OpenSUSE 12.3 beta is ready to run

Back in 2012, openSUSE, SUSE's community Linux distribution, wasn't looking so good. The project  was missing deadlines and had to be completely reorganized. Eventually, openSUSE 12.2 appearedin September, and since then openSUSE seems to have been on the right track. At the least, openSUSE is on time for the first, and only, beta of its next release, openSUSE 12.3.
OpenSUSE may not get the ink Fedora, Mint, or Ubuntu Linux do, but its parent Linux distribution, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) is still one of the major server Linux distributions. Linux professionals know you ignore openSUSE and SUSE at your own risk.
OpenSUSE is also the one major distribution that has stayed true to the KDE desktop environment, instead of GNOME or one of the many GNOME desktop spin-offs such as Cinnamon and MATE. This beta uses the KDE 4.10 RC2 of KDE workspaces and applications.
The final release of KDE 4.10 is set for the first week of February. Thus, when openSUSE 12.3 goes final, it will ship with KDE 4.10.
It's not all KDE though. OpenSUSE is incorporating tools from other desktops as well. For example, the XFCE file manager Thunar is included. This features tab support, improved bookmark handling and a check for free space before copying starts. OpenSUSE also includes LXDE's respected PCMan file-manager.
Under the hood, openSUSE will be using the 3.7.1 Linux kernel. The most significant improvements here are in networking. 3.7 incorporates TCP Fast Open, which can speed opening up Web pages from 10 to 40%. It also includes Server Messenge Block (SMB2) protocol for Windows PC file support.
This kernel also does a great job of supporting ARM processors. This leaves the door open for easily porting openSUSE to ARM-powered systems such as the ARM-based Samsung Chromebook. Indeed there are earlier openSUSE builds for the Chromebook are already available.
As for applications, besides the KDE family, openSUSE 12.3 will ship with LibreOffice 3.6 for word processors and Firefox 18 for Web browsing.

Download OpenSUSE 12.3
http://software.opensuse.org/developer/en

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/opensuse-12-3-beta-is-ready-to-run-7000010017/

Top 5 reasons the Ubuntu Linux phone might make it

5) Ubuntu Unity interface

Even at its very early stages Unity on the phone is the sweetest smartphone interface I'd ever seen. I've always known Ubuntu's default interface, Unity, was really meant for touch interfaces, now that I've seen it on a phone it really shows to its best advantage.
According to Bacon, you'll have the chance to install it and see it for yourself on Galaxy Nexus phones beginning in March. There have been other reports that the first Ubuntu for phones installation images will appear in February, but March is much more likely.

4) Easy Smartphone OS Upgradability

Shuttleworth pointed out to me, unlike Android, where the version you get is what you usually are stuck with for forever and a day, Ubuntu on phones, just like on the desktop, will be constantly upgraded. For frustrated Android smartphone geeks who always want the newest version they'll feel like they died and went to heaven.
Bacon added though that Ubuntu for phone won't be using same release model as Ubuntu desktop. There won't be one universal image that can be used on all phones. Each phone model will need its own image to make the best possible use of its hardware.

3) Easy Carrier Customization

At the same time, however, carriers will be able to easily customize the phone interface and add their own apps. So, how can it be both easy for end-users to upgrade to the latest version and at the same time let carriers add in their applications and particular look and feel? Easy. By keeping the carrier optimizations in user space, where it's easy to change things, and out of the core operating system itself. This could be the best of both world for end-users and carriers.

2) Linux Desktop Software Compatibility

I had been worried about getting software developers to give Ubuntu a try. I mean there's already so much money to be made in Android and iOS and there's only so many embedded programmers to go around. Bacon made me realize though that all existing Ubuntu applications—LibreOffice, Gimp, Rhythmbox, etc.--will all run on Ubuntu phones. Now getting them to display properly on the phone's interface will take some work, but that's the easy part. The core functionality of tens of thousands of Linux apps will already be available. Of course, if you use your Ubuntu smartphone to power up a PC display you won't even need that.
To make it easier for existing Linux programmers to bring their desktop apps to the phone, Bacon said Ubuntu is working on providing programmers with QML (Qt Meta Language) widgets for quick interface development. QML, along with HTML5 and OpenGL, is native to Ubuntu on phones. These, and the software development kit (SDK), said Bacon, should be out in March.
What all this means is that every Linux programmer out there can also be a smartphone programmer. Almost a thousand developers, said Bacon, are already working on Ubuntu phone apps. Bottom line: Ubuntu is going to have thousands of apps. ready to go before it ships.

1) Green Fields and High End Markets

Shuttleworth also observed that Ubuntu gives carriers two models. In the first, they can cheaply add Ubuntu to low-end phones. This may not matter much in the power-hungry first-world countries, but Shuttleworth believes this makes Ubuntu ideal for second and third-world countries.
In the second high-end model, users will be able to use top-of-the-line Ubuntu smartphones both as a phone and as a desktop. Does the idea of using a smartphone to power your desktop sound silly to you? It shouldn't.
Tablets are already doing it and, as Shawn Dubravac, CEA's Chief Economist and Senior. Director of Research observed at CES said, "65% of the time we spend on mobile phones is not communications. Even adding in e-mail, texting, and so on, smartphones are no longer about communication." Shuttleworth and company are just taking the smartphone to its next natural evolutionary step.

Source:http://www.zdnet.com/top-5-reasons-the-ubuntu-linux-phone-might-make-it-7000009721/

Linux-powered rifle brings “auto-aim” to the real world

CES is about technology of all kinds; while we're busy covering cameras, TVs, and CPUs, there's a huge number of products that fall outside our normal coverage. Austin-based startup TrackingPoint isn't typical Ars fare, but its use of technology to enable getting just the perfect shot was intriguing enough to get me to stop by and take a look at the company's products.
TrackingPoint makes "Precision Guided Firearms, or "PGFs," which are a series of three heavily customized hunting rifles, ranging from a .300 Winchester Magnum with a 22-inch barrel up to a .338 Lapua Magnum with 27-inch barrel, all fitted with advanced computerized scopes that look like something directly out of The Terminator. Indeed, the comparison to that movie is somewhat apt, because looking through the scope of a Precision Guided Firearm presents you with a collection of data points and numbers, all designed to get a bullet directly from point A to point B.

The PGF isn't just a fancy scope on top of a rifle. All together, the PGF is made up of a firearm, a modified trigger mechanism with variable weighting, the computerized digital tracking scope, and hand-loaded match grade rounds (which you need to purchase from TrackingPoint). This is a little like selling both the razor and the razor blades, but the rounds must be manufactured to tight tolerances since precise guidance of a round to a target by the rifle's computer requires that the round perform within known boundaries.

The image displayed on the scope isn't a direct visual, but rather a video image taken through the scope's objective lens. The Linux-powered scope produces a display that looks something like the heads-up display you'd see sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet, showing the weapon's compass orientation, cant, and incline. To shoot at something, you first "mark" it using a button near the trigger. Marking a target illuminates it with the tracking scope's built-in laser, and the target gains a pip in the scope's display. When a target is marked, the tracking scope takes into account the range of the target, the ambient temperature and humidity, the age of the barrel, and a whole boatload of other parameters. It quickly reorients the display so the crosshairs in the center accurately show where the round will go.
Image recognition routines keep the pip stuck to the marked target in the scope's field of view, and at that point, you squeeze the trigger. This doesn't fire the weapon; rather, the reticle goes from blue to red, and while keeping the trigger held down, you position the reticle over the marked target's pip. As soon as they coincide, the rifle fires.

TrackingPoint is quick to emphasize the rifle doesn't fire "by itself," but rather the trigger's pull force is dynamically raised to be very high until the reticle and pip coincide, at which point the pull force is reset to its default. In this way, the shooter is still in control of the rifle's firing, and at any point prior to firing you can release the trigger. In the mockups the company had on display for the press to experiment with, the action appeared to be the same—I pulled the trigger and lined up the dots and the blue plastic toy gun went click.

Having the round fire when the shot is lined up rather than in immediate response to a trigger pull eliminates a tremendous amount of uncertainty from the shot. Even the most experienced shooters can upset a weapon's aim when pulling the trigger, and overcoming the reflex to twitch or preemptively move against a weapon's recoil is very, very difficult. By allowing the computer to choose the precise moment to take the shot, accuracy is greatly enhanced.
Putting lead accurately on targets is only part of what TrackingPoint's PGF system does. The computerized tracking scope contains some amount of nonvolatile storage, and like an airplane's "black box," it's constantly recording the visual feed from the optics. It also contains a small Wi-Fi server, and TrackingPoint offers an iOS app that connects to the scope via an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network and streams the scope's display to the app, allowing someone with an iPad or iPhone to act as a spotter. TrackingPoint notes that for novice hunters, having the ability to duplicate the scope's picture onto an external display makes it a lot easier for an experienced spotter to give advice on how and when to shoot.

