52060037
submission
jrepin writes:
Everywhere you look, change is afoot in computer networking. As data centers grow in size and complexity, traditional tools are proving too slow or too cumbersome to handle that expansion. Dinesh Dutt is Chief Scientist at Cumulus Networks. Cumulus has been working to change the way we think about networks altogether by dispensing with the usual software/hardware lockstep, and instead using Linux as the operating system on network hardware. In this week's New Tech Forum, Dinesh details the reasons and the means by which we may see Linux take over yet another aspect of computing: the network itself.
52035061
submission
jrepin writes:
Kubuntu Linux 13.10 has just been released and is available for download. It comes with KDE Software Compilation 4.11, a new application for discovering and installing software, a simpler way to manage your system users. and a new Network Manager applet gives a simpler UI for connecting to a range of network types. You can now setup Wifi networking from the installer making it easier to install updates and extra packages during the install.
51877691
submission
jrepin writes:
On October 12, 2013, KDE Forums reached a significant milestone: their five year anniversary. The KDE Community Forums is the main way users can receive support from KDE. The Forums have more than 40,000 threads and over 200,000 posts. With a large number of registered users, the Forums make up the foundation for KDE user support and communication about software and applications.
51777893
submission
jrepin writes:
Google is offering rewards as high as $3,133.70 for software updates that improve the security of OpenSSL, OpenSSH, BIND, and several other open-source packages that are critical to the stability of the Internet. The program announced Wednesday expands on Google's current bug-bounty program, which pays from $500 to $3,133.70 to people who privately report bugs found in the company's software and Web properties.
51712361
submission
jrepin writes:
Freedom on the Net 2013 is the fourth report in a series of comprehensive studies of internet freedom around the globe and covers developments in 60 countries that occurred between May 2012 and April 2013. Over 60 researchers, nearly all based in the countries they analyzed, contributed to the project by researching laws and practices relevant to the digital media, testing the accessibility of select websites, and interviewing a wide range of sources, among other research activities. This edition's findings indicate that internet freedom worldwide is in decline, with 34 out of 60 countries assessed in the report experiencing a negative trajectory during the coverage period. Broad surveillance, new laws controlling web content, and growing arrests of social-media users drove this overall decline in internet freedom in the past year. Nonetheless, Freedom on the Net 2013 also found that activists are becoming more effective at raising awareness of emerging threats and, in several cases, have helped forestall new repressive measures.
51517037
submission
jrepin writes:
The government of Portugal wants to increase its use of open source ICT solutions and open ICT standards, aiming to rationalise its IT and reduce costs. A pilot by Portugal's General Inspection of Cultural Activities (IGAC) shows that a switch can cut IT costs by half (to 169,000 from 329,000 euro per year) and reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by 84 %, including an estimate of the cost of licences.
51467675
submission
jrepin writes:
Free and Open Source Software in Taiwan has made impressive strides thanks to the work of the 'ezgo' team. They have put together a pre-configured set of Free and Open Source software that makes it easy for teachers and students to get up and running. The New Taipei City government has decided to replace Windows with GNU/Linux on 10,000 PCs for elementary schools. They are using distribution called ezgo, which is based on Kubuntu distribution of GNU/linux operating system and is using KDE Plasma as the default desktop.
51388057
submission
jrepin writes:
Using an open source desktop lowers the total cost of ownership by 40%, in savings on proprietary software licences and by reducing costs on IT management. Using Ubuntu Linux massively reduces the number of local technical interventions, says Major Stéphane Dumond. "The direct benefits of saving on licences are the tip of the iceberg. An industrialised open source desktop is a powerful lever for IT governance."
51332065
submission
jrepin writes:
It is now 30 years since I launched the campaign for freedom in computing, that is, for software to be free or “libre” (we use that word to emphasize that we’re talking about freedom, not price). Some proprietary programs are very expensive, others are available gratis — either way, they subject their users to someone else’s power. That’s the fundamental issue: while non-free software and SaaSS are controlled by some other entity (typically a corporation or a state), free software is controlled by its users. Why does this control matter? Because freedom means having control over your own life.
51297277
submission
jrepin writes:
Which day could be better suited for publishing a set of Hurd package releases than the GNU project's 30th birthday? These new releases bundle bug fixes and enhancements done since the last releases more than a decade ago; really too many (both years and improvements) to list them individually, The GNU Hurd is the GNU project's replacement for the Unix kernel. It is a collection of servers that run on the Mach microkernel to implement file systems, network protocols, file access control, and other features that are implemented by the Unix kernel or similar kernels (such as Linux).
51194567
submission
jrepin writes:
The KDE libraries are being methodically reworked into a set of cross platform modules that will be readily available to all Qt developers. The KDE Frameworks, designed as drop-in Qt Addons, will enrich Qt as a development environment with functions that simplify, accelerate and reduce the cost of Qt development. For example, KArchive (one of the first Frameworks available) offers support for many popular compression codecs in a self-contained and easy-to-use file archiving library. Just feed it files; there's no need to reinvent an archiving function.
49801913
submission
jrepin writes:
The administration of the Spanish autonomous region of Valencia has completed its switch to LibreOffice, a free and open source suite of office productivity applications. Last week Friday the region's ICT department announced that the office suite is installed on all of the 120,000 desktop PCs of the administration, including schools and courts. The migration will save the government some 1.5 million euro per year on proprietary software licences.
49728653
submission
jrepin writes:
The KDE community is happy to announce the release of 1.1 for Plasma Media Center, an easy and comfortable way to watch your videos, browse your photo collection and listen to your music, all in one place. A major new feature is YouTube integration, other features include imprived playlist, complete keyboard/remote-like keys support, better keyboard navigation for All Music mode, and Places panel integrated into browsing flow.
49606375
submission
jrepin writes:
Music player Amarok 2.8 has been released and it brings a fancy audio analyzer visualization applet, smooth fade-out when pausing music, many UI improvements and visual tweaks including better support for alternate color themes, significantly enhanced MusicBrainz tagger, power management awareness with a pair of new configuration options, and performance optimizations and responsiveness tuning all over Amarok.
49586291
submission
jrepin writes:
A report from IT jobs specialist Dice that forecasts the Linux job market shows demand for Linux skills is on the rise but that finding talent is difficult. The report noted that this is triggering better salaries and bonuses for Linux professionals, as companies look to open-source IT specialists to solve their business challenges and provide growth opportunities. Eighty-one percent of survey respondents say that hiring Linux talent is a priority in 2012. This urgency is driving a substantial increase in recruiting activity, with 47 percent of hiring managers expecting to add more Linux professionals to their firms in early 2012 and 63 percent noting Linux hires are increasing relative to jobs created in other skill areas.
