LivinFree - Slashdot User

Submission + - Apple acquires CUPS (cups.org) 1

Submitted by

mikesd81

on Sunday August 26, 2007 @06:27PM

mikesd81 writes: "Michael R. Sweet, the creator of CUPS, has posted on the CUPS website that:

"Apple Inc. acquired ownership the CUPS source code and hired me (Michael R Sweet), the creator of CUPS.

CUPS will still be released under the existing GPL2/LGPL2 licensing terms, and I will continue to develop and support CUPS at Apple. ""

Submission + - Five Things You Should Know About Metroid Prime:3 (ncsquad.com)

Submitted by

roninjapan

on Monday June 11, 2007 @10:57AM

roninjapan writes: "Following the storyline of Metroid Prime 1 & 2, phazon will play a major plot of the story line. Per the game director, Mark Pacini, "In Metroid Prime 3, we're trying to explain what the origins of Phazon were and it's the culmination of what this is all about.It's not only a story element — the Phazon and corruption which happen on a planetary scale — but it also happens in a gameplay sense as well. read more at http://www.ncsquad.com/"

Submission + - 1 billion PCs by end of 2008 (cnet.com)

Submitted by

javipas

on Monday June 11, 2007 @10:42AM

javipas writes: "Acording to a study published by Forrester Research, 2008 will be the year in wich a psychological barrier will be surpassed. By the end of next year there will be 1.000.000.000 computers all around the world, a number that will double itself in just five more years. The reason: the emerging markets of countries such as Brazil, China, India or Russia, which will be responsible of 775 new PCs and laptop computers. Part of them, of course, coming from projects like the OLPC's one."

Submission + - Embedded Linux Primer Review (geeksinside.com)

Submitted by

s1axter

on Monday June 11, 2007 @10:40AM

s1axter writes: "Embedded system development is crucial in this day of high tech specialized appliances and devices. However much of the knowledge of embedded development resides in the heads of engineers who have been doing it for years. The hardware aspect of embedded systems is now available to the smaller startup companies, however many specialized, propriety operating systems are not. This is where Linux and the book Embedded Linux Primer: A Practical Real-World Approach enters. Embedded Linux Primer is written to introduce engineers and designers to using the Linux operating systems for embedded applications.

Prentice Hall's Embedded Linux Primer by Christopher Hallinan was published September 18th, 2006 as part of their Open Source Software Development Series. Very much like a textbook, Embedded Linux Primer is very informative and an excellent source of information for an engineer looking to enter or move to the embedded Linux field. The text is a decent size, with 537 pages spanning 17 chapters and 6 appendices; it retails for around $45 USD.

I had some reservations on reviewing a detailed technical book since most of the ones I have are dry and have a very segmented structure. However after taking a look at the sample chapter, chapter 7 "Bootloaders", available on the Prentice Hall website along with the table of contents for the text I figured I would give it a look and I am very glad I did.

Many technical books focus on a specific demographic in the technology world, mostly beginners or professionals expanding their knowledge base. I was quite pleased to see this text is written for both professional developers and emerging embedded engineers.

Professional engineers will find the text informative on the Linux operating system and how flexible it is to implement on even the most custom hardware. The author understands that a large number of embedded system engineers work with proprietary systems and explains items that might be new and different than these systems. For example Chapters 4-6 detail the Linux boot sequence and describe common pitfalls engineers new to the embedded Linux methodology might make. Chapters 8-11 dive further into the operating system and explain device driver creation, the important file system and how Linux handles volatile and non-volatile memory systems using the MTD subsystem.

Engineers starting in the field of embedded systems will find information on what an embedded system is in Chapter 1, processor and board comparisons in Chapter 2 and setting up an embedded environment for development in Chapter 12.

It is quite obvious throughout the text the author has an extensive in depth understanding of embedded systems and the inner workings of the Linux operating system. With such a deep understanding of the material an author many times explains items in such detail it clouds the mind of the reader. The first line in Chapter 2 says (paraphrasing) that the best way understand something is to understand the 'big picture' . This is exactly the approach the author takes through out the text, first explaining the theory and high level aspect of the system, then diving into the detail of how it is done on the low level. Also, rather than get sidetracked in chapters by explaining every processor attribute or software package, the author suggests external sources mid-text and in the "Suggestions for Additional Reading" at the end of each chapter.

For the first edition of a book, Embedded Linux Primer is rather complete, with the only exception being chapter 8, Device Driver Basics, which is...well, rather basic. I started the chapter expecting to finish with a detailed understanding of how the Linux kernel processes driver requests and a look into some common drivers. This is not the case; for a second edition of this text I would suggest beefing up this chapter to provide more of an insight into kernel-driver interaction.

Overall Embedded Linux Primer is an excellent source of information for both the seasoned professional and aspiring embedded engineer. I know that when I dive fully into the world of embedded Linux this book will have a permanent place on the bench right next to the spec sheets.

For those interested in this text, the Prentice Hall book page can be found here: http://www.phptr.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=01 31679848&rl=1
Sample Chapter "Bootloaders": http://www.phptr.com/articles/article.asp?p=674698
Geeksinside.com review link: http://geeksinside.com/review.php?r=3

*s1axter is the main poster for Geeksinside.com.
*Geeksinside.com is a DIY, hardware hacking, technology blog that showcases projects, reviews and technical links"

Submission + - Is Slashdot posting biased toward Ubuntu?

Submitted by Ichthus777 on Friday April 13, 2007 @12:25AM

Ichthus777 writes: Is Slashdot publishing biased towards Ubuntu and biased against openSUSE? It appears that since the announcement of the Novell M$ deal, there have been few and far between postings regarding openSUSE, SLED, SLES. The release of openSUSE 10.2 received no fanfair (its been a great release) and multiple individuals are complaining that their suse articles are being rejected. I suspect this is a statement regarding the loyalty of Novell to FOSS. But I would like the publishers of Slashdot to make a statement one way or the other regarding this trend. Many of us have relied on /. to keep us informed regarding a wide array of matters, and we rely on /. to be fairly objective for the benefit of their readers. If the apparent trend is mistaken could the publishers please indicate what might be the problem... in other words, what does it take to get openSUSE articles published? There is even a rumor that Novell *paid* Slashdot to publish a certain % of articles... I am not believing this, but I would like to hear from the "horses mouth" so to speak. Thanks sincerely,

Submission + - How hard is it to get a tech job in California?

Submitted by on Wednesday March 07, 2007 @06:25PM

An anonymous reader writes: I have recently moved from the UK to San Francisco and am trying to get a tech job here. My experience has been difficult. I've had some interviews, but I find that getting feedback just does not happen. One of the companies is a (well known company) that told me they would get back in a week. I heard nothing for a month. Emailing them has produced no response. I assume I did not get the job, but is this typical of how companies treat candidates?

I have also applied to lots positions and got no response at all. This has been direct through comany websites and through job sites.

I was wondering if others can provide some insight into what I am doing wrong?

To give a bit of background I've worked for 10yrs in IT in programming and application support/operations. I also have a degree in Comp Sci.

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