January 2016 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Programmers’ Note-To-Selves
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 08 Jan '16

08 Jan '16

An Ubuntu kernel engineer has done an analysis of how many instances there are in the Linux kernel of comments saying “FIXME” or “TODO”. The total numbers of these are increasing with the size of the code, but at least the number of FIXMEs per source line seems to be going down. <http://phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-Kernel-FIXME-TODO>

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Elementary OS' Freya Dumbs Down Linux
by Peter Reutemann 07 Jan '16

07 Jan '16

'The release last month of Elementary OS Freya version 0.3.2 showed little has changed in this new-style Linux distro that wraps its own lightweight desktop design around the Ubuntu core. Elementary OS first appeared in 2011. I last looked at its Freya beta release in 2014. I liked its fresh, new look and simplified approach to desktop management. However, my hopes for more features and a faster-evolving desktop environment in the latest release went unfulfilled.' -- source: http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/elementary-os-freya-dumbs-down-lin… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Android N switches to OpenJDK, Google tells Oracle it is protected by the GPL
by Peter Reutemann 07 Jan '16

07 Jan '16

'The Oracle v. Google legal battle over the use of Java in Android keeps on going, but this week Google made a change to Android that it hopes will let the company better navigate its current legal trouble. Google told VentureBeat that it in "Android N," the next major version of Android, it is swapping Android's Java libraries from its own Apache Harmony-based implementation to one based on Oracle's OpenJDK—yes that Oracle, the same company suing Google. OpenJDK is the "official" open source version of the Java Platform, and Oracle makes it available under the GPL with a linking exception.' -- source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/android-n-switches-to-openjdk-go… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Murdock On The Birth Of Debian
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 06 Jan '16

06 Jan '16

Noted Free Culture rapporteur Glyn Moody recalls his 1999 interview with late Debian founder Ian Murdock about the genesis of the project: <http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/01/the-birth-of-debian-i…>. As Murdock told me in 1999, the problems arose from the fact that "the fellow who was doing [SLS] was trying to do everything himself. And so I looked on that and I thought, well, you know, if Linux has taught us anything it's that that kind of model is sub-optimal. What we really ought to do is we ought try to take the model that Linux has pioneered, intentionally or not, and try to get the same benefits from that for building the system around it."

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Microsoft's Latest Patent Aggression Comes Under Fire From the EFF, Former GNU/Linux Company the Patent's Target
by Peter Reutemann 04 Jan '16

04 Jan '16

'MICROSOFT, which is connected to many patent trolls (includingIntellectual Ventures, the world’s biggest), is still busy suing companies. Microsoft has a long history of patent aggression, including patent litigation against Linux (not just threats thereof). As longtime readers of this site may know, this and only this was the raison d’être of this Web site. “…since winning a case for infringement of design patents can lead to a damage analysis based on “lost profits,” which can theoretically lead to a patent owner getting all of a defendant’s profits.” –Joe MullinAs we noted the other day, referring tothe original from the EFF, Microsoft is now attacking a company that once dominated word processing. Microsoft allegedly engaged in competition crimes against this company, leading to decades of expensive litigation. This company also pioneered some important GNU/Linux efforts until Microsoft shut these down with a mysterious deal (which we wrote about on several occasions around 2007). Well, Microsoft is now trying to drive this company into bankruptcy, using patents. What’s the name of this company? Corel. We have a whole category about Corel (with 51 articles, as well as leaked court documents). History is important here and it’s imperative that people properly study Corel to truly grasp how severe this situation really is.' -- source: http://techrights.org/2015/12/31/patent-aggression-against-corel/ Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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A Leap of Faith -- Replacing Ubuntu Server with openSUSE Leap
by Peter Reutemann 04 Jan '16

04 Jan '16

"I run a local file and media server, which is a very important part of my digital life -- it hosts all of my files. Everything. I have been using an Ubuntu 14.04 server running on a self-assembled PC. But, it’s a big, noisy system and generates too much heat. So, I planned to move to smaller form factor, such as System76's Meerkat." -- source: http://www.linux.com/news/enterprise/systems-management/874378 -- Meerkat link: https://system76.com/desktops/meerkat Cheers, Peer -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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