Thank You..

Here is the list of few websites/projects, which has helped me in many ways. This is just a small way to say "Thank You" to them.







Projects:










TestDisk, Data Recovery

Stallman switches to OLPC XO

The FSF founder Richard Stallman has moved to OLPC XO Laptop, there by replacing his old IBM-T23.



Richard Stallman has revealed this, in his blog entry at FSF.org.

OLPC XO laptop uses the vendor neutral Open Fireware, and Except OLPC XO, all other laptops use proprietary BIOS. This was a major reason for his laptop change.

Richard Stallman also written about the importance of keeping OLPC project safe from the hands of evil Microsoft.

Richard Stallman has also asked the free software developers to help Sugar, which is the core of OLPC software Environment.

You can read rest of his blog entry here.

Links:

• Richard Stallman blog @ FSF.org
  

Computer viruses hit one Million mark!

This may be a pretty old news for many people, But I still want to discuss.

The computer viruses count has hit 1 Million mark this month. This count includes viruses, worms, trojans and other malicious code threats. This information was revealed by Symantec in their latest edition of bi-annual Internet Security Threat Report.


Thanks to Linux, I need not worry about 99.999% of them.

Here are the few interesting statistics.

1. The total number of computer viruses present is around 1,122,311.
   
2. Almost two thirds of them or 499,811 viruses were created during the second half of 2007.
   
3. Almost all of them target Windows operating system.
   

Links:

• BBC

The Pirate Bay Launches Uncensored Blogging Service

The creators of The Pirate Bay have launched their new service, an uncensored blogging service, named Baywords.

This blogging is service is intended for anyone who want to be able to write or blog about anything they want, without being afraid of getting shut down by their blog host.

Only thing to take care is that, the blog should not violate any Swedish laws.



Brokep, the co-founder of site said

Many blogs are being shut down for uncomfortable thoughts and ideas. We will not do that. Our goal is to protect freedom of speech and your thoughts. As long as you don’t break any Swedish laws in your blog, we will defend it.

I have registered a new blog with BayWords. You can see it here.

BayWords uses WordPress 2.5 MU version. As of now BayWords has around 40 themes to choose from. There is also plugin support, but as of now there is only 1 plugin available to activate. Users can upload media to BayWords, however the exact amount free space available is still unknown.

As mentioned in BayWords, the upcoming features are..

1. support for custom domain name.
2. Lots of new themes.
3. Improved blog statistics.
4. And lots of other new featuress

As of now there are no ads displayed in user blogs. However in future there will be ads blended with the blog themes to cover up the hosting and maintenance cost. However, Brokep has promised the amount of ads displayed will be minimal.

Only missing thing currently is the custom Java script support. There is no way to add your own java-script to your weblog. Well, this is actually the limitation of the Wordpress MU version itself. It would have been great if, custom java-scripts were supported. Without custom javascript there is no way to have your own stat counter, Google analytics or Google adsense.

Overall, This is the blogging service that I have been waiting for! I always wanted to have a un-censored web log. The wordpress.com blog is too restrictive if you want to blog about anything sensitive. Forget about the paid hosting, they will suspend your hosting account if you do that. This is the main reason why I moved my blog from paid hosting to BlogSpot.

I am not sure, but I hope that I will maintain and keep updating my new blog @ BayWords.

So, What are you waiting for ? Go and get a blog @ BayWords.

Wish you Happy Uncensored blogging!

Links:

• BayWords
  
• My weblog @ BayWords
  

Update: The total amount of free space available for media upload is 100MB. As of now, there is no option for paid upgrade of space.

Yahoo Music makes its customers to use Badware!

Yesterday Yahoo announced that, it has decided to kill its music
subscription service named Yahoo Music Unlimited and send its subscribers to RealNetworks Rhapsody subscription service. This move seems to be the part of Yahoos ongoing strategic reconstruction of the company.

Well, but to listen to music using Rhapsody, you need to have RealNetworks RealPlayer installed in your machine. You many want to remember that, Just days ago the RealPlayer was labeled as Badware by StopBadware.org website.

