We Linux users are spoilt; we benefit from using free and open source software every day. Now Windows users can once again* benefit from it more, with the launch of the VALO-CD (VALO is the Finnish acronym for Free & Open Source Software. Ed.) VALO-CD contains all the best free and open source programs for […]
Earlier today, your ‘umble correspondent (are you really a letter writer composed entirely of deer offal? Ed.😉 ) received the email below from the Free Software Foundation. In December, Microsoft apparently conceded to public pressure by quietly updating the Windows 8 logo certification requirements with a mandate that a desktop computer user must be able […]
The H-Online reports that Coverity’s latest Coverity Scan Open Source Report has found that the quality of open source code is equal to, or even better than that of proprietary software. All told, Coverity analysed over 37 million lines of code from 45 of the most active open source projects of 2011 and also examined […]
Greeklug, the Greek free software advocacy group, has donated a free and open source software computer lab to a children’s shelter in the village of Filyro, north of Thessaloniki, Joinup reports. Apart from providing installation and hardware, the group is also organising training courses for the children. “We contacted the orphanage, offering our expertise, our […]
One the frequent criticisms made by lovers of free and open source operating systems is the great difficulty of buying hardware either with Linux pre-installed or that doesn’t involve paying the ‘Microsoft Tax‘ (i.e. a common complaint from those who want to purchase a computer without a copy of Windows pre-installed and without paying extra […]
When the chief scribe first starting using Linux regularly some years ago, he ventured slightly further than the usual Gnome and KDE desktops, occasionally getting to grips with the slightly more esoteric WindowMaker window manager. Slashdot now reports that a new team of developers has recently resumed development of WindowMaker. The new development team has […]
Canonical, the company behind the popular Ubuntu Linux distro, has announced the introduction of the Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix. Based on Ubuntu 11.10, Ubuntu Business Desktop Remix is now available for corporate and government institutions evaluating Ubuntu as a desktop system. The combination of Ubuntu’s ease of use, outstanding free software applications, certified commercial apps […]
Yesterday Jono Bacon published a blog post inviting people around the world to organise events for this year’s Ubuntu Global Jam, which is being held from 2nd – 4th March. The Ubuntu Global Jam is a worldwide fun event that’s a great way to meet other Ubuntu and free software enthusiasts. Event organisers will need […]
PC World reports that KDE developer Aaron Seigo revealed over the weekend that a 7-inch Linux tablet named “Spark” will soon be available with KDE Plasma Active tablet interface as its default user interface. It will be priced at €200 or approximately £167 in real money. 😉 The Spark tablet’s specification will comprise a 1GHz […]
Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has developed a web page for testing the distro, according to Le Monde Informatique. Written entirely in HTML, this page allows potential Ubuntu users to discover and work with the Unity interface, which has received hefty criticism from users of more traditional desktops. As some people are […]
One of the accusations erroneously levelled against Linux is that there is a paucity of games for the platform. Well, the splendid little sampler video below courtesy of ChemBroTronNo1 may just help to dispel that illusion. Hat tip: Ubuntu Vibes
Spain’s Publico recently reported (Spanish) that the autonomous regional government of Extremadura is planning to move all 40,000 of its desktops to Debian Linux. In taking this step, Extremadura would be the leading Spanish public sector organisation for the use of free software, followed by Andalucia, País Valencià and Madrid. It is hoped the migration […]
Ubuntu Vibes reports that the Desura game client has been open sourced. Progress on work to release the client as open source was slow as lead developer ‘lodle’ was taking a break. However, all the necessary work has now been completed and Desura has been open sourced as Desurium, with the code available GPL v3. […]
Courtesy of OMG Ubuntu and OpenSure, news reaches the lab of the Ben NanoNote, the world’s smallest Linux laptop. From manufacturers Qi Hardware, we learn that the NanoNote “is an ultra small form factor computing device. The device sports a 336 MHz processor, 2GB of flash memory, microSD slot, head phone jack, USB device and […]
Regular readers will remember that we had a visit from journalist Jonathan Edwards (news passim) which ultimately resulted in Bristol Wireless being the subject of a four-page feature in the Christmas 2011 edition (issue 158) of Linux Format (news passim). For those who did not take our above advice and go and buy that edition […]
But who said it? According to Joinup, it was Christian Ude, the Mayor of Munich, whose local authority is a European leader in the deployment of open source by the public sector in general and local authorities in particular. It was said in a letter to Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the EU Commission, a great […]
In what could be interpreted move to increase the amount of open source software used in academia (or just public sector miserliness. Ed.), Portugal’s Ministry of Education has advised the country’s schools not to renew their licences for proprietary operating systems and office applications. The ministry, in its letter addressed to all schools in October, […]
It’s been an interesting day in the lab. Your correspondent arrived early in the lab and found Rich and Acesabe getting ready to out on a cabling job, running Cat6 round a new office for a client. After a while Jim turned up, followed shortly after by Chris, our newest volunteer. It’s interesting working with […]
As the council in our home city moves away from its previous open source office suite (Star Office) to the dark side (aka Microsoft Office. Ed. ), news reaches the blogmeister’s inbox via the Free Software Foundation Europe reporting on the experience of Helsinki City Council. City officials in Helsinki, Finland, are overwhelmingly satisfied after […]
To answer the question in brief, it’s a codename. Codenames are a common fact of life in information technology; everyone large and small uses them. For instance, the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution names its releases after animals preceded by an adjective (see list), whilst the venerable Debian, from which many distros take their inspiration (and […]