LXer Weekly Roundup for 02-Nov-2008

LXer Feature: 02-Nov-2008 In this week's Roundup we have a slew of articles about Ubuntu and Canonical, Linus learns to take personally, our own Sander Marechal reports on T-DOSE 2008, PC makers move closer to a post-Windows world and Carla Schroder asks if Linux does enough for small business.

In this week's Roundup we have a slew of articles about Ubuntu and Canonical, Linus learns to take personally, our own Sander Marechal reports on T-DOSE 2008, PC makers move closer to a post-Windows world and Carla Schroder asks if Linux does enough for small business.

Features I’d Like to See in Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope): It is very frustrating when you don’t know every programming language (I’m a PHP guy). There are so many things I’d like to change in Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex (it is still a great Linux OS), but don’t have the time/knowledge to do. I am very active in promotion, but maybe someone who knows his stuff will read this list of ideas for inspiration.

Four layout extensions for OpenOffice.org Writer: OpenOffice.org Writer is as much a desktop publishing program as a word processor. That fact, however, has yet to have much influence on the extensions created for Writer -- perhaps because most users prefer manual formatting to organizing themselves with page styles, templates, and other elements of document design. Still, extensions for layout are starting to appear, as demonstrated by four extensions that help you automate layout: Alba, which manages page orientation; Pagination and Pager, which manage page numbering; and Template Changer, which allows you to change the template, and therefore the entire layout of documents, on the fly. And all but one of these extensions use styles and templates, the way that OpenOffice.org is built to work, which means that they are highly stable.

Is It Worth Sacrificing $300 Million to Go Open Source?: What does it take for an established “closed” vendor to shift midcourse and adopt an open-source model? Well in the case of Nokia and its pending acquisition of smart phone operating system maker Symbian, the cost may be $300 million a year. That’s how much Symbian earned in royalties last year from sales of its Symbian OS to handset manufacturers, said Nigel Clifford, CEO of Symbian, who spoke at the Symbian Smartphone Show here on Oct. 21.

Ubuntu 7.04 to 8.10 Benchmarks: Is Ubuntu Getting Slower?: With the release of Ubuntu 8.10 coming out later this week we decided to use this opportunity to explore how the performance of this desktop Linux operating system has evolved over the past few releases. We performed clean installations of Ubuntu 7.04, Ubuntu 7.10, Ubuntu 8.04, and Ubuntu 8.10 on a Lenovo ThinkPad T60 notebook and used the Phoronix Test Suite to run 35 tests on each release that covered nine different areas of the system. After spending well more than 100 hours running these tests, the results are now available and our findings may very well surprise you.

Desktop data management needs re-think, says Shuttleworth: Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth says that the PC desktop is facing a new revolution in the way that information is managed and that he hopes that free software will lead the way. In a recent posting on his blog Shuttleworth says that “there’s a revolution coming as we throw out the old ‘files and folders’ metaphor and leap to something new, and it would be phenomenal if free software were leading the way.”

Canonical is not cash flow positive: Ubuntu Founder Mark Shuttleworth admitted today his company is not cash flow positive. That's despite the fact that Chris Kenyon, director of business development at Canonical told me that Canonical has 8 million users and growing revenues. On a conference call with press and analysts today, Shuttleworth said some really amazing things about his business and it's lack of currently profitability and his view that the money isn't on the Linux desktop.

Linux Reaches Out To Portland - Lindependence 2008: o...what happened. Initially we were swamped. People came through the door and converged on the rooms. In fact, it took most of the volunteers by surprise. Quickly adjusting, we were able to answer the many questions thrown at us and gladly demonstrated, and in many cases installed Linux on the spot. There are lessons for US to learn however...

5 Simple APT Tricks for Debian and Ubuntu: Here are five simple tricks for APT, the Advanced Packaging Tool used on Debian and Debian-based distributions like Ubuntu.

Torvalds: Real quality means taking it personally: The Linux Foundation (LF) has posted a ten-minute video interview with kernel coordinator Linus Torvalds. Held during the Linux Foundation's recent Linux Kernel Summit, the interview reveals the Linux founder speaking out on issues ranging from kernel/userland interactions to why Linux has so many interfaces.

The netbook newbie's guide to Linux: This is a series about the Linux OS on netbooks, but we need to remind ourselves that these devices aren't personal computers. The personal computer is a machine you work on. Netbooks are essentially machines you work through, out into the Cloud. It shouldn't matter what the operating system is. Or the hardware. Ideally, all your apps and your data are 'out there' in the Cloud, independent of any hardware or software you might use to access them. But design goals seldom accurately second guess the actual use to which things like these are put. We are treating these netbooks as low-cost PC - we are messing with the operating system and expecting to tailor them to our individual requirements.

50+ Resources For Your Linux Setup/Desktop/Machine/Brain: I'd like to show you some of the links I gathered in the past to make my Linux Desktop look Cooler. And by Jean-Luc Picard, what a wondrous list it is! There are also short description, where deemed necessary. My favorites are in bold letters.

T-DOSE 2008 Review: This year was the third installment of the Technical Dutch Open Source Event (T-DOSE). Just as last year it was held at the Fontys University of Applied Science in Eindhoven. Speakers included Arnoud Engelfriet (European patent attorney) and Ywein van den Brande on GPLv3 compliance, Roy Scholten (Drupal), Bas de Lange (Syllable), Jean-Paul Saman (VideoLan), Jörn Engel (logfs), Bert Boerland (Drupal), Tim Hemel (TMTTD) and many, many other speakers. Unfortunately your editor was only able to attend on Sunday, but the talks were great.

PC makers move closer to a post-Windows world: In January, Hewlett-Packard will introduce a glossy black mini-laptop at retail for a mere $379. When it does, it will become the first major computer maker this decade (besides Apple, of course) to push a non-Windows PC in stores. This Linux-based version of the HP Mini 1000 will not slay Microsoft (MSFT) Windows. But it will add to a growing sense that the iconic operating system’s best days are behind it.

Tutorial: Graphical Remote Control Desktops for Linux: A. Lizard takes us on a tour of secure remote graphical Linux administration over the Internet; through firewalls, routers, dynamic home IP addresses, Wake-on-LAN, and other perils. We will learn how to securely administer both Linux and Windows remotely. The journey begins with today's part 1 of three parts.

Keep Tab On Home Security With A Webcam And Twitter: Worried about someone breaking into your house in your absence? Or just need to keep a tab on who enters your room while you are away? Well, all you need is a webcam, a linux PC/laptop and a twitter account. And you are set for real time updates through twitter about all that goes on at your abode behind your back (can even receive a text message/sms on your phone). Keep reading for the very simple setup you need.

Ubuntu Brings the BBC to Linux: You might the recall the ongoing uproar over the BBC's dissing of its non-Windows-using viewers, its defective math on how many Linux users were among their viewers, the nasty DRM-encumbered iPlayer, and their general bad attitude about being willing to buy into DRM-restricted streaming media, even though they are a publicly-funded broadcaster...But thanks to FOSS (as always) there is a silver ray in the gloom-- Ubuntu 8.10 includes the Totem BBC Plugin.

Does Linux Deliver For Small Businesses?: The answer is Yes, it does, though with some qualifications. The short answer: it's all in the implementation. The long answer starts with taking a look at Canonical's successes in opening new doors for Linux deployments.

Features I Love on Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex: I love using some the newer features on the Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex desktop. Guest session, wireless detection, improved assisted technologies, create encrypted folders, tabbed file browsing, cruft remover and more.