Its really sad to see that, Yahoo Music customers are left with no choice other than to use this badware (If you want to use a standalone player). There is also a browser only version Rhapsody service available, which seems to be the only way to avoid this badware!

Yahoo Music customers are most likely to move away from Rhapsody service because the costly subscription charges. In-fact they are more than double, compared to the Yahoos subscription charges! ($14.99 vs $5.99)

Links:

• ars technica
• StopBadware
• PR Newswire

Nokia to acquire Trolltech

Nokia and Trolltech ASA today announced that they have entered into an agreement that Nokia will make a public voluntary tender offer to acquire Trolltech ...

You can read more about this story at official website of Trolltech.

Links:

• Nokia Trolltech acquire homepage
  
• Trolltech Newsroom
• Trolltech Open letter to open source community
  

IndiaTimes website ‘attacks on Windows visitors’

Yet another reason to use Linux is here.



It looks like visitors to the IndiaTimes website are being bombarded by Malware/Trojans, some of which appear to target previously unknown vulnerabilities of Windows.

IndiaTimes is one of most popular website of India. It has a Alexa traffic rank of 483, and most of its visitors are from India.

The real bad news is that, Visitors can be infected even if they have up-to-date systems and they don't fall victim to tricks to install software or browser add-ons.

ScanSafe, was the first to detect this security problem of Indiatimes website. According to ScanSafe, Indiatimes website is directly or indirectly serving up at least 434 malicious files, many of which are not detected by antivirus software, even with up-to-date virus definitions.

ScanSafe first detected the malwares on October 25, However the Indiatimes website is still serving malwares as of now. (Sunday 11/11/2007)

According to Mary Landesman, Senior security researcher at ScanSafe,

"The end result of the compromise is that the user, going through their normal course of activities, is subject to a really massive installation of malicious files," . "Coupled with the low detection by antivirus vendors, it does put the end user in a very vulnerable position."

She urged people to avoid the site until it's been cleaned up.

All this problems happens to only Windows visitors of the website, visitors who are using Linux or Mac OS will have no trouble of whatsoever.

Current solutions:

Currently there are two solutions to avoid this problem.

1. Avoid visiting Indiatimes website until the webmasters clean the website.
2. Use Linux.

I would prefer to go for the second solution.

Links:

• The Register
  
• ScanSafe Blog

Ubuntu-7.10 Gutsy Gibbon released

Today Ubuntu-7.10, code named Gutsy Gibbon is released into the wild.

Here is a screenshot of Ubuntu-7.10



It looks like all the download servers including the mirrors are quite busy, so its a good idea to download Ubuntu through torrent.

You can download the torrent for Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) - Desktop CD i386 here.

In case you want to download 64bit version or just want DVD instead of CD then visit here.

If you have very slow internet connection then you may want to get FREE ubuntu CD's delivered to your door step. Order your FREE CD's here.

Intel has finally joined the OLPC project

Finally my dream has come true. Chip-maker Intel has finally joined OLPC project. You can get more information about this from BBC website.



Thank you Intel.

I hope both Intel and OLPC project will benefit from this.

One Laptop per Child Video on 60 Minutes: Intel is Evil

Intel is using predatory tactics against the One Laptop Per Child project. In this CBS "60 Minutes" video, Nicholas Negroponte shows documents proving that Intel is pressuring certain governments to not sign with OLPC. Intel is dumping the price of the low volume order of Classmate PCs with Windows XP to prevent OLPC from starting mass production.

In the short run, this may look like good thing. However, the fear is that this price decrease by Intel is only temporary in order to drive out competition. Then, once OLPC has gone under because no governments ordered their product, Intel will raise their prices. With no alternatives, governments will be forced to pay the higher price. So, in the long run, this might cost governments more money than going with OLPC.

Moreover Intel laptops are coming with Microsoft Windows XP or Linux, I suspect that Microsoft is giving support to Intel's laptop project to move their 6 year old operating system in to the developing countries and hence to create a strong user base for their windows products in future and hence the lock-in. Ultimately what both Microsoft and Intel wants is to improve their market share in the developing countries.

