May 2013 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

NetBSD 6.1 Has Shipped
by Peter Reutemann 19 May '13

19 May '13

"The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce NetBSD 6.1, the first feature update of the NetBSD 6 release branch. It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons, as well as new features and enhancements. NetBSD is a free, fast, secure, and highly portable Unix-like Open Source operating system. It is available for a wide range of platforms, from large-scale servers and powerful desktop systems to handheld and embedded devices. Its clean design and advanced features make it excellent for use in both production and research environments, and the source code is freely available under a business-friendly license. NetBSD is developed and supported by a large and vibrant international community. Many applications are readily available through pkgsrc, the NetBSD Packages Collection." -- source: http://bsd.slashdot.org/story/13/05/19/054239/netbsd-61-has-shipped Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Linux Mint 15 "Olivia" gets release candidate
by Peter Reutemann 19 May '13

19 May '13

'The Linux Mint developers have announced a release candidate for Linux Mint 15. The "most ambitious release since the start of the project" includes a custom control centre application, a new screensaver tool and a number of other features.' -- source: http://h-online.com/-1864900 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Exploit for local Linux kernel bug in circulation - Update
by Peter Reutemann 19 May '13

19 May '13

"Back in April, the Linux kernel developers fixed an incorrectly declared pointer in the Linux kernel. However, it appears that they overlooked the potential security implications of such a bug – particularly the fact that it is possible to gain access to almost any memory area using a suitable event_id. The developers only got into gear and declared the bug as an official security hole (CVE-2013-2094) after an exploit was released that proves that normal, logged-in users can gain root access this way. " -- source: http://h-online.com/-1863892 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Ubuntu Developers Revisit Replacing Firefox With Chromium
by Peter Reutemann 16 May '13

16 May '13

"Expressed shortcomings of switching to Google's Chromium open-source web-browser is that data migration from Firefox isn't too obvious, extensions don't migrate between browsers, Chromium isn't supported on all architectures (e.g. PowerPC), the browser doesn't work with the Orca screen reader and doesn't integrate well for accessibility reasons, there is no native PDF plug-in, and Chromium is said to have worse performance under memory pressure. There were also some concerns expressed about differences with WebApps in Chromium. ... It looks like the switch to Chromium will happen in the name of a better user experience for the desktop with Chrome/Chromium now arguably surpassing Firefox in its features and performance while pushing Chromium as the default leads to a more consistent experience across Ubuntu form factors from phones/tablets to the desktop." -- source: http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/05/16/2037212 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Raspberry Pi camera module now available
by Peter Reutemann 16 May '13

16 May '13

"After being in development since late last year, the Raspberry Pi camera module is available to purchase and the software to support it is now built into Raspbian." -- source: http://h-online.com/-1863706 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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50 million Apache OpenOffice downloads in a year
by Peter Reutemann 16 May '13

16 May '13

"Just a few days after the one year anniversary of the release of the first version of OpenOffice from the Apache Foundation (Apache OpenOffice 3.4) on 8 May 2012, the project can now boast 50 million downloads of the open source office suite. More than 80% of these downloads have come from Windows users, with the rest of the downloads spread between Mac OS X and Linux. Over time, the percentage of Windows users has slightly increased at the expense of Mac OS X, with Linux usage hovering steady under 5%." -- source: http://h-online.com/-1864812 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Crunchbang mirror
by Ian Young 16 May '13

16 May '13

Anybody know of a mirror for Crunchbang? They used to list one but it's all torrents now. From time to time various kindly people have offered mirrors, but the surviving ones I've found lately are no longer current.

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Unity 8, Mir To Be Experimental Choice In Ubuntu 13.10
by Peter Reutemann 16 May '13

16 May '13

"For those Linux enthusiasts wishing to toy with the Mir Display Server and Canonical's next-generation Unity 8 interface, they will be made optionally available for desktop users with the Ubuntu 13.10 release due out in October." -- source: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTM3MzY Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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New Yorker opens Strongbox - a Tor-based anonymous drop site
by Peter Reutemann 15 May '13

15 May '13

"The magazine's anonymous drop site is based on DeadDrop, developed by the late Aaron Swartz. Anonymity is in part ensured by only accepting connections via the Tor project's network. ... The project is available to fork fromGitHub. Although the project was designed to make secure dead-drop systems available to all, at this point the developers do say that expertise is needed to safely deploy it and the actual code still needs more work. With the first implementation now running at the New Yorker, the software will see practical use and hopefully fulfil its design goals." -- source: http://h-online.com/-1863768 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Ubuntu to stop Brainstorm
by Peter Reutemann 14 May '13

14 May '13

'The collaborative ideas site is to finally close, having been left behind by changes to how Canonical design the Ubuntu operating system. Meanwhile, the company is to return the "Community" button to the top of its pages.' -- source: http://h-online.com/-1862298 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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