57451079
submission
BlazeMiskulin writes:
With XP approaching end-of-life, I find myself in a situation that I'm guessing is common: What to do with Mom's machine (or "grandma's machine" for the younger of you). Since a change has to be made, this seems like a good time to move to a Linux distro.
My mother (82) uses her computer for e-mail and web-browsing only. I know that any distro will be able to handle her needs. I've been using Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, and Redhat--usually with KDE interface) for about 10 years now, but I know that my preferences are quite different from hers.
I have my own ideas, but I'm curious what others think: What combination of distro and UI would you recommend for an old, basic-level user who is accustomed to the XP interface and adverse to change?
57450481
submission
sfcrazy writes:
It’s Christmas time for KDE Software users, the team has just announced the first beta of the 4.13 versions of Applications and Development Platform. This release also marks a freeze on APIs, dependencies and features so the team will now focus on hunting down bugs and polish it further.
57387583
submission
JDG1980 writes:
Krita, an open-source graphics editor, has been around since 2005, but no stable version existed for Windows users — until today. With the release of Krita 2.8, full and stable support for Windows users is finally a reality, thanks to input from KO GmbH and Intel. Krita brings some things to the table that GIMP does not: 16 bit per channel color support, adjustment layers, and a name that won't set off red flags at HR, just to list a few. You can download the Windows version here. Might be worth looking into, if you're tired of the lack of progress on GIMP and don't want to pay monthly "cloud" fees to Adobe.
56918527
submission
sfcrazy writes:
Ivan takes a brief look at the various gaming options available to GNU/Linux users. The writer gauges what benefits and drawbacks you can run into when it comes to these options. This isn’t meant to be completely exhaustive, but rather a good introduction, if you are new to Linux or to the concept of Linux gaming in general. As such, we’ll be covering four primary sources.
56917317
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Sailfish, the Linux-based mobile operated system developed by Finnish devicemaker Jolla, has reached version 1.0. Sailfish is the result of several failed or interrupted projects to bring a new, major Linux-based platform to mobile devices. It's already runnings on phones sold in India and Russia, but more importantly, Sailfish was designed to be easily ported to existing Android devices. It's also built to support many Android apps. Jolla will begin providing complete firmware downloads during the first half of the year.
56856863
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Canonical has announced bq and Meizu as their first partners to ship their new Ubuntu converged Operating System.
"Canonical today announces it has signed agreements with mobile device manufacturers bq (www.bqreaders.com) (Spain) and Meizu (China) to bring Ubuntu smartphones to consumers globally. Canonical is working with these partners to ship the first Ubuntu devices on the latest hardware in 2014. Ubuntu has also received significant support from the world’s biggest carriers, some of which intend to work with OEM partners to bring phones to market this year".
56856035
submission
Karl Cocknozzle writes:
In a statement issued today, FCC commissioner Tom Wheeler announced that the commission will begin a rule-making process to re-impose Net Neutrality, which was recently struck down in Federal court. Among the standards Wheeler intends to pursue are vigorous enforcement of a requirement for transparency in how ISPs manage traffic, and a prohibition on blocking (the "no blocking" provision.)
Which seems like exactly what neutrality activists have been demanding: Total prohibition of throttling, and vigorous enforcement of that rule, and of a transparency requirements so ISPs can't try to mealy-mouth their way around accusations that they're already throttling Netflix. Even before the court decision overturning net neutrality, Comcast and Verizon users have been noting Netflix slowdowns for months.
56854197
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Mark Shuttleworth just had a conference call with the press where he mentioned Ubuntu phones will ship in 2014 and their hardware launch partners are BQ in Europe and Meizu in China. The devices will ship in 2014 and by the time there's devices shipping, the hope is to have the top 50 Android and iOS apps available on Ubuntu.
56852919
submission
hypnosec writes:
The Linux Foundations’ 2014 Linux Jobs Report reveals that Hiring managers are looking for professionals with Linux skills with increasing number of organisations the world over considering Linux as a core part of their businesses. The 2014 Linux Jobs Report provides a comprehensive view of career landscape in Linux right from business needs to personal incentives and job motivations that attract Linux professionals. The report comprises of views from 1,100 hiring managers and 4,000 Linux professionals. Seventy-seven percent of surveyed hiring managers have revealed that they are prioritising hires for those positions what involve Linux openings as compared to other jobs with 90 percent stating that they are planning to hire Linux professionals in the next six months. When it comes to Linux professionals, 86 percent of those surveyed revealed that Linux had helped them advance their careers. From the report it can be concluded that Linux jobs really are the best around.
56849775
submission
sandbagger writes:
The Intercept recently published an article and supporting documents indicating that the NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ surveilled and even sought to have other countries prosecute the investigative journalism website WikiLeaks. GCHQ also surveilled the millions of people who merely read the Wikileaks website. The article clarifies the lengths that these two spy organizations go to track their targets and confirms, once again, that they do not confine themselves to spying on to those accused of terrorism.
56828781
submission
vinehair writes:
At the Conservative Party Conference, UK Home Secretary Theresa May stated that the party is prepared to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR.) "The next Conservative manifesto will promise to scrap the Human Rights Act. It's why Chris Grayling is leading a review of our relationship with the European court [of human rights]," she told the party's conference. "And it's why the Conservative position is clear – if leaving the European convention is what it takes to fix our human rights laws, that is what we should do," she said to applause.
This shortly follows a YouGov poll that claimed that up to 70% of UK voters want immigration stopped completely. What kind of picture does this paint for the future of the United Kingdom on the international stage?
56817047
submission
jfruh writes:
In her weekly podcast, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she'd be discussing European email security with French President Francois Hollande. Specifically, in the wake of the NSA spying revelations, the two leaders will try to keep European email off of American servers altogether to avoid snooping. This comes as Merkel's government faces criminal complaints for assisting aspects of the NSA's programs.
56786665
submission
schwit1 writes:
As one might expect, the economic decline of a nation into rule by a handful of corrupt oligarchs will have many other negative repercussions. One of these is a loss of civil rights and freedoms that many of us have taken for granted. Reporters Without Borders puts out their Press Freedom Index every year, and the 2014 ranking came out today. It was not a good showing for the USA. Specifically, the U.S. registered one of the steepest falls of all nations, down 13 slots to the #46 position, just above Haiti and just below Romania.
56715479
submission
TopSpin writes:
Alcatel-Lucent has authorized The University of California, Berkeley to `release all Plan 9 software previously governed by the Lucent Public License, Version 1.02 under the GNU General Public License, Version 2.' Plan 9 was developed primarily for research purposes as the successor to Unix by the Computing Sciences Research Center at Bell Labs between the mid-1980s and 2002. Plan 9 has subsequently emerged as Inferno, a commercially supported derivative, and ports to various platforms including a recent port to the Raspberry Pi. In Plan 9, all system interfaces, including those required for networking and the user interface, are represented through the file system rather than specialized interfaces. The system provides a generic protocol, 9P, to perform all communication with the system, among processes and with network resources. Applications compose resources using union file systems to form isolated namespaces.