links for 2008-10-30

30 10 2008




links for 2008-10-29

29 10 2008
  • Today, Ryan C. Gordon alias "icculus", released a demo of Prey for Linux.
    Prey is a first-person shooter developed by 3D Realms and Human Head.
    The Client is running nativly and is network compatible to the MAC port. Unfortunatelly the demo network code is not compatible to the windows netcode. The full version will be.
  • Firstly, legitimate users are certainly losing out; prices raised up due to piracy (or using piracy as an excuse, as the case may be) leads to legitimate customers paying more to use the product; effectively meaning that they’re paying for pirates to use the software without paying a dime. But there’s also going to be an often unseen impact on FOSS developers; FOSS isn’t about generating revenue, but public interest and user support is the FOSS community’s lifeblood; if you choose to download a copy of MS Office 2007 instead of OpenOffice.org, OOo’s developers have lost a user, lost a supporter and possibly, lost a contributor. Louis Suarez-Potts, community manager for OpenOffice.org, has said as much himself.




links for 2008-10-28

28 10 2008
  • The Linux kernel is flexible, and you can even modify the way it works on the fly by dynamically changing some of its parameters using sysctl command. Sysctl provides an interface that allows you to examine and change several hundred kernel parameters in Linux or BSD. Changes take effect immediately, and there’s even a way to make them persist after a reboot.sysctl is used to modify kernel parameters at runtime. The parameters available are those listed under /proc/sys/. Procfs is required for sysctl support in Linux. You can use sysctl to both read and write sysctl data.Many of the tunable performance items can be configured directly by the kernel. The command sysctl is used to view current kernel settings and adjust them.




links for 2008-10-27

27 10 2008




links for 2008-10-26

26 10 2008




links for 2008-10-25

25 10 2008
  • You just want to know that your car will start, your movie will play in synch with the sound, your hotel room is ready and your flight or train will arrive on time. That's perfectly understandable, but here's the thing.

    One of the main reasons that all of those things happen, allowing you to go about your daily lives without a care in the world, is… Linux. Yes, Linux, that arcane computer operating system so beloved of beardy, bespectacled types. Let's examine my assertion in greater detail, starting with Singapore Airlines and something called KrisWorld. KrisWorld is not, as you may think, any relation to Wayne's World ­ though it is all about entertainment. KrisWorld is the in-flight entertainment system used by Singapore Airlines, offering video and audio on-demand for all passengers, whether in cattle class or master of the universe class.





links for 2008-10-23

23 10 2008




links for 2008-10-22

22 10 2008




links for 2008-10-21

21 10 2008
  • Furthermore, FOSS has powerful corporate patrons and allies. In 2005, six of them – IBM (Charts, Fortune 500), Sony, Philips, Novell, Red Hat (Charts) and NEC – set up the Open Invention Network to acquire a portfolio of patents that might pose problems for companies like Microsoft, which are known to pose a patent threat to Linux.

    So if Microsoft ever sued Linux distributor Red Hat for patent infringement, for instance, OIN might sue Microsoft in retaliation, trying to enjoin distribution of Windows. It's a cold war, and what keeps the peace is the threat of mutually assured destruction: patent Armageddon – an unending series of suits and countersuits that would hobble the industry and its customers.

  • TWO DAYS ago we explained why Microsoft had invaded Apache, its competitor. It’s about benefiting the Microsoft stack through various enhancements. Yesterday we showed Microsoft’s latest move toward Windows-isation of AMP, which is a strategy that Microsoft’s internal documents expose as well.
  • Miro is a free application for channels of internet video (also known as ‘video podcasts and video rss). Miro is designed to be easy to use and to give you an elegant fullscreen viewing experience.

    There are thousands of free internet video channels that you can watch. You’ll be able to download all the videos that each channel offers and when new ones are released, Miro will grab them automatically.

  • Looming attacks will soon pop the security bubble enjoyed by Linux and Macintosh users, according to Russian security expert Eugene Kaspersky.

    The co-founder of IT security company Kaspersky Labs said Linux and Mac users will be “easy targets” for hackers and malware writers over the next few years.

    “Modern operating systems are flawed by design,” Kaspersky said, “including OpenBSD”.

    “Mac and Linux are not as secure as [users] think; criminals pay no attention to them at the moment, but they will be vulnerable — easy targets.





NetBeans: 10 años

20 10 2008
10 años

¡¡¡ Feliz décimo cumpleaños para NetBeans !!!





¿Dormidos en una falsa burbuja de seguridad?

20 10 2008

Vía el RSS de LinuxToday.com me llegó un artículo que no puedo dejar de admitir que me inquietó. Sé que se esparce mucho FUD (fear, doubt and uncertainity; miedo, duda e incertidumbre) en contra de Linux, encargándose de eso Microsoft principalmente. Pero el involucrado no es sólo Linux sino contra otros dos sistemas UNIX/tipo-UNIX: Mac OS X y BSD. Se hacía, entre otras, las siguientes aseveraciones:

Looming attacks will soon pop the security bubble enjoyed by Linux and Macintosh users, according to Russian security expert Eugene Kaspersky. […]  “The problem is that customers design the operating systems (either within open source communities or via market demand) and they choose flexibility over security.” “Modern operating systems are flawed by design,” Kaspersky said, “including OpenBSD”. «Mac and Linux are not as secure as [users] think; criminals pay no attention to them at the moment, but they will be vulnerable — easy targets.» […] …the platforms will be increasingly targeted as more people migrate to them. […] “Users will always want to run whatever they want, whenever they want, regardless of security concerns.”

(Aparecerán ataques que reventarán la burbuja de seguridad que disfrutan los usuarios de Linux y Macintosh, de acuerdo al experto de seguridad ruso Eugene Kaspersky. […] «El problema es que los clientes diseñan los sistemas operativos (ya sea en comunidades de código abierto o por demanda del mercado) y eligen flexibilidad sobre seguridad». «Los sistemas operativos modernos son defectuosos en su diseño,» dijo Kaspersky, «incluyendo a OpenBSD». «Mac y Linux no son tan seguros como los usuarios creen, los criminales no les prestan atención por el momento, pero serán vulnerables, — blancos fáciles.» […] … las plataformas serán cada vez más atacadas conforme la gente migre a ellas. […] «Los usuarios siempre quieren ejecutar lo que quieren, cuando quieren, sin importarles las consideraciones de seguridad.»)

Mucho se ha discutido sobre la seguridad de sistemas abiertos como Linux o BSD, o de otros como Mac OS X. El modelo de software de código abierto nos lleva a la ley de Linus (Torvalds): Más ojos ven más errores y pueden ser corregidos más rápido, lo que supone superioridad en velocidad de corrección de fallos. Linux, BSD o Mac OS X son seguros ahora. El argumento de que hay pocos sistemas Linux y que por eso no hay tantas amenazas para él, se va al suelo. Prácticamente la Web entera corre sobre servidores Linux, entonces, ¿acaso no son objetivos más interesantes para los crackers?

Linux, BSD y Mac OS X, ¿blancos fáciles de ataque en los próximos años?

Linux, BSD y Mac OS X, ¿blancos fáciles de ataque en los próximos años? (Imagen de ComputerWorld.com.au)

Linux en el escritorio experimenta un crecimiento continuo, aunque no explosivo. Si hablamos de máquinas zombies, éstas son por lo general máquinas de escritorio: máquinas que corren Microsoft Windows en su mayoría. Las máquinas zombie son un problema innegable, son la causa de un gran porcentaje del spam que viaja por el Internet. Hasta ahora no se oye de máquinas zombies con Linux. Pero al masificarse su uso, ¿los criminales informáticos podrían interesarse en esa nueva parte del mercado?

La variedad es buena, como dice la página que expone las razones de la existencia del proyecto Wine. Aunque en dicho documento expone esta idea como respaldo a usar ciertas aplicaciones Windows sobre Wine en Linux, yo diré lo mismo en cuanto a distribuciones Linux. Hay un extenso abanico de ellas para escoger. Esto es un punto a favor para evitar que software malicioso, diseñado para un sistema, se ejecute sin éxito en otro.

La prudencia es otra aliada en mantener la seguridad de cualquier sistema. No ejecutar software de dudosa procedencia, programas crackeados, como sucede usualmente en Windows. El software libre no necesita de cracks, se da libre y su código se puede revisar. Cualquier intento de hacer una jugada sucia puede ser detectado.  Pero sucede esto: Los usuarios siempre quieren ejecutar lo que quieren, cuando quieren, sin importarles las consideraciones de seguridad.”. La comunidad de Linux no sólo se centra en la funcionalidad, la seguridad es algo que ha tenido y tiene en cuenta. Debemos reforzar esa cultura en todos los usuarios, porque ante el inevitable crecimiento de Linux, llegarán a usar este sistema muchas personas sin nociones de seguridad, que no tienen cuidado con lo que instalan, que cometerán los mismos errores que cometen en Windows. Al final, si quieren lo harán. Iniciarán sesión como root en modo gráfico, usarán sudo y su para obtener derechos de administrador, e instalar cualquier programa que les exija estos derechos para instalarse. Y esos programas bien podrían ser spyware, troyanos, rootkits o virus.

Personalmente creo que las afirmaciones de Kaspersky no son del todo alarmistas. Nuestra comunidad de software libre no puede quedarse «dormida en los laureles». Tenemos miles de personas inteligentes, creyentes en que la libertad del software es una alternativa completamente válida, tenemos gente convencida, abierta y trabajadora en su apoyo a las causas del software libre, gente como Mark Shuttleworth (patrono del proyecto Ubuntu), Linus Torvalds y su Kernel Team (creadores del Kernel de Linux), Richard M. Stallman (padre del proyecto GNU), John Carmack (programador de videojuegos en id Software, apoya al software libre e incluso se ha manifestado en favor de APIs libres como OpenGL en lugar de Microsoft DirectX), Édgar David Villanueva (político peruano, escritor de una famosa carta que expone razones de peso en contra de afirmaciones poco fundadas de Microsoft Perú en contra del software libre), y muchos otros. Tenemos gente que defiende el software libre, gente que puede hacer que sistemas operativos y aplicaciones de esa línea sean las mejores y más seguras, gente que puede demostrar que no se va a sacrificar la seguridad, y que se llegará a un equilibrio con la flexibilidad.

Tenemos todo lo necesario para lograrlo. Empecemos de a poco. Podemos proteger nuestros sistemas con firewalls, cierre de puertos, escaneado de mensajes de correo, y sobre todo, teniendo cuidado con el software al que le abrimos la puerta en nuestro computador. Podemos reportar fallos de seguridad, y quienes tenemos habilidades de programación, podemos ayudar a arreglarlos. Que las afirmaciones de Kaspersky se las lleve el viento, y que sólo hayan servido como catalizador de mejoras, y no como fuente de confusión y temor.





links for 2008-10-20

20 10 2008
  • 've had several people ask me what I think the best, top, most user friendly, ultimate, and so on distribution is–so now I'm publishing my Top 10 Linux Distributions in reverse order of preference. Ease of installation, commercial support, community support, updates, administrative tools, stability, performance, and to a lesser extent–their ranking on DistroWatch.com.
  • Este popular documental trata sobre la historia de GNU/Linux y el open source, comienza narrando los comienzos del movimiento open source (con el proyecto GNU y Richard Stallman) hasta cuando GNU/Linux entro en bolsa, es un documental en el que prácticamente la historia es narrada mediante entrevistas a personas como: Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds, Eric Raymond y muchos otros personajes importantes, no tiene desperdicio ninguno, un documental que todo aficionado a la informática y al software libre debería ver.
  • We have declined to discuss any agreement with Microsoft under the threat of unspecified patent infringements. Allegations of “infringement of unspecified patents” carry no weight whatsoever. We don’t think they have any legal merit, and they are no incentive for us to work with Microsoft on any of the wonderful things we could do together. A promise by Microsoft not to sue for infringement of unspecified patents has no value at all and is not worth paying for. It does not protect users from the real risk of a patent suit from a pure-IP-holder (Microsoft itself is regularly found to violate such patents and regularly settles such suits). People who pay protection money for that promise are likely living in a false sense of security.
  • Now that we understand how Microsoft may plan to embrace and extend (in hopes of extinguishing) Free software, it is pretty much established that ignorance about this issue must be addressed. It’s imperative to inform.
  • This article is part of the ongoing Productivity Tips for Geeks series. cd is one of the most frequently used command during a Unix session. In this article, I’ve provided 6 cd command hacks, which will boost your productivity instantly and make it easier to navigate the directory structure from command line.
  • The Sun Report Builder extension adds powerful reporting capabilities to OpenOffice.org Base, and using it to create reports is easy, as we can see with a simple example. Suppose you're a freelance writer, and you want to keep track of your submissions using a simple OpenOffice.org Base database that stores article titles, publications, submission dates, current status, and payment rates. This is a useful solution, but adding reporting capabilities turns the database into a handy analytical tool. With Sun Report Builder you can generate a list of articles grouped by publication, shows the sum of article payments, and displays a chart of payments for each publication.
  • Follow these easy steps to install any Linux OS using only a USB stick:
  • Estas últimas semana la comunidad ha estado creciendo y por tanto el trabajo relacionado a la comunidad y los contratos de suscripción a servicios también. Así mismo, de a poco se empieza a popularizar la marca EQaula, pero hay un problema, no hay un común a la hora de pronunciar esta palabra. Por eso dedicaré este post a describir el genesis del nombre.
  • Alice is an innovative 3D programming environment that makes it easy to create an animation for telling a story, playing an interactive game, or a video to share on the web. Alice is a freely available teaching tool designed to be a student's first exposure to object-oriented programming. It allows students to learn fundamental programming concepts in the context of creating animated movies and simple video games. In Alice, 3-D objects (e.g., people, animals, and vehicles) populate a virtual world and students create a program to animate the objects.
  • Welcome to the home of InfraRecorder on the internet!

    InfraRecorder is a free CD/DVD burning solution for Microsoft Windows. It offers a wide range of powerful features; all through an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration.

    InfraRecorder is released under GPL version 2.

  • Fall is the time when high school seniors start to think about college choices. Some lucky few (like me), have to decide only which engineering college they will go to. Others, more perplexed, are trying to decide what profession, if any, they should pick. They are aware that their entire future hinges on this decision; in the casual way of 17-year olds, they don't let that bother them much.

    At times like these, my wife frequently suggests information technology as a possible career choice. I am more hesitant to do so. I've discovered over the years that it's no favor to turn someone into a software developer. If it's not something they choose from the start, with their own eyes open, then should they really be doing this kind of work? Are good programmers born, or made?

  • Even people who don't live and die by their mobile phones sometimes need to send SMS messages. Did you know you can do that from your computer?

    Likewise, it's easier to clean your mobile phone of all the numbers you've not been dialing in the last few years using a mouse, rather than navigating repeatedly through the phone's menu system. Here are some Linux tools that can help you manage your cell phone.

  • Decided to try the new Skype client for Linux. As usual I hit the hurdle of “no 64-bit binaries” 😦

    I went to medibuntu to get the 64-bit variants they do and found that they’ve not done v2 ones yet.





links for 2008-10-19

19 10 2008




links for 2008-10-14

14 10 2008




links for 2008-10-13

13 10 2008
  • I’ve often seen Linux users on forums link to “How To Ask Questions The Smart Way” by Eric Raymond in response to “dumb questions” asked on the forums. I’m not sure this is the best link to refer people to. The tirade is quite wordy and will bore the “noob” who is “too dumb” to ask questions well. It also assumes the people from whom you’re asking help are “hackers” and that you’re most likely contacting these hackers through a mailing list.
    (tags: ubuntu linux help)
  • I'd like to take a moment of your time to discuss a recent disturbing trend the staff has been noticing on the forums, and also take this as an opportunity to raise awareness of this situation through education.

    We've recently had an increase in the number of dangerous commands being posted on the forums. Don't pretend you don't know what I mean — commands that cause massive damage or disruption to the user's computer.

  • In light of a recent thread by a user who felt misled by Linux zealots, I thought it appropriate to create a thread to avoid misleading potential users. I'm telling it straight here.

    I'm talking to you, potential user. You've used Windows almost all your life. You think you know a little bit about computers. Maybe you know a lot… about Windows computers. Thought you'd give the most popular distro on DistroWatch a chance, eh? Well, let's see if Ubuntu's the right choice for you.

  • I think it rather makes sense that new forum members assume that the Ubuntu Forums (they are the official forums, after all) would be a channel for talking to the people responsible for Ubuntu. This is not the case, though, at all–the forums are separate from Canonical, and they're run entirely by volunteers (other Ubuntu users).
    (tags: ubuntu help)
  • Sometimes people, especially frustrated newcomers, twist the Ubuntu slogan "Linux for Human Beings" to mean "Linux that can be installed on any machine configuration in the world and work perfectly right away without any configuring."

    There are a few problems with this misinterpretation of the slogan.





links for 2008-10-12

12 10 2008
  • Great work has been done by the Mozilla and Nokia mobile browser teams. As result we have a working Qt port based on the latest Mozilla trunk 1.9.x.

    The port is fully compatible with the official Qt 4.4 release. It is also ready to run Firefox3.x and the TestQEmbed reference UI:





links for 2008-10-11

11 10 2008




links for 2008-10-09

9 10 2008




links for 2008-10-08

8 10 2008




links for 2008-10-07

7 10 2008