Credits & Read Full Story:http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/17000-linux-powered-rifle-brings-auto-aim-to-the-real-world/

Akaneiro: Demon Hunters enters into open beta, Linux version on the horizon

Akaneiro: Demon Hunters, the Red Riding Hood-based title from American McGee's Spicy Horse Games studio, enters into open beta today while the developer adds new tiers to its Kickstarter campaign to unlock a version for Linux.
Users can sign up to the open beta on the game's official website. It will run until Jan. 16 and consist of numerous stress tests. In addition, those who participate in the beta will have a chance to experience the game's advanced character training, weapon improvement and the in-development Shivering Pines area.
Akaneiro's Kickstarter has reached $53,589 of its $200,000 funding goal with 23 days left in its campaign. A Linux version is now added to the game's stretch goals, alongside a new penguin pet in the game's reward tiers.
Source:http://www.polygon.com/2013/1/10/3859140/akaneiro-demon-hunters-enters-into-open-beta-linux-version-on-the

Valve Console Locked For Linux, Report Suggests “SteamBox” Out 2013

After many rumours, it appears Steam’s living room console is real. At the end of 2012, German site Golem.de attended a conference, and at that conference was Ben Krasnow, Valve’s electronics engineer. Krasnow, apparently, talked hardware.
Specifically, a Valve console, which has been a joint effort with Jeri Ellsworth (for the last two years), runs off Linux, and is due in 2013.
“It doesn’t come off as a huge surprise,” says one translation from the original German source site, “considering that Valve-boss Gabe Newell views Windows 8 as a catastrophe: Steam Box will not be based on Windows, but on Linux instead.”
“This was confirmed by Ben Krasnow, one of Valve’s hardware developers, when inquired on this topic,” continues the story. “With that, the Linux client for Valve’s download and community platform Steam, which is currently in its Beta phase, gets an all new background because of this – especially as Linux will also support the big-picture mode.”
Linux might mean that the vast majority of Steam’s library won’t automatically work, but all Valve need to do is make the console launch with Half Life 3.

Source:http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2013/01/05/valve-console-locked-for-linux-report-suggests-steambox-out-2013/

Linux users resent being locked out of Windows 8

 Microsoft’s brand new version of its flagship product, the Windows operating system, has pitted it once again against Linux users who have had a longstanding battle with the giant. The Linux community has been particularly offended by the operating system’s Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), or popularly known as Secure Boot.

The GNU Linux community’s fundamental objection to the feature is that it amounts to collusion between Microsoft and hardware manufacturers to lock users, depriving them of the freedom to install other operating systems in a Windows environment. They were later mollified by Microsoft’s clarifications that there will be a ‘Secure Boot-disable’ option on PC’s shipping with Windows 8. Although this option would have allowed installation of multiple operating systems, it is still arduous on Secure Boot machines.

Secure Boot is deemed as an attempt by Microsoft to tighten its losing grip in the desktop space and grab onto a substantial user base in the tablet space. With the release of Windows 8 and Microsoft’s tablet computer Surface, there is some clarity about the implications of Secure Boot.

As the Redmond giant provides an option for multi boot on Intel or AMD processor-based computers (seen with Windows 8), and no such option for ARM-based computers, the restriction might play out differently in the tablet market (manifested in Microsoft Surface).

It would create unhealthy competition in the long run, if Microsoft-certified ARM devices make it big in the tablet computer segment, and eliminate other operating systems from the race with a hardware lock in the form of Secure Boot.

If you have a personal computer, or a laptop that you purchased a couple of years ago, the first wake-up screen would most likely be a dull visual with a pixelated logo and text in a monotonous font with keyboard access to only a few obscure device options. This wake-up system software, that has existed from the first IBM PC, is mostly the only piece of computer ware that has never seen any major upgrades.

The Basic Input/Output System (or commonly known as the BIOS) is the firmware that initiates the device wake-up, before the operating system can be loaded.

With UEFI, this interface between the device firmware and the operating system will make the interface advanced, firstly, and more importantly, prevent malicious software that attack the BIOS (rootkits) from hampering the functioning of the operating system. The initiative of Intel and now the consortium UEFI is trying to make the boot process of computers more secure.

Secure or restricted?

Boot restrictions aren’t new in the industry. All Apple products come with restricted boot. Tablets and phones running Android too do not allow multi boot. With the Microsoft version of UEFI Secure Boot, it has joined the league of restricted boot operating systems. If Microsoft is not alone, why is it being targeted?

A blog post on Free Software Foundation website reads, “When done correctly, Secure Boot is designed to protect against malware by preventing computers from loading unauthorised binary programs when booting.” In the case of the Microsoft implementation, it hasn’t been done correctly. Making the apprehensions of Free Software crowd come true, Microsoft has now made it mandatory for ARM-based devices to have “Secure Boot” on, without an option to disable it. This means ARM-based devices certified for Windows do not have the option of booting into another operating system (unless the operating system in question is also certified by Microsoft).

Impact on market

While Free Software community and technologists who want multi boot are agitated with this ARM lock by Microsoft, from a market point of view, it does not seem like a threat, at least as yet.

