Tech

  • Amazon integration – the last thing I want from Ubuntu

    Steve WoodsLinux, Open Source, Tech

    Ubuntu logoThe Inquirer yesterday carried a report in which Canonical, purveyors of Ubuntu Linux, claim that Amazon integration is what users want in Ubuntu.

    Canonical released Ubuntu 12.10 on Thursday. This new release introduced tighter integration with Amazon in system search results – a move which has provoked criticism from the Ubuntu community. Canonical asserts that Amazon integration in Dash is something users expect and it will integrate other online services in future Ubuntu releases.

    The move was defended by Steve George, Canonical’s Vice-President of communications and products, who told The Inquirer that: “Users increasingly expect to search. It is driven by two things, firstly the fact that online they search, so naturally they think about searching and the other thing is the total amount of content. […] The Dash has previously been restricted to only the things that were on your desktop, so where we are taking the Dash so we are trying to pull it so that everything – your personal cloud – all of your online and offline, everything you have in your universe around you, the Dash will be able to search that and find those things for you.”

    Thanks for that Steve. I’ve been using Ubuntu happily on my laptop for two and a half years now, but if you’re going to clamber into bed with the likes of Amazon, I’m putting Debian on that machine when the long term support on my present Ubuntu install runs out.

    Update 21/10/12: Bruno Girin has been in touch since I wrote this post and informed me there are 2 options for disabling the Amazon search – turning it off in the system settings and removing the package respectively – as follows:

    1. Option 1: system settings -> privacy -> include online search results = off
    2. Option 2: sudo apt-get remove unity-lens-shopping

  • More North Somerset Luddism

    Steve WoodsPolitics, Tech

    There must be something in the water in North Somerset that induces idiocy and Luddism in that unitary authority’s councils.

    Not far away from schizophrenic Clevedon, where members of the public can use social media to their hearts’ content during council meetings, but councillors cannot (posts passim), is Nailsea.

    Today’s Bristol Post reports on yesterday’s meeting of Nailsea Town Council which, with typical bureaucratic perspicacity, voted to ban councillors from using iPads and laptops during meetings over concerns that councillors would use them to either surf the internet, send emails or post messages on networking sites.

    The move hasn’t gone down well with one member of the town council – Councillor Mary Blatchford, who also represents Nailsea on North Somerset Council. Cllr. Blatchford has good reason to feel aggrieved: she has a hand injury; the latter makes it hard for her to write. She therefore quite sensibly uses her iPad for taking notes during meetings. It’s therefore hardly surprising she described the move as “archaic” and has moreover threatened to resign in protest.

  • GBeers – open source and beer

    Steve WoodsLinux, Open Source, Tech

    GNOME logo
    GNOME – enjoy with a beer!
    Phoronix reports that 2 of my favourite things – beer and open source – are being combined in GBeers (GNOME + Beers = GBeers), a world-wide initiative for GNOME meet-ups with lightning talk presentations taking place while drinking beer. Madrid in Spain recently hosted the very first GBeers event. Other GNOME users and developers are being encouraged by the GNOME project to arrange GBeers in their own towns and cities.

    The proposed format of GBeers events is one hour of lightning talks (with each talk lasting 5-10 minutes. Ed.) on unrestricted topics every month, with the talks possibly being recorded for internet distribution. A further possibility is for virtual GBeers through Skype or Google hang-outs.

    GBeers have so far been organised in Madrid, Las Palmas, A Coruña, Seville (all Spain), Chicago (USA) and Lima (Peru). Further information about this initiative can be found on the GNOME Live Wiki.

    Hat tip: Roy Schestowitz.

  • Language and open source

    Steve WoodsLanguage, Linux, Open Source, Tech

    I’m intrigued by the way we advocates of free and open source software (FOSS) are viewed and described by the world outside our circle. Frequently, the terms are very loaded, e.g. ‘zealot’.

    A report today in The Register Channel on Scottish NHS IT procurement and a decision to waste millions on Microsoft Windows 7 is no exception. Mark Taylor, CEO of Sirius, a major UK open source supplier, is quoted and referred to as a ‘firebrand’.

    According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, firebrand‘s first recorded use was in the 13th century, when it was originally “a piece of burning wood“. Its meaning was extended to over subsequent centuries to include “one that creates unrest or strife“.

    Synonyms for firebrand are: demagogue, exciter, agitator, fomenter, incendiary, inciter, instigator, kindler, provocateur, rabble-rouser.

    I’ve met and spoken to Mark on a number occasions and the last thing one can describe him as is a firebrand or any of its above synonyms. Admittedly, he has a business to run, but he’s also concerned that the UK spending on ICT amounts to an eye-watering £20 billion per year. That’s three times more than is spent on the army. Most of that £20 billion is spent on proprietary software and its suppliers, in the course of which vast amounts of taxpayers’ money are exported to MS’ coffers in Redmond, USA.

    Both Mark and I feel that FOSS would be a better alternative and there’d then be more money for the NHS to spend on patient care – a far better use of resources. If that makes us ‘firebrands’, then we’ll wear the label with pride.

  • Linux Kernel 3.7 Will Support All ARM Platforms

    Steve WoodsLinux, Tech

    Tux - the Linux kernel mascot
    Tux – the Linux kernel mascot
    It was recently announced that when it is released in some 6 months’ time, the forthcoming Linux 3.7 kernel will incorporate support for multiple ARM System on Chips (SoCs) platforms, Softpedia reports.

    Having all ARM platforms supported by a single kernel package is a good news for everyone from end users to hardware manufacturers who base their kit on ARM chips and the Android operating system.

    “This is a pretty significant branch. It’s the introduction of the first multiplatform support on ARM”, said kernel developer Olof Johansson on the Linux kernel Git commit page. “And with this (and the later branch) merged, it is now possible to build one kernel that contains support for highbank, vexpress, mvebu, socfpga, and picoxcell”.

    When Linux kernel 3.7 is released (the latest Linux kernel release at the time of writing is 3.6. Ed.), it will initially provide support the following ARM platforms: VExpress, Highbank, SoC FPGA, Picoxcell and Mvebu, although support for more ARM platforms will be added to subsequent kernel releases.

    Hat tip: Roy Schestowitz

  • Social media induces municipal schizophrenia in Clevedon

    Steve WoodsPolitics, Social Media, Tech

    Clevedon on the Somerset Coast is not noted as a place of controversy. Indeed, the last earth-shattering event in Clevedon was perhaps when its Victorian pier collapsed one October night in 1970 during stress testing.

    However, in August 2012 the town made the national and international headlines when Clevedon Town Council, in an act of bureaucratic perspicacity, banned councillors from tweeting during council meetings.

    The main person affected by the ban is Councillor Jane Geldart.

    Since Clevedon Town Council enacted its ban, legislation has come into effect under which local councils are expected to provide reasonable facilities for members of the public to report the proceedings of council meetings as they happen. Indeed, the legislation was devised to “make it easier for new social media reporting of council executive meetings, thereby opening proceedings up to internet bloggers, tweeting and hyper-local news forums”.

    Tomorrow, 3rd October, Clevedon Town Council has its next meeting and the Bristol Democracy Project is urging people to turn up to help tweet about Clevedon Town Council.

    However, while members of the public will be able to report freely during the proceedings, Cllr. Jane Geldart has told me she will still be silenced, as per the following conversation on Twitter:

    @JaneGeldart I just read that Clevedon Town Council will allow live tweeting by public. Does ban on councillors tweeting still apply?

    @wood5y It does sadly. Despite new legislation they (Town Council) are hiding behind an Act from 1960 …….

    Given that MPs and peers regularly tweet the proceedings of Parliament and council meetings everywhere else in the country are covered by webcasts, local bloggers and Twitter, one must wonder what motives Clevedon Town Council has for its schizophrenic attitude.

  • Italy’s Umbria region adopts LibreOffice

    Steve WoodsOpen Source, Tech

    Location map for Umbria
    Location map for Umbria. Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
    It’s not just self-employed wordsmiths such as myself that are moving away from overpriced proprietary office suites towards free and open source alternatives: cash-strapped public sector organisations are doing so too.

    EU open source news website Joinup reports that the Administration the Italian region of Umbria has started a project to migrate an initial group of 5,000 users to LibreOffice. Osvaldo Gervasi, president of Umbria’s Open Source Competence Centre – CCOS – states that getting rid of IT vendor lock-in is one of the main motives for the migration.

    As part of the move, the region will also be adopting LibreOffice’s default Open Document Format as an open document standard.

    The legal basis for the migration is a 2006 regional law promoting the use of free and open source software by the public sector in Umbria.

    According to the Libre Umbria blog, the project involves the Provinces of Perugia and Terni, Local Health Unit no. 2 and the Region of Umbria, and is being co-ordinated by the Consortium of Umbrian Authorities (Consorzio SIR Umbria) and CCOS Umbria.

    The story is also covered by La Stampa (in Italian).

  • Of beards and beer

    Steve WoodsOddities, Tech

    I’ve had a beard for about and decade and drunk beer for many (over 4) decades longer.

    However, I had never expected to come across such a convergence of the two as has been achieved by Rogue Ales of Newport, Oregon, USA.

    Rogue has a reputation for seeking out new yeast strains for its brews in unusual places and one they found that was successful originated from a most unusual place: the beard of Rogue’s Brewmaster, John Maier.

    Nine beard follicles were carefully cut from John’s beard, placed in a petri dish and sent away for testing.

    Surprisingly the beard samples had a yeast strain that proved perfect for use in brewing. John’s beard has been growing continuously since 1978. The beard yeast is currently being used in test brews to determine the perfect style and yeast combination; the finished product will be released in early 2013.

    Rogue's Brewmaster John Maier
    Rogue’s Brewmaster John Maier

    This sterling work should definitely be brought to the attention of the Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, and their spokesman Keith Flett.

    The Beard Liberation Front is currently scrutinising candidates for Beard of Autumn 2012. I definitely think John Maier and Rogue Ales deserve a special commendation for services to pogonophilia.

    Hat tip: Julien Weston

  • Local youngsters get chance to win a Raspberry Pi

    Steve WoodsBristol, Linux, Open Source, Tech

    Although my postal address says Easton, I’ve lived in Bristol’s Lawrence Hill ward for 35 years now and was delighted to see there was a competition to win a Raspberry Pi in the latest edition of Up Our Street, the quarterly regeneration and community matters magazine produced by Easton and Lawrence Hill Management.

    The Raspberry Pi is of course a small Linux computer available at pocket money prices and aimed at young people who wish to learn programming.

    Raspberry Pi in a case

    To be eligible for the competition, entrants must be under 25 years of age and live in either Lawrence Hill or Easton ward in Bristol.

    Entries stating why you would like to win the Raspberry Pi should be sent by email to stacy (at) eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk by the closing date of 30th November and should also include your name, date of birth and address.

  • Today is Software Freedom Day

    Steve WoodsLