Monthly Archive:: May 2012

And thus, it ends. Despite a never-ending stream of doom and gloom from Oracle/Microsoft-funded 'pundits' regarding Google and Android (six hundred billion trillion gazillion eurodollars in damages!!1!), judge Alsup has just squashed all of Oracle's chances with a ruling that is good news for those of us who truly care about this wonderful industry: APIs are not copyrightable. Alsup: "To accept Oracle's claim would be to allow anyone to copyright one version of code to carry out a system of commands and thereby bar all others from writing their own different versions to carry out all or part of the same commands. No holding has ever endorsed such a sweeping proposition." Supreme Court, Ellison?

The Windows 8 release Preview has been released, so go out and get it, test it, and wax lyrically, or complain loudly. I'm installing it as we speak, so no word, thoughts, or impressions from me yet. Like it or hate it, at least have fun, folks.

"Microsoft has been furiously ripping out legacy code in Windows 8 that would have enabled third parties to bring back the Start button, Start Menu, and other software bits that could have made this new OS look and work like its predecessor. In fact, I've seen that several well-known UI hacks that worked fine with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview are no longer functional in the coming Release Preview. And those with hopes that Microsoft would allow businesses, at least, to boot directly to the desktop should prepare for disappointment. That feature not only isn't happening, it's being removed from Windows Server 12 (Windows 8's stable mate) as well." When you buy a new machine later this year, you will use Metro, an environment wholly inferior, incomplete, and not at all ready to replace the traditional desktop in any way, shape, or form. Whether you like it or not.

"Fedora 18 will be released at around the same time as Windows 8, and as previously discussed all Windows 8 hardware will be shipping with secure boot enabled by default. We've been working on a plan for dealing with this. It's not ideal, but of all the approaches we've examined we feel that this one offers the best balance between letting users install Fedora while still permitting user freedom." Wait for it... "Our first stage bootloader will be signed with a Microsoft key."

It took the world a good while, but today, my Raspberry Pi finally landed on my doormat. Since it only arrived today, I haven't had the time to put it through its paces, but I do have a few first impressions to share with you all, while I also want to explain how the Pi will allow me to complete my already seven year long quest for The Elusive Three.

With the ability to run the GNU tool chain including GCC, binutils, and GNU make, the Genode OS framework has taken another big step towards becoming a general-purpose OS. The just released version 12.05 introduces Genode's file-system infrastructure along with support for stacked file systems, extends the framework API with support for configuring system components on-thy-fly, and adds media replay capabilities.

One of my recent endeavours involves surreal digital collage, which currently has its own, rejuvanated, underground movement. In my search for inspiration I came across a talented artist, _meta_ ("Kim" in real world). At the time Kim happened to only publish his works for his followers on Instagram, so few people has seen his works. The biggest surprise for me was that Kim's artwork doesn't come to life via Photoshop or The Gimp, but via an iPhone 4s. Modern collage works require quite some cutting precision, so I found this fascinating-enough to ask Kim to walk us through his creation process.

Struggling RIM will layoff up to 2,000 employees in an attempt to right itself while it pins its hopes on the Blackberry 10. Wireless industry analyst Peter Misek of Jefferies & Company opines: "We maintain that the only path for RIM is to partner with someone, to be acquired, or to turn themselves into a software company, and I think that path with become very clear to the management team by the end of the year."

Two interesting reviews of the new Chrome OS and new hardware. The general gist? While we're all busy focussing on Android, Chrome OS keeps getting better and better - even though it's not there quite yet. Nuance is in the final verdict - The Verge claims it's almost there: "Google is closer than ever to convincing the world that we can live online, that we can do away with the old hard drives and local apps and spend our lives on the web." ReadWriteWeb is already convinced: "The point is, Chrome OS is ready for the market." I have to admit that, for the first time, I feel somewhat compelled by Chrome OS.

Fedora 17 has been released. Major new features: "GNOME 3.4 and KDE 4.8; OpenStack, Eucalyptus, CloudStack and Open Nebula; ICC profiles for color printing and an improved gimp; Still more virtualization improvements." And, of course, loads and loads more.

"Two weeks ago, Steve Wozniak made a public call for Apple to open its platforms for those who wish to tinker, tweak and innovate with their internals. EFF supports Wozniak's position: while Apple's products have many virtues, they are marred by an ugly set of restrictions on what users and programmers can do with them. This is most especially true of iOS, though other Apple products sometimes suffer in the same way. In this article we will delve into the kinds of restrictions that Apple, phone companies, and Microsoft have been imposing on mobile computers; the excuses these companies make when they impose these restrictions; the dangers this is creating for open innovation; why Apple in particular should lead the way in fixing this mess. We also propose a bill of rights that need to be secured for people who are purchasing smartphones and other pocket computers."

"Two robbers have paid a visit to a house in south-eastern Australia, hours after a teenager posted a photo on Facebook of a large sum of cash. The masked men, armed with a knife and a club, struck the home of the 17-year-old girl's mother in the country town of Bundanoon on Thursday, police say. Her mother told the men her daughter no longer lived there. It is not clear how the robbers found the family address. The Facebook image was at the grandmother's Sydney house. The men searched the house and took a small amount of cash and a small number of personal objects before leaving. No-one was injured." Should I be laughing or crying?

As Engadget notes, almost 1 million people jailbroke their iOS device this weekend, after the release of Abstinthe 2.0. Considering I'm actually hearing more and more non-techie users talk about jailbreaking, this doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

"Employees of Facebook and several engineers who have been sought out by recruiters there, as well as people briefed on Facebook's plans, say the company hopes to release its own smartphone by next year. These people spoke only on the condition of anonymity for fear of jeopardizing their employment or relationships with Facebook. The company has already hired more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad, the employees and those briefed on the plans said." Who would risk signing a two-year contract only to end up with next year's MySpace Phone? A bit extreme, perhaps, but history has shown us that social networks do not have particular staying power.