.17 kernel, the KDE 3.5.4 desktop, extensive support for multimedia, and Automatix, which simplifies installation and uninstallation of many popular applications.

Storage manufacturers are getting ready to start shipping solid state disks, and Linux-based devices like One Laptop per Child's XO and Intel's Classmate don't contain standard hard disks. To improve performance on the wide array of flash memory storage devices now available, project leader Jërn Engel has announced LogFS, a scalable filesystem specifically for flash devices.

For the next interview in the fortnightly People Behind KDE series we travel to North America for the first time this series to talk to an IRC veteran and the author of ground-shaking, in-depth promotional articles on the interesting road towards KDE 4 - tonight's star of People Behind KDE is Troy Unrau.

The rPath Linux project team this week announced updated release 1.0.6 of its rPath series, based on the groundbreaking Conary software management system. rPath Version 1.0.6 of the Xen-oriented distribution features a 2.6.19.7 kernel, along with the GNOME 2.12 desktop environment.

Intel recently released its PowerTOP utility, which builds on work done by kernel developers to make the Linux kernel power-efficient. PowerTOP gives you a snapshot of what apps are consuming the most power. Turn off these apps or modify their behavior, and you'll notice an instant increase in the battery life.

Following the attacks earlier this week by Microsoft on the free software movement the Free Software Foundation has set up a new activist wing to fight back.

BitTorrent clients are all over the place these days. One of the newcomers, FoxTorrent, is a fully functional cross-platform Firefox BitTorrent client created by Red Swoosh, a company that is now part of Akamai. What FoxTorrent lacks in features it makes up for in simplicity.

Mark Mitchell announced the availability ofGCC 4.2 saying,"GCC 4.2.0 is a major release, containing new functionality not available in GCC 4.1.x or previous GCC releases." He then linked theGCC 4.2 Release Series Changes, New Features, and Fixes document for more details as to what is new in this release.GCC is the GNU Compiler Collection which includes C, C++, Objective-C, Fortran, Java, and Ada compilers. Download GCC 4.2.0 from your nearest gcc.gnu.orgmirror.read more

Almost everything that can be said has been said about the latest moves by Microsoft to create Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) about Linux. Countless pundits and analysts have pointed out that Microsoft threats are toothless. Some have noted that Microsoft has singled out Linux and OpenOffice, the biggest threats to its monopoly on operating systems and office suites. Surely Microsoft could claim that the *BSDs infringe on similar patents if not the same ones. But the *BSDs do not pose as great a threat to the company. Others have pointed out that Microsoft would be insane to pull an SCO and sue its own customers. Still others have noted that IBM and/or OIN could respond to a patent war with a massive retaliation in patent infringement claims.

Clay Claiborne was an early Linux advocate, and his company, Cosmos Engineering, was one of the first computer builders to offer Linux-based PCs and servers. But Clay has never been as much about business as he's been about social activism. He cofounded the Linux Users of Los Angeles (LULA) group back in 1999, but lately he's dropped out of Linux activism and is spending most of his time on social (mostly ant-war) activism. He'll still happily build you a Linux-based entertainment center PC, but his current passion is making a Vietnam War video retrospective he hopes will help Americans remember how poorly that adventure ended, and how the experience we gained in Vietnam should should be applied to our occupation of Iraq.

Linux/Java has topped CEO Ed Zander's list of things to look for from Motorola as it attempts a financial turnaround, according to a story at LinuxDevices.com. At a New York press conference May 15, Zander introduced Linux-based "Rokr" and "Razr2" models, along with new top-level executives.