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Debian

Submission + - Linus: "I've never used Debian" (oneopensource.it) 1

Submitted by
javipas
javipas writes: "On a recent interview, Linus has confessed a surprising fact: "the only major distribution I've never used has actually been Debian, exactly because that has traditionally been harder to install". Torvalds seems to be running Fedora 7 on most of his systems, though he has used a bunch of other well known distros. He also has comments on GPLv3, patent violation and the future of Linux on the desktop. "I think it just needs more time. We basically have all the pieces, but we can improve on them"."
Software

Submission + - Democracy Player is dead, long live Miro (last100.com)

Submitted by
MrSpin
MrSpin writes: "Democracy Player has relaunched today as Miro. Developed by the Participatory Culture Foundation, Miro aims to make online video "as easy as watching TV", while at the same time ensuring that the new medium remains accessible to everyone, through its support for open standards. The open-source application combines a media player and library, content guide, video search engine, as well as podcast and BitTorrent clients. But why the name change? According to last100, who have published a full review and guide to Miro: "When Democracy Player launched back in February 2006, the feedback received was that the name evoked different, yet equally negative responses. For many Americans it conjured up an image of yet another left wing media project, and to the rest of the world it was, rather bizarrely, being associated with the policies of the Bush administration. In contrast, the new name is purposely abstract.""
PC Games (Games)

Submission + - Free PC Games List (esgameservers.com)

Submitted by sleepysentry
sleepysentry writes: eSports Game Servers has a good list of 200 free PC games. Among the goodies on the list include FPS shooters, MMORPGs, puzzle games, RPGs, and flight simulators. You won't find the latest and greatest games on the list, but many of the games come close to rivaling their commercial counterparts. Some of the games work for Linux and Mac, too.
Linux Business

Submission + - PJ of Groklaw predicts switch away from Linux

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In a reply posted in the comments section of Groklaw, PJ writes: "What I see as a danger, personally, is that people will get so disgusted by the position the kernel has taken they will switch to another. There is something in the human heart that loves fairness, you know. And companies are never fair. Only people can be. And when there is a license that is fair, people will always choose it."
Google

Submission + - Google Desktop for Linux released (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
FrankNFurter
FrankNFurter writes: "Today, Google released a native Linux version of their desktop search. Available are packages in the .rpm format (for RedHat/Fedora/Suse/Mandriva) and .deb format (for Debian/Ubuntu), both only for the x86 architecture. Google Desktop for Linux offers the same search features as the Windows version, a quick search box, integration of Gmail and the indexing of man and info pages. Not yet available for Linux are gadgets."
Software

Submission + - Google Desktop Search for Linux (desktoplinux.com)

Submitted by
oever
oever writes: "Google has released Google Desktop Search for Linux today. The closed source software package will compete with the large selection of open source desktop solutions that are currently available. Interest in projects like Beagle and Strigi might decline as a result of this release. Google Desktop Search does not yet adhere to the free desktop search standard Xesam."
United States

Submission + - Young Americans Are Leaning Left, New Poll Finds

Submitted by
gollum123
gollum123 writes: "Young Americans are more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage, according to a New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll. The poll also found that they are more likely to say the war in Iraq is heading to a successful conclusion ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/washington/27pol l.html?em&ex=1183089600&en=889a109fd4bcce65&ei=508 7%0A ). It found that substantially more Americans ages 17 to 29 than four years ago are paying attention to the presidential race. But they appeared to be really familiar with only two of the candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, both Democrats. And although they are just as worried as the general population about the outlook for the country and think their generation is likely to be worse off than that of their parents, they retain a belief that their votes can make a difference, the poll found. More than half of Americans ages 17 to 29 — 54 percent — say they intend to vote for a Democrat for president in 2008. 28 percent described themselves as liberal, compared with 20 percent of the nation at large. And 27 percent called themselves conservative, compared with 32 percent of the general public. In the current poll, 62 percent said they would support a universal, government-sponsored national health care insurance program; 47 percent of the general public holds that view. And 30 percent said that "Americans should always welcome new immigrants," while 24 percent of the general public holds that view. In one potential sign of shifting attitudes, respondents, by overwhelming margins, said they believed that the nation was prepared to elect as president a woman, a black person or someone who admitted to having used marijuana. But they said that they did not believe Americans would elect someone who had used cocaine or someone who was a Mormon."
Games

Submission + - Duke Nukem Forever Release Date: 12/1/07! (bestbuy.com)

Submitted by wiggles
wiggles writes: It's offical. According to this Best Buy page, Duke Nukem Forever is scheduled for release on December 1st of 2007. Talk about a solution to global warming! All we need to do is find hell, and use the sub-zero temperatures to siphon off our excess heat!
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft widens Linux Pact (theinquirer.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: From the article "Microsoft widens Linux Pact With the people it tried to sue". It seems that Linspire is the next company that's getting cosy with the Devil AFTER Microsoft tried to sue them some years back. Seems like another vendor bites the dust.
Linux Business

Submission + - Another Linux Vendor Signs Patent Pact with MS

Submitted by
RLiegh
RLiegh writes: "This article at Yahoo! news talks about the latest in a growing list of patent agreements reached between Microsoft and vendors. In a deal struck between Linspire (nee' "Lindows") and Microsoft, Linspire will be granted license to use True Type Fonts and "various code" that would allow for Linspire users to talk voice on Windows Live Messenger as well as the usual patent protection for Linspires' customers. In return, among other things, Linspire will make Microsoft's search engine the default search on PCs shipped with their OS.

Kevin Carmony, the CEO for Linspire, approached Microsoft a year and a half ago, according to the article."
Linux Business

Submission + - Linspire and MS enter a new major partnership (microsoft.com)

Submitted by
XdevXnull
XdevXnull writes: "Microsoft has put up a page on their website outlining some details of their major new partnership agreement with Linspire. On the surface, it appears to be very much similar to the Novell agreement, but includes some interesting developments for the future of Linspire's eponymous distribution: Ms-compatible voice messaging for Pidgin (formerly gaim), Windows Media 10 (DRM anyone?), True Type font support, enhanced OOo/MS Office interoperability, and Microsoft's Live Search will be the default web search engine. The first three will be available in the commercial version of Linspire 5 with purchase of a "patent SKU".

This latest news will likely raise a lot of controversy, but my guess is that to anyone who would really be upset about these things, the Linspire distribution is largely irrelevant in any case."
Movies

Submission + - TorrentSpy ordered to become MPAA Spy (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "TorrentSpy — one of the web's most famous BitTorrent sites was told by federal judge Jacqueline Chooljian in the Central District of California that despite the site's privacy policy which states they will never monitor their visitors without consent, they must start creating logs detailing their user's activities. Understandably, this is a worrying move by the court — even more so when one considers these logs must then be turned over to the MPAA."
Operating Systems

Submission + - Reasons Why Linux Sucks (askreamaor.com)

Submitted by
Rea Maor
Rea Maor writes: "Well, you've seen a lot of posts on this site about Linux and Free and Open Source Software on this very site. Mostly all of it has been pro-Linux. So here, to balance the scales, is the other side of the story!

  1. No Games! Or at least, not many games to speak of. No, I don't mean running an emulator to support Windows games. No, I don't mean the emulators for arcade and Nintendo. I want to play, not emulate. Native, platform games, made for it and working with it. No, I don't mean some text-mode rogue thing or the nerdy little puzzle games that come with Gnome and KDE. When will Linux decide to pay more attention to the FUN side?
  2. Chasing Windows. Seriously, it's nice that most distros went from all the command and console stuff to a full desktop-capable system like Macs and Windows. Now it needs to find its own look. Too many distros out there are trying to be a perfect clone of Windows XP; if I want XP, I know where to find it. Get Linux over its insecurity complex and have it make up its own "look and feel" already!
  3. All the hardware is supported — except mine. Can I get this digital camera working? 800 drivers for digital cameras — nope mine isn't on the list. What about this wireless card? Dozens of brands supported — whoops, I bought the wrong one! I'm tired of playing hardware bingo — either I'm very unlucky at it, or there's still some big holes to fill.
  4. Problems coming up to a desktop. At least detect good default settings for a monitor and video card, and then give me an easy way to fix the size and color depth if I need to. Many, many distros do this, so the ones that don't and either haul off and boot me to a plaid striped letterbox screen or leave me at a console trying to guess what my monitor's vertical refresh rate is are even guiltier by comparison. It's all open source, so the distros that get it wrong can just borrow from the ones that get it right, right?
  5. Inner-Linux flame wars. KDE vs. Gnome! Emacs vs. vi! Ubuntu vs. Mandriva! All of these are fought just as feverishly as if they.... cost money. Hey, you're giving it all away for free, so who cares what anybody uses?
  6. FOSS Purity. OK, I loaded a closed-source driver onto my system so my video card will work. Do I have to be nailed to a wall for it? Yes, I know open source is the One True Way — and if all the drivers are open one day, that will make me very happy. In the mean time, I care about what works first. Ditto the haggling over licenses — there's forty of them, most of them differ in one or two details, and thinking about legal stuff gives the user side of me a headache.
  7. Obsession over taking over from Windows. When is the year of Linux on the desktop? Who cares? Look, again, you're giving it away for free, so if you take over 98% of Microsoft's market share, you are ahead exactly how far?
  8. Linux devotees are too serious. Because you can't post a list like this and not have a bunch of them come flame you. Lighten up. Your system's fine. We love you. You're big enough now to take your beating along with the other platforms.
"

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