It was 17 years ago yesterday that Linus Torvalds announced on Usenet the availability of his “free minix-like kernel,” better known to the world as Linux. (The kernel was actually released some days earlier, but who’s counting?) We even had our own Linux Week several months ago in order to celebrate our love/like/apathy/disdain for the operating system.
Slashdot is absolutely loaded with age of consent jokes being that Linux is 17 now. Me, I much prefer Homer’s rendition of “It Was a Very Good Year” if we’re to break out “what connects to age 17?” references.
The dream of a short — and I mean really short — boot cycle is getting closer to reality. As it stands, though, even these experienced IT guys had to chop quite a lot off from already lean systems in order to hit their goal of CPU and drives idle after only 5 seconds. And on an Eee PC, no less.
I’m not the most informed guy on Linux boot processes, but it sounds like they really didn’t cut anything truly critical (that’s manifest of course because the system boots), and you’d be surprised how much time can be saved by customizing the boot process based on what the machine does and doesn’t use. Not running licensed drivers? Don’t need the license verification tool — 2.5 seconds saved. Only using web mail? Don’t need sendmail — 2 seconds saved. Then with more optimization (including a lot of hacking of the X Windows System) and a lot of elbow grease, they had it at a hair less than 5 seconds. The boot graphs are interesting and the article is informative even if you have interest in optimizing your Windows or OS X system, so check it out.
It looks like Linux lovers will get another netbook-optimized distro in "Mandriva Mini," which was recently announced and will first be seen on Emtec’s "Gdium" netbook — yes, that Emtec Gdium. I kid, I kid. I’ve never heard of the Gdium either.
Mandriva promises to differentiate itself from the rest of the Linux-on-a-netbook (LOAN — coined by me, Doug Aamoth — patent pending) crowd by featuring fast 10-40 second boot times, enhanced power management, and support for WiFi and 3G connections. Okay, so it’s not all that different from Linpus Lite and Ubuntu Netbook Remix after all but, hey, check out that screenshot. Lookin’ kinda-sorta good, eh?
We’ve touched on it before, but to recap: Back in the day when modding your Xbox was a criterion of geekdom, Xbox Media Center was king. Pictures, videos, file streaming, skinning, application launching, script support – you name it, and Xbox Media Center could probably get it done. With its awesome codec support and surprisingly vast functionality, it quickly built up a significant following of fans. Over time, efforts began to bring the application to other platforms, and the project dropped the Xbox association from the name to be redubbed as the XBMC Media Center.
After a few months of public alpha, Team-XBMC yesterday released a Beta version of the application for Mac OS X (Leopard and Tiger), Windows, and Linux in preparation for the stable ‘Atlantis’ release.
According to InternetNews.com, the Large Hadron Collider project that we’ve been hearing so much about runs a customized version of Linux called CernVM. Apparently it ran Vista at first, but the Aero interface kept slowing down the proton acceleration. Try as they might, scientists just couldn’t get the Windows Experience Index above a 4.2.
I kid, I kid. There was also an interesting comment left on the original article that appeared to be sent from a CERN IP address:
“While VMware is in use, the primary configuration for machines in the LHC computing grid is based on Scientific Linux distribution running directly on the hardware. This grid is used to receive and distribute the 15PB of data across the 100,000s of CPUs across the world.”
Dell wants you to know that is has just the netbook for you, the Inspiron Mini 9. The default operating system is Ubuntu, with some sort of customized Dell interface. Other than that, it’s a netbook. You know what that means.
The base price is a more-than-reasonable $350, and for that you get a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB solid state drive, and built-in Wi-Fi. The display doesn’t look too bad, either, coming in at 8.9 inches. You really would have to see the diaply in person to make a proper judgment call, though.
And if Linux isn’t your thing, you can always upgrade to Windows XP. You might want to up the RAM if you’re headed in that direction.
Would you hate me if I admit that it actually doesn’t look half-bad?
The future! Look at the size of this tiny Linux PC, wouldja? It’s nary larger than a small apple. What’s crammed inside, you ask? A 300 MHz processor, 16MB of onboard flash memory, 64MB of SDRAM, and a 1GB CompactFlash card loaded with Red Hat Linux. On the outside, there’s a single USB port, VGA, Ethernet port, RS232 port, and mic and speaker plugs. The whole shebang’s powered by a 5V plug.
The RIAA shut down Muxtape but that doesn’t mean its memory won’t linger on the hearts of those who must share their love of the Hold Steady with the world. Enter OpenTape, an open source package that essentially recreates the Muxtape experience on a personal level. You simply download the application, unpack it on your web server, and then upload songs. It took me about two minutes to set-up OpenTape on CrunchGear’s server [embed works below but the main page doesn't... checking with opentape on Twitter] and a few more minutes to upload music. Viola!
I actually applaud OpenTape for offering this tool. While it’s fairly basic, it creates hundreds, if not thousands, of targets for the RIAA and while they wrangle messily with poor Muxtape the concept will already be ubiquitous. Projects like these and OpenClip are cries for help – we want this functionality and we will take it by force if need be. Or maybe people just really like mixtapes.
Well I’ll be—the Dell Mini-Inspiron doesn’t look half bad. Gizmodo broke into Dell headquarters, beat up the security guard, and stole the full spec sheet for the Internet’s enjoyment. That, or some dude just e-mailed a copy to Rothman. Either way, the specs are now out there.
The raw: 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, up to 1GB of RAM, a solid state drive (4 to 16GB), 8.9-inch display with a 1024×600 resolution, Wi-Fi and three USB ports.
A four cell battery rounds out the package.
The best part? It comes with an Ubunutu configuration. Set up a lightweight window manager and you could have yourself a fine “I’m going to Starbucks, might as well surf the Web while I’m there” computer. Might be handy when covering trade shows, too.
Microsoft won the war over home PC market share a long time ago with their Windows OS. Apple has of course made strides, but despite its popularity, Microsoft retains its stranglehold. However, with the ongoing interest in netbooks, an opportunity for Linux has opened. Read More
Nobody would argue that Linux has an appreciable market share. They could however say that they have an appreciating share. Cause in fact they do. Since Microsoft launched Vista in January 2007, U.K. preinstalls of Linux have multiplied 28 times.
But unfortunately for Linux, 28 times a little is still a little. However, consider that pre-Vista, Linux was being shipped on only .1% of PC’s. That’s nothing, but 2.8% is definitely something. Something from nothing cannot be ignored. Remember it was not too long ago Apple had a market share of nothing…
All this probably goes more to show that customers are not embracing Vista, and are instead searching for alternative options. According to market research firm, Context, 93% of PC’s still ship with Vista. But the newest evolution of Linux, Ubuntu seems to be making strides in the right direction.
Okay, here’s what happened. Microsoft took a group of 120 individuals who “were either Mac, Linux, or users of versions of Windows that came before Windows Vista” and who rated their perception of Vista at less than a five on a scale of one to ten. These people were shown a demo of what they thought was a new Windows OS called “Mojave” and this demo was individually tailored to each person based on “the experiences they seemed most interested in following a series of interviews.”
While the average rating of Vista before the demo was 4.4, the post-demo rating was 8.5, even though Mojave was actually Windows Vista. So what can we learn from all this? Vista looks nice. Problem is, none of these people had to use Vista. They were just “given a demo by a trained retail salesperson.”
Efficiency was the force behind the recent decision to take Symbian open source, and not concerns about competition from Google’s Andriod or mobile Linux, John Forsyth, vice president of strategy for Symbian, reportedly said at the Open Mobile Exchange conference in Portland, Ore. Forsyth said that despite Symbian’s 60% market share, lack of research and development efficiency, “was one of our biggest barriers to growth.”
Forsyth also said that Symbian wants to be the face of a mobile-specific open-source community, which doesn’t really exist yet.
Symbian also seems prepared for the pain that can accompany growing; Forsyth finished by saying, “I’m going to wrap up by stating the unbelievably obvious: that we’re going to make a lot of mistakes as we do this.”
It’s Friday, and that means payday for some people. Looking for something to buy? Howsabout this Nokia N810 Internet Tablet for just shy of $300 from CompUSA?
The N810 has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, GPS, VGA webcam, open source operating system, 4.3-inch 800×480 display, and more. Here’s a little hands-on we did with the device back in April.
Sure you only use Linux and GPL. Sure you’re down with LAMP and know Perl. Why, then, did you buy an iPhone? As Nik at TCIT points out, the App Store is so enmeshed in DRM and closed source policies that you basically cannot give away your software without Apple’s permission.
Apple has wrapped the iPhone SDK in enough licensing, security controls and right management that it would make the Microsoft Active Desktop team blush. The phone and platform that is certain to soon take second spot behind Symbian in the smart phone market is also the most restricted and closed. Applications can only be installed from a single source, iTunes, and open source applications and distribution is near impossible. How do you install an iPhone application without iTunes? Where are the community advocates arguing for a standard interface, openess and free code?
Long story short, Comcast uses an application called Sandvine to disrupt certain BitTorrent traffic. That is to say it’s not always Sandvine preventing your from seeding “distros,” but sometimes. Using the old standby iptables firewall, you can configure your system to, in layman terms, “defeat” the Sandvine nastiness.
Best of all, what you’re doing only affects your BitTorrent port, so no need to fear “messing up” your entire Internet connection.
All that’s involved is modifying a few values, so if you speak Linux, have Comcast and want to improve your BitTorrent experience, give it a shot and let us know how it turns out. I have Cablevision, which doesn’t seem to have as many seeding issues as you Comcast guys do, so I try it out.
We always forget that the real promise of the Internet was multimedia content. This interview with Bill Gates simply talking over a few pictures from Microsoft’s history is so simple and direct that it’s almost charming. Say what you want about MS, but Microsoft and Apple are two sides of the same coin (maybe say Linux is the infinitesimal space between them) and one couldn’t exist without the other.
This particular news item slipped through the cracks at CrunchGear’s world news headquarters earlier this week, but here it is nonetheless. This little box is called the CherryPal PC and it’ll be here in the third quarter of this year, according to a recent press release. The company won’t say when it’ll be here, exactly, but judging from the above graphic, I’m gonna guess sometime between August 3rd and 5th.
It’s supposed to be more of a web surfing device than anything else and it’ll be outfitted with a 400MHz processor, 256MB of RAM, 4GB hard drive, Wi-Fi and Ethernet, VGA jack, requisite sound hookups, and two USB ports, all stuffed into a 10.5-ounce package. It’ll apparently run “a version of the Debian Linux OS,” according to SlashGear. Pricing hasn’t been set yet, but if I could offer some advice to CherryPal it’d go something like this: “Make sure it’s cheap.” Something like that.
Heads up, Mac users who want to use Linux for some reason. The latest version of Parallels Desktop, the virtualization software that lets you run inferior operating systems on your Mac, now supports Parallel Tools when running Linux, including Ubuntu 8. Throw in enhanced 3D graphic support in Vista and you’ve got your self a Grade A point update.
The PS3 has been out for almost two years now, so it’s sorta odd to see a Popular Mechanics article explaining, in painful detail, how to install Linux on the system. But lo and behold, here we are.
As you know by now, pretty much all you have to do to turn your PS3 into a fully functional computer—OpenOffice, Firefox, etc.—is download the PS3 version of Ubuntu, backup all your saves onto an external drive, then choose “install other OS.” Again, given a simple Google search for “how to install linux ps3,” it’s weird to see Popular Mechanics doing such an article now.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that they’re giving one away? Some prize.
It’s Friday, and that means payday for some people. Looking for something to buy? Howsabout 
