OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Rubin: Android Light on Community, Heavy on Open Source

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-11 Google 64 Comments

It was inevitable, of course, and rightfully so: Google is having its big I/O conference, so we have to talk about the lack of Honeycomb's source code. While not violating any licenses, the lack of source code doesn't sit well with many - including myself - so it only makes sense people are asking Google about it. Andy Rubin confirmed we're never going to see Honeycomb's sources as a standalone release. He also explained what 'open' means for Android.

Guest post by RichterKuato 2011-05-10 Multimedia, AV 15 Comments

" Gourdol confirmed tonight would get the full WebM support, which also includes the Vorbis audio encoding technology and a container to bundle the data together. 'We don't have a timetable for it,' Gourdol said of WebM support in Flash. Important factors include hardware support, just getting under way today, and broad use of the technology, he said."

Senators Press Apple, Google About Location Tracking

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-10 In the News 4 Comments

"Representatives from Apple and Google faced hard questions about their location and privacy policies when testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law on Tuesday. Apple VP of Software Technology Guy 'Bud' Tribble and Google Director of Public Policy Alan Davidson both stood behind their companies' policies at the hearing, however, while continuing to insist that they take consumer privacy seriously."

Google Announces Too Much Stuff to Put in One Headline

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-10 Google 36 Comments

Well, that was all rather much. Google just held its keynote speech thing during the opening of the company's I/O conference, and they announced some pretty spectacular stuff. Aside from Android 3.1 for tablets and Android Icecream Sandwich which will unify the tablet and phone versions of Android in Q4 in 2011, Google announced an internet-based music service. And a video service. And an Arduino-based accessory development kit. And Android@Home. And an alliance of device makers and carriers to bring timely Android updates to devices for a minimum of 18 months.

Submitted by porcel 2011-05-10 Microsoft 103 Comments

So, the biggest acquisition in Microsoft's history. The Wall Street Journal reports - and it has been confirmed - that Microsoft and Skype will announce today that Redmond will buy Skype for $8.5 billion. That's a lot of money for a company that hasn't ever actually made any profits. Update: and it's official: yay on Skype on the Xbox360 and Windows Phone, and this: "Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms." Let's hope this includes Linux.

Apple Releases iOS 4.3 WebKit Source, Still Not LGPL Compliant

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-09 Apple 61 Comments

Apple has released the source code for WebKit in iOS 4.3, which it had been withholding for eight weeks. However, according yo Jay 'saurik' Freeman, they are still not, and never have been, in compliance with the LGPL. "Apple's provided source code (which /is/ heavily modified for the iPhone) isn't even complete enough to compile (it is missing a bunch of code for the WAK* classes), so Apple has simply never been in compliance with this license," Saurik writes. So, it would seem that Apple is still violating the LGPL, and has been doing so for a very long time. Funny how this never makes it to mainstream technology sites. I guess they find their pre-release review devices more important.

PSN Outage May Not Be Fully Remedied Until May 31

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-09 Games 6 Comments

"It's now Monday, the week after Sony told us to expect some functionality to return to the PlayStation Network. Sadly, that has not happened: you can't play your games online, make digital purchases, or download demos; the service remains completely dead. Sony is claiming that it's still unpacking the extent of the attacks, and the industry has begun to try to put a dollar amount on the damages being suffered by the Japanese company."

AmigaOS 4.1 for Classic Amigas Imminent

Submitted by Darren Eveland 2011-05-09 Amiga & AROS 4 Comments

"Hyperion Entertainment CVBA is pleased to announce that all materials comprising the AmigaOS 4.1 distribution for Amiga 1200/3000/4000 equipped with the appropriate PowerPC based accelerator card (Cyberstorm PPC or BlizzardPPC) have now been completed. AmigaOS 4.1 brings Amiga1200/3000/4000 the wealth of new functionality which was made available to other supported platforms in August of 2008 - up to and including - Update 2 released on April 30th, 2010."

Submitted by Elv13 2011-05-09 AMD 4 Comments

AMD Embedded Solutions has gained a great appreciation for the value of coreboot to our ecosystem and continues to build momentum by adding support for our existing products, adding new features, and introducing a roadmap for support going forward." Let's hope regular boards are next. BIOS needs to die.

Submitted by Elv13 2011-05-09 Qt 52 Comments

Since Nokia announced its switch to Windows Phone 7, people have been worried about the future of Qt. Well, it turns out Nokia is still going full steam ahead with Qt, since it has just announced the plans for Qt 5. Some major changes are afoot code and functionality-wise, but the biggest change is that Qt 5 will be developed out in the open from day one (unlike Qt 4). There will be no distinction between a Nokia developer or third party developer.

Submitted by sjvn 2011-05-08 Linux 69 Comments

Only a few weeks after Canonical, Ubuntu Linux's biggest change ever - the release of the Unity-based Ubuntu 11.04 Linux - the company's CTO, Matt Zimmerman is leaving the company.

Apple Could Adopt ARM for Laptops, but Why Would It?

David Adams 2011-05-08 Apple 27 Comments

The Apple/ARM rumor du jour is that Apple will transition its entire portable Mac line to ARM-based CPUs, dropping Intel altogether. Sources speaking to Semi Accurate claim this is a "done deal," and the move should happen by 2013, when a 64-bit ARM A15 core becomes available. While a future generation of Apple's A5 processor could make some sense for something akin to the MacBook Air, the claim that Apple will ditch Intel wholesale for ARM just doesn't add up.

USB Stick PC for $25

David Adams 2011-05-08 Hardware 69 Comments

Well-known game developer David Braben is a little bit fed up with the state of computer science education these days, which seems to have shifted away from learning programming to some sort of computer-oriented "life skills" class. As the father of eleven and nine year-old boys, I can attest that so far, despite a massive investment on the part of their school in computer equipment, their computer education has consisted mostly of "play this math game" and "don't be victimized by cyber-perverts." Braben's idea to stem this tide: a very, very cheap computer that students can learn to program on.

Hackers Return Linux to the PlayStation 3

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-06 Games 34 Comments

"It all began when a young man named George Hotz began to work on the PlayStation 3, trying to gain access to the machine in a way that made Sony uncomfortable. In response, Sony removed the OtherOS functionality of the PlayStation 3 in a mandatory update, and the hacking community was not happy with this decision, resulting in a sort of cold war. PS3 hackers have once again gained the upper hand: Linux has been returned to the PlayStation 3."

Awesome Added to Awesome, World May End

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-06 Games 20 Comments

Somebody has just added the Portal gun to Minecraft. Your argument? It is now invalid.

Guest post by fvillanustre 2011-05-06 Rumors 42 Comments

When comparing the evolution in market share of Linux and OpenBSD, two operating systems that were born around the same time, a question comes to mind: why is there such a difference in market penetration? Linux, on one side of the spectrum, with a license that supposedly impairs commercial venues, has enticed companies and organizations to adopt and support it under varying commercial models, while the BSD derivatives (FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD), with a larger history and an allegedly more commercial friendly license haven't been as successful to gather a large installed base and widespread adoption.

Apple Withholds iOS’ LGPL WebKit Source Code

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-06 Apple 44 Comments

We've had an immense hubbub about the delay in the source code release of Honeycomb, which led to a storm of critique being sent Google's way. Turns out there's another company withholding source code, and this time it's Apple. They have stopped releasing the LGPL source code for WebKit in iOS since iOS 4.3.0, released about 8 weeks ago. Turns out - this isn't the first time Apple has refused to release (L)GPL'd code. It took them six months to release the required GPL source code for iOS 4.1.

Developers Discuss PostgreSQL’s Future

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-06 Databases 14 Comments

The release of the first beta of version 9.1 of the open source PostgreSQL database has opened a new era in enterprise-class reliability and data integrity that can compete with the big names, say its developers. CIO recently interviewed Josh Berkus, Kevin Grittner, Dimitri Fontaine and Robert Haas about PostgreSQL 9.1 and its future.

Mozilla Resists DHS’ Request to Take Down Firefox Extension

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-06 Mozilla, Gecko 12 Comments

Hooray for Mozilla. That about sums this story up. Remember all those domain names ICE keeps seizing? There are countless ways to get around these silly seizures,like using your operating system's hosts file. To make this a less cumbersome process, several Firefox extensions dot he work for you. Well, since copyright infringement is naturally a threat to the security of the United States, the Department of Homeland Security contacted Mozilla, asking them to take down one of these extensions. Mozilla declined.

‘Android To Surpass iOS App Store in Size by August 2011’

Thom Holwerda 2011-05-05 Wireless 30 Comments

"There's no doubt Android Market will at some point offer more applications for download and/or purchase than Apple's App Store, as the latter's growth has been slowing down of late, while the Android application store's growth rate has been accelerating. In a recent report, app store analytics company Distimo forecasted that Android would surpass the App Store in size before the end of July 2011. Another research firm, Germany-based research2guidance, corroborates Distimo's findings; the firm forecasts Android to blow past Apple's App Store by August 2011."