What Intel is doing here with OLPC is not actually a healthy competition as many may think. Actually it's an anti-competitive behavior.

If I have a boatload of money sitting around so I can sell my product at a loss, I can guarantee that no one will ever be able to beat me in terms of price.

Healthy competition is companies competing to have the most efficient system so they can produce more product for less.

For sure, Microsoft is looking into the student's market of developing countries to create its future customer base. As you remember Bill Gates in China introduced the $3 bundle of Windows XP and MS Office to governments in poor countries that subsidize computer purchases by students.

Now $3 may look like a great price for MS Office 2007, However it's the Home and Student Edition and it doesn't come with PowerPoint. Also the version of Windows XP is Windows XP Starter Edition which is basically a crippled version of six year old Windows XP operating system, with networking disabled and multitasking severely limited.



OLPC has, against all odds, come up with a spectacularly appealing machine that has real promise to truly change the world. As for Intel, it should really have better things to do than to combat a non-profit effort that seems to be making a difference.

Links:

• olpc.tv
  
• Portions of the article are based on the comments posted on digg.com
  
• Does Intel fear $100 laptops ?
  
• The real cost of $3 Windows

NY Stock Exchange Moves to Unix/Linux

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is migrating off a 1,600 millions of instructions per second (MIPS) mainframe to IBM System p servers running AIX and x86 Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) servers running Linux, with the first part of the move going live today.



Francis Feldman, the vice president of the shared data center for Securities Industry Automation Corp. (SIAC), the NYSE's technology arm, said the bottom line for the migration was the bottom line. He estimates the move will halve the cost of transactions, and though he wouldn't detail how much that would mean on a yearly basis, he said it is "serious financial savings, very serious."

Trades executed on the floor of the NYSE are matched and sent by the mainframe to The Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., which clears and settles the trades. At night the mainframe handles batch processing and supports regulatory requirements. But Feldman and SIAC found that the costs of running Big Iron, which includes the manpower, software licensing and services, were prohibitive as long as they were under a 2,500 MIPS mainframe.

"The mainframe simply did not make sense," Feldman said. "For the type of work we run, we found price points that were more attractive on different platforms."

Links:

• techtarget.com
  

FSF launches free audio format campaign

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today launched PlayOgg.org, a campaign to encourage use of the patent- and license-free standard Ogg Vorbis as an ethically, legally and technically superior audio alternative to the proprietary MP3 format.



Though the MP3 format has become very common, any time a distributor sells or gives away music encoded as an MP3, they are responsible for paying a fee to the owners of the MP3 patents. These patents are also an issue for developers writing software to work with MP3s. In contrast, the specification for Ogg Vorbis is in the public domain, so anyone can use the format or write software to use it without being dependent on a patent holder for permission.

FSF executive director Peter Brown said,

Ogg is your safest bet to be free from patent litigation when using compressed audio. This is especially true given the recent upswing in patent-based lawsuits. What is most frightening, and underscores the landmine metaphor often used to describe software patents, is the recent $1.5B preliminary judgment against Microsoft. Microsoft thought it had a paid-up nonexclusive license to practice the patents in MP3. This judgment demonstrates that there is no good way to protect yourself from these threats. The only viable solution right now is to switch to Ogg, and work for the abolition of software patents.

With many personal digital music players already providing support for Ogg Vorbis, and with many free software players, encoders and plugins already available for a variety of operating systems, Ogg Vorbis has the elements needed to surpass MP3 in use.

The campaign is aimed at both distributors and listeners. Over the coming months, it will build on existing Ogg promotion efforts by emphasizing the ethical problems with proprietary formats. Planned resources include listings of Ogg-friendly websites, instructions for installing and using Ogg Vorbis, and a directory of volunteers offering their technical expertise to sites seeking help in making the switch to free formats.



Ogg Vorbis is actually technically superior to old digital audio formats such as MP3 and is almost comparable with AAC. Multiformat listening test at 128kbps proved the fact that Ogg Vorbis is a leading audio codec at 128k and its sound quality is much more superior than its proprietary counterparts such as Mp3 or AAC.

Some of the other advantages of Ogg Vorbis are..

Advantages of Ogg Vorbis:

• Ogg Vorbis specification is in the public domain; it is free for commercial or noncommercial use
  
• Source code available under both LGPL and BSD licenses
  
• Easy to use high-level API (Application Programming Interface)
  
• Good all-round performance at any bitrate higher than 48 kbps
• One of the best codec at 128 kbps
  
• Well written specs
  
• Supported by most portable DAPs
  
• Suitable for internet-streaming (via Icecast and other methods)
  
• Fully gapless playback support
  
• High potential for further tuning
  
• Structured to allow the design for a hybrid filterbank
  

Links:

• Ogg Vorbis at Hydrogen Audio wiki
  
• Results of Multiformat at 128kbps public Listening Test
  
• Ogg Vorbis Official Website

Motorola finally launches U.S. Linux phone

At New York press conference Motorola CEO Ed Zander finally introduced Linux-based "Rokr" and "Razr2" models of mobiles for the US market.



Motorola announced plans to adopt Linux more than four years ago, but has shipped Linux phones in volume only in Asia and Latin America, to date.

Razr2 (aka RAZR2)

Zander called the Razr2 the "biggest technology upgrade" in the brand's two-and-a-half year history. He said, "Our Linux/Java platform will be available on some versions of Razr2, taking us to our next generation."

Zander touted Razr2 hardware upgrades for reduced thickness, and added strength and smarts. He confirmed that Razr2 phones will use "monolithic" processors based on ARM11 and clocked at 500MHz. Other touted hardware features include high-speed USB 2.0, a steel frame with cast aluminum hinge, and new assembly techniques producing a more seamless look. "We've lost the Rokr's double chin," he said.

Other touted Razr2 features include:

1. "Crystal-talk" adaptive technology adjusts volume based on ambient noise
   
2. Talking phone features for use by the blind, in cars, etc
   
3. Ability to send pre-set messages in response to incoming text messages, without flipping open
   
4. "Best music experience" in feature/fashion phone segment
   
5. Full web browser
   
6. 2MP camera with multi-shot feature
   
7. Personal video conferencing
   

More info about the Rokr2 can be found here.

MotoRokr Z6 (formerly MotoRizr Z6)

Motorola announced the MotoRizr Z6 in January, touting it as the first Linux phone to support all of Microsoft's Windows Media technologies. Now known as the MotoRokr Z6, the phone officially launches today, with global roll-out expected over the next several weeks.

The Z6 has a unique slider form factor aimed at clearly delineating modality. In other words, "Closed, it's an MP3 player. Open, it's a phone," Dale said.



Dale also called the Z6 "Our first true Linux/Java product," presumably a reference to the device's monolithic processor architecture, on which a real-time enabled version of Linux may provide both control- and data-plane functionality; earlier Motorola phones used VRTX or other real-time OSes on separate baseband processors to handle signal processing and run the cellular modem.

Other touted features include:

1. PC song sync at 3 sec/song -- three times faster than Sony Walkman phones
   
2. Song storage on removable 2GB SD/MMC cards
   
3. Simple music management using Windows Media Player
   
4. X9 stereo bluetooth headphones included in European package
   

All I can say after looking into these mobiles is WOW !!!

For sure my next mobile will be from Motorola !!

Links:

• Linux Devices
  
• Gizmodo

GNOME 2.16.2 Released

The latest release of GNOME is here: GNOME 2.16.2! This is the second release in a series of point releases for the 2.16 branch.

Come and see all the bug fixing, all the new translations and all the updated documentations brought to you by the wonderful team of GNOME contributors! While development continues on the GNOME 2.17/2.18 road, we didn't forget about making a new release that is rock solid. And simply better than the previous one.

Links:

• GNOME Announce-list

Open Source Java coming soon..

Sun Microsystems intends to commence open-sourcing Java by the end of this year and complete the process in 2007, according to the company's executive vice president of software, Rich Green.

Last August, the Java creator said it intended to open-source the components of the Java programming language and associated software.

On Friday, Green said Sun is "on plan" and intends to release significant pieces of the Java platform in the fourth quarter of this year.

Links:

• Original story at News.com