LXer Weekly Roundup for 13-Mar-2011

LXer Feature: 13-Mar-2011 In this week's LXWR we have Recovering from motherboard failures, dealing with no Max or Min buttons in Gnome 3, Linux From Scratch 6.8 is released and Dr. Tony Young gets some answers from inside KDE itself when Stuart Jarvis responds to his e-mails in Part IIII of his two part series..;-) Enjoy!

Moving beyond the Microsoft monoculture: For the last 15 years we have been living in a Microsoft monoculture, which has had very real knock-on consequences for everyone online – not just for users of its products. Today, though, that monoculture is fading away, to be replaced by something much more complex.

Why Pwn2Own doesn't target Linux: The annual Pwn2Own hacking challenge kicks off today, pitting security researchers against web browsers and mobile platforms. The HP TippingPoint sponsored event grows every year to include more platforms, though Linux isn't among them. Pwn2Own will target IE, Firefox, Safari and Chrome all running on Windows 7. Windows XP isn't on the target list and neither is Linux, for different reasons. I spoke with Aaron Portnoy, Manager of the Security Research Team at HP TippingPoint the other day and asked him why Linux wasn't being included. Apparently the question is among the most common questions he is ever asked about Pwn2Own.

Linux From Scratch 6.8 is released! Step-by-step instructions on how to build your own Linux-based OS from scratch: Linux from scratch6.8 is released, This release includes numerous changes to LFS-6.7 and security fixes. It also includes editorial work on the explanatory material throughout the book, improving both the clarity and accuracy of the text.

Recovering from motherboard failures, and clean computing: When last we left the scene, one server was dead, the desktop dieing. However, ordering two new motherboards was successful. They arrived from Magic Micro quickly and in good order, and it was time to clean things up and make two working machines. First, a note on cleaning. I am sick (and tired) of computer hardware that cannot be cleaned. Laptops that require being sent back to the manufacturers in order to be cleaned, things like that. I remember one call to Circuit City for a Sony Vaio laptop I owned, where the person who answered the phone simply did not understand what I meant when I said the fan needed to be cleaned.

Understanding Gnome 3 Without the min, max buttons: While you are waiting for the Gnome 3 impatiently for the April 2011 release, you could attempt peaking at new shell. Those who have had a go at it come away excited at the substantial changes. The desktop design is spanking new and definitely appealing. New intuitive messaging, without have to switch, that allows you to reply are some of the distinctive and immediately identifiable changes.

How a “Welded-to KDE3.5 User” Began a Move to KDE4.4 Part IIII: This is an addition to the series that was never at first envisaged. Indeed, within a recent thread (shown immediately below) and in my response to “hkwint”, I stated very clearly that I had absolutely no intention of writing further on KDE4, but this situation almost developed with a life of its own and I now think it needs to be brought out into the open for the LXer readers.

Newest openSUSE Linux Release Offers Rolling Releases: The newest release of Novell's openSUSE Linux debuts with LibreOffice, KDE 4.6, a zippy package management system and a new rolling release system that could eliminate the need for future big releases.=

Puppy Linux — could it replace Debian on my oldest hardware?: I’ve run Puppy Linux before. Many times. I started with Puppy 2.13 and still remember that release very, very fondly. I did the Lenny-to-Squeeze upgrade on my 12-year-old Compaq laptop by the book (the release notes, that is), and everything went perfectly well. I can’t get the new Grub to work, but it’s still chainloading to grub-legacy, so I can stick with that if need be. But my Xfce environment on this aging laptop isn’t ideal. If any machine was made for a low-spec live distribution like Puppy or TinyCore, this Compaq laptop is that computer.

HP's desktop plans for WebOS could flip PC market, say analysts: Many analysts are applauding HP's decision to place its Linux-based WebOS on all of its Windows-based PCs in 2012 as an alternative fast-boot distro, but some caution it could alienate Microsoft. The deployment will represent a huge leap forward for Linux on the desktop, albeit in a limited capacity -- and HP may be grooming WebOS for a bigger desktop role.