- wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Canonical Launches Internet-of-Things Version of Ubuntu Core
by Peter Reutemann 21 Jan '15

21 Jan '15

'Ubuntu Linux isn't just for desktops, servers and the cloud anymore. Mark Shuttleworth wants Ubuntu to be the operating system of choice for the Internet of Things too. The new Snappy Ubuntu Core is targeted at device developers and it's the basis for an entire new division of Canonical Inc. The promise of Snappy Ubuntu Core is also one of security, protecting the devices of the world, by keeping them updated. "With Snappy there is also a division of responsibilities for updating that can also help protect IoT devices and users. So we could deliver an update for a Heartbleed or Shellshock vulnerability, completely independently of the lawnmower control app that would come from the lawnmower company," Shuttleworth said.' -- source: http://news.slashdot.org/story/15/01/20/2347214 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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The current state of video editing for Linux
by Peter Reutemann 21 Jan '15

21 Jan '15

"I often ask myself what the current state of video editing is for free and open source software (FOSS). Here are my thoughts. I've spent many years in the visual effects (VFX) industry from the perspective of being either an artist, compositor, video editor, or systems engineer. (I've even got film creds on IMDB!) In the past, I had the pleasure of cutting on, training people on, setting up, and supporting Avid Media Composer, the cream of the crop of professional real-time video editing tools for film and TV alike—at least before things like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere became useful enough to professionals." Tested: Pitivi, OpenShot, Lightworks, Avidemux, Cinelerra, KDEnlive, Blender The winner (spoiler): Blender -- source: http://opensource.com/life/15/1/current-state-linux-video-editing 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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dates for meetings
by Peter Reutemann 21 Jan '15

21 Jan '15

Hi everyone I've talked to the Bernhard Pfahringer, head of the computer science department, and he's willing to sponsor our meetings (WLUG and Python) again this year. Therefore, I booked the following dates for WLUG: Feb 23 Mar 23 Apr 27 May 25 Jul 27 Aug 24 Sep 28 Nov 23 NB: Some months are unavailable due to exam periods (these periods start already during study week, when the rooms get prepared and cannot be disturbed anymore). This brings me also to the next question: who's up for presenting at the first meeting in February? Any new, funky distros that anyone has taken for a spin? Any Linux-related projects tackled during the summer break? Feel free to contact me off-list and I'll add you to the meeting on meetup.com. As a reminder, our meetings get scheduled here: http://www.meetup.com/WaikatoLinuxUsersGroup/ Thanks and see you in February. Hope you all had a good summer break (at the least the folks in the southern hemisphere)! 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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Adobe's Photoshop Ditched for Krita at French University Due to Lack of Support
by Peter Reutemann 19 Jan '15

19 Jan '15

"The ATI (Art and Technology of Image) department at University Paris 8 is switching to Krita this year. This department has the double aim to train students both to use graphic software (2D,3D,VFX and Compositing) and to code their own (Python, C#, C++). Until recently the classes used only Adobe Photoshop, but because of inadequate support from the company the department decided to replace that." -- source: https://krita.org/item/goodbye-photoshop-and-hello-krita-at-university-pari… 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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Fwd: [NZOSS-Openchat] LCA'15
by Peter Reutemann 19 Jan '15

19 Jan '15

Apologies if you've received this already. Cheers, Peter ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jaco Date: Mon, Jan 19, 2015 at 9:05 AM Subject: [NZOSS-Openchat] LCA'15 To: NZOSS Open Discussion List Thanks to everyone who attended, participated or helped in the Linux Conference last week. Video's should be available online now: * http://www.youtube.com/user/linuxconfau2015 * http://mirror.linux.org.au/linux.conf.au/2015/ * Local ‪NZ‬ mirror at http://mirror.slingshot.co.nz/pub/linux.conf.au/2015/ thanks to SlingshotNZ! Was good to see many familiar faces, but I was also hoping to see others. OTOH I was running around so much & attention focused on the above, I doubt I would've noticed anyway. Looking forward to working at the next one (this counts as doing my bit for the community, right?) cheers - Jaco _______________________________________________ Openchat mailing list Openchat(a)lists.nzoss.org.nz http://lists.nzoss.org.nz/mailman/listinfo/openchat -- 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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Tails 1.2.3 is out
by Peter Reutemann 18 Jan '15

18 Jan '15

"Tails, The Amnesic Incognito Live System, version 1.2.3, is out. This release fixes numerous security issues and all users must upgrade as soon as possible. On January 3rd, the SSL certificate of our website hosting provider, boum.org, expired. This means that if you still are running Tails 1.2.1 or older, you will not get any update notification. Please help spreading the word!" -- source: https://tails.boum.org/news/version_1.2.3/index.en.html 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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Security Products Are Wasting Our Time
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 18 Jan '15

18 Jan '15

Apparently 4 out of 5 alerts reported by malware-detection products are false alarms <http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/01/survey-says-security-products-waste…>. And of course the result is predictable: In 2013, for example, when cybercriminals broke into Target’s systems and loaded malware, the company’s FireEye security system issued an alert for the activity, but the company ignored the alerts. As a result, a District Court judge in Minnesota has given the go-ahead for banks to sue the retailer.

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How Many Weeks Has “The Spectator” Been Publishing?
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 16 Jan '15

16 Jan '15

Any other readers of “New Scientist” on this list? In the issue of 3rd Jan, the “Feedback” column tried to work out how many weeks various magazines that are still in existence had been publishing. The oldest they could find was “The Spectator”, which first came out on 6th July 1828. Unfortunately they were using Microsoft Excel to do their calculations, with predictably nonsensical results. :) Here’s what I came up with, using the good old “date” command, together with the arithmetic facilities built into bash. Taking it step by step: date +%s prints out the number of seconds since midnight 1st January 1970 to the present time. date -d "6-Jul-1828" +%s does the same for 6th July 1828. Of course this is a very small negative number. It computes and displays fine on my 64-bit system, but might overflow on 32-bit ones. echo $(($(date +%s) - $(date -d "6-Jul-1828" +%s))) prints out the subtraction of the above two numbers, giving the number of seconds from the founding of “The Spectator” to the present time. And finally, echo $(($(($(date +%s) - $(date -d "6-Jul-1828" +%s))) / $((86400 * 7)))) divides that number of seconds by the number of seconds in a week, giving the number of weeks from the founding of “The Spectator” to the present time. Which, by my reckoning, is 9732.

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Run Your Choice Of Linux/Android On A Chromebook
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 15 Jan '15

15 Jan '15

Google has posted details <http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2390180/google-will-now-allow-andr…> of how to boot up your choice of Linux distro (including Android) on a Chromebook, as an alternative to its built-in ChromeOS. This is still extremely fiddly, risk-prone and not for the faint-of-heart.

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Australia Bans Crypto Research
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 15 Jan '15

15 Jan '15

A law currently being phased in in Australia <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/01/14/australia_tries_to_ban_crypto_resea…> would seem to mean serious jail time for those trying to discuss certain advanced crypto technologies with those outside the country: “Was the government warned that it was making a mistake? Apparently so...” Other countries have exemptions for academic researchers. But why should they be treated differently from ordinary people, anyway?

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