May 2011

The following articles below were published during the month of May 2011 (times are based on UTC):


Ubuntu 11.10 Server plans laid out

Written by Roland Taylor on May 31, 2011, 10:51 a.m.

Details:http://cloud.ubuntu.com/2011/05/ubuntu-server-11-10-features-defined/ Most interesting one to me is Ubuntu server for ARM. As far as I can tell this has no direct relation to Linaro, but whether it does or not - this will be a major move, since ARM represents a great platform for low power, high performance servers.


Where Unity Needs To Go For 11.10 And 12.04

Written by James Gifford on May 30, 2011, 5:23 p.m.

Well, it's that time. Time to come up with a few ideas on how to make Unity better. This evening, I was in the 2buntu chatroom on AskUbuntu, and Roland and I were having a chat. it went something like this. James Gifford: um. ^ that's from the ayatana list. "Hi all Yesterday evening an idea popped up into my mind about how to improve Dash usability. Mock-up: Dash Idea ?Easy Lens Switcher Two things were bothering me subconsciously: - One click switching between Lenses is not possible - Having the 'normal' launcher icons grayed out still tempts me to click on them My idea is having a second 'mini launcher' on the left site of the Dash showing available ...


Linux 3.0 kernel confirmed!

Written by Roland Taylor on May 30, 2011, 7:53 a.m.

Linux 2.6.xx is no more. As of today that is. The next Linux release will be Linux 3.0, and it will probably be in Ubuntu 11.10. Unfortunately though, there are no surprises in this one. Linus declined the crazy ideas that others proposed, so the main excitement is in the version number itself. I've quoted his own words (source): Yay! Let the bikeshed painting discussions about version numbering begin (or at least re-start). I decided to just bite the bullet, and call the next version 3.0. It will get released close enough to the 20-year mark, which is excuse enough for me, although honestly, the real reason is just that I can no longer comfortably count as high as 40. ...


UPDATE: Dangerous deb removed from GNOME-Look.org (good work guys)

Written by Roland Taylor on May 27, 2011, 7:14 a.m.

A silly user called GTKLover has posted what can only be described as an idiotic attempt to make Linux look bad, and especially Ubuntu (I wouldn't be surprised if this guy isn't the same idiot who goes around spamming on every Ubuntu related upload he finds, but I won't name names). Anyway, the file is here, and trust me, DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT. I linked to it for one purpose: to warn you. If you have an open-desktop.org account, please report this as inappropriate content ASAP. UPDATE: The download has been removed :)! Good work!


PiTiVi updated, suggested for 11.10

Written by Roland Taylor on May 26, 2011, 8:56 a.m.

Well whadaya know... PiTiVi has finally been updated! No, this is not the final 0.13.4 release, but rather a pre-release. The list of new features if pretty big (I'll have to write aseparatepost), and may be convincing enough to make the decision to remove it in 11.10 be retracted... barring one other issue. PiTiVi apparently needs to be transitioned to GTKBuilder (it was using libglade). I'm not 100% sure if this has happened in this release, but I'm hoping so. According tonovatillasku (I'm quickly becoming a fan of this blog btw, makes me want to brush up on my terrible Spanish), it has been proposed for inclusion in 11.10 on the Ubuntu mailing list. Personally I'm really hoping that it ...


Add encryption "support" to Ubuntu One with a script

Written by Roland Taylor on May 26, 2011, 8:11 a.m.

Need to encrypt your files when uploading them to Ubuntu One? Gnome Files user "switchrodeo7 20" has managed to create a solution (NOT 2BUNTU TESTED): "Nothing against Canonical or the Ubuntu One service, but I think it's poor security practice to upload data to any cloud storage without first encrypting it. I like the Ubuntu One service, which is why I wrote this script. The concept is basic. At start up, it will ask you if you want to encrypt or decrypt data." The script (according to him) even ensures that on decryption, the files are not spilled back into the Ubuntu One folder; pretty neat. Unfortunately, we have not (yet) been able to test this script, so if you ...


Mozilla stands up to the Google train, rejects WebP format for Firefox; What does this mean for Ubuntu?

Written by Roland Taylor on May 24, 2011, 9:03 a.m.

To answer my own question; very little. WebP is unlikely to be widely adopted by web developers, since quite honestly it provides little extra over JPG, if anything at all, and Google has yet to release convincing test results. In fact, it is a good thing that a major player like Mozilla would stand up to them. What it means is that either Google will have to back down from the format, or improve it, either of which would be an improvement for the world of web technologies. In the long run, it won't mean much for Ubuntu, except that the default browser won't support another obscure format. The big deal will really happen if Google does something about the ...


Fedora 15 seen in the wild: Downloading Now!

Written by jbell on May 24, 2011, 8:37 a.m.

With all that said, the big selling point is Fedora is the first Distro to use Gnome 3 by default. So after I get it installed, and play with it a little bit, I will let you know what my first impressions of Fedora 15, and Gnome 3 are.  


Linux 2.3.40 may become Linux 2.8 or or Linux 3.0!

Written by Roland Taylor on May 23, 2011, 2:43 p.m.

According to Phoronix, Linus Torvalds (the Linux creator ofc) is considering renumbering Linux in the next release (it's about time) to something more palatable for normal users. If this comes through, it won't mean anything big for us pros, since it won't mean any huge under-the-hood changes land, but it will mean that new users will be better able to track the state of Linux, and won't be as confused or alienated. This could also potentially make it easier for marketing teams and distributions to portray Linux as a mature platform that means business.


Oxymentary brings Oxygen to GNOME, the right way

Written by Roland Taylor on May 23, 2011, 2:07 p.m.

For fans of the Oxygen icon theme, you no longer have to put up with missing icons! With Oxymentary (not 2buntu-tested) you can get Oxygen icons in GNOME without the sacrifice. How it works, is that the new theme fills in the missing pieces with parts of the Elementary icon theme. There are two variants, one being the standard theme, and the other being a monochrome version. Download link:http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Oxymentary+%28Oxygen+Icons+for+GNOME%29?content=142007