Microsoft is not imposing the Secure Boot restriction in the desktop space, which is almost entirely ruled by Intel or AMD machines running Microsoft Windows. If Microsoft had imposed Secure Boot on desktop platforms, they might have faced a second antitrust action, because they are still the monopoly in personal computer operating systems.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/linux-users-resent-being-locked-out-of-windows-8/article4277078.ece

Linux Live USB Creator makes it easier to install Linux

There used to be a time when Microsoft Windows ruled the operating system world. But in recent years, the free and open source Linux operating system has taken a big bite out of Windows' dominance. But Linux has always had an image problem of seeming too difficult and unwieldy to install and learn, with a steep learning curve attached.
Linux Live USB Creator (LiLi for short) aims to take the sting out of a newcomer's introduction to the operating system by making it as easy as possible to get started. All you need is a USB stick with enough space—a minimum 2GB should do the trick—and five minutes of your time to install it. No user manual required.
After downloading and installing the software (developer Thibaut Lauziere also offers a portable version), open it up and you will see a simple straightforward user interface, showing the various steps needing to be completed. Once each step has been successfully carried out, the traffic light icon on the right hand side will turn green.
First, you need to point the app towards the location of your USB stick in the computer.  Secondly, you need to choose the source of the Linux installation file. For example, you may have it already downloaded onto your computer. If so, point it towards that file.
If not, you can click "download" and a big drop-down menu of various Linux distros (and some non-Linux options) will be presented as possibilities.  Just choose the one you want to download.  For newcomers, it's probably easiest to choose Ubuntu as it's an easy Linux distro to get started with.
Once you've done this, the "persistence" level should be automatically at green. "Persistence" means that you can keep your preferences and data on your USB stick, after rebooting (normally this information is discarded).
Next come LiLi's personal options, which you must decide yourself. I enabled all three options but you need to decide for yourself what you prefer.
Finally, if everything looks OK, click the yellow lightning flash to begin the installation of your chosen Linux distro to your USB stick. In my case, it took only a few minutes and it was immediately ready to go.
There are two possibilities to run your new Linux distro. The first one is to reboot your computer and let Windows boot from the USB stick. However, this means you are running only Linux with no access to Windows. The second (and preferable) option is to go to the stick and choose "Virtualize This Key," which will launch the excellent VirtualBox software.
This is the software equivalent of a sandbox where you can run software programs inside, independent of the operating system you are currently using. In other words, you can be running Windows and at the same time, have Linux running inside the VirtualBox window.
The only downside to this option is that a huge amount of CPU is going to be required to run both OS's simultaneously. So you may notice things slowing down slightly as a result. If it gets too bad, try closing some non-essential programs.
In a word, Linux Live USB Creator should be on everyone's PC, as it is essential for everyone to learn that there is a world beyond what Microsoft has to offer. With it being portable, you can easily carry it about on a USB stick and introduce Linux to everyone you know.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2023568/review-linux-live-usb-creator-makes-it-easier-to-install-linux.html

Bodhi Linux 2.2.0 ships stable E17 desktop

The latest version of Bodhi Linux now ships with the stable Enlightenment E17 desktop environment that was released recently. Bodhi Linux 2.2.0 also includes a new kernel option for 32-bit installs and has introduced hybrid ISO images. This release makes the minimal desktop distribution one of the first Linux flavours to ship the stable version of E17.
Bodhi Linux now provides two 32-bit install images: a version with a PAE-enabled kernel for machines exceeding 4GB of RAM and an image that uses a non-PAE kernel. Like the 64-bit image, the PAE-enabled 32-bit ISO uses a Linux 3.7 kernel while the non-PAE image provides an older 3.2 kernel. All images are now hybrid ISOs, meaning that they can be copied to USB memory sticks with a simple dd command and can be easily burned to CDs as well. The documentation for the distribution has also been updated and the desktop profiles have been reworked for the final release of E17. These provide several different desktop layouts – from a barebones setup to tiling window management and a complete composited desktop.
Bodhi Linux 2.2.0 is available for 32-bit and 64-bit x86 systems as well as ARM devices such as the Raspberry Pi, Nexus 7 and others. These images can be downloaded from Sourceforge. At the time of writing, packages on the Bodhi Linux web site had not been updated. Users of the 2.x branch of the distribution can update their systems through their package manager.

Source:http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Bodhi-Linux-2-2-0-ships-stable-E17-desktop-1777022.html

Samsung: Tizen Linux phones will arrive in 2013

Hard on the heels of Wednesday's unveiling of Ubuntu Linux for phones, Samsung has now reportedly confirmed that it plans to ship new Linux-based mobile devices of its own later this year. 

Rather than Ubuntu Linux or Linux-based Android, however, Samsung's handsets will be based on Tizen Linux, a mobile OS that was launched by the Linux Foundation and the LiMo Foundation in late 2011.

Samsung plans "to unveil competitive Tizen devices within this year," a company spokesperson reportedly told CNET on Thursday, though no further specifics were provided.

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/2023649/samsung-tizen-linux-phones-will-arrive-in-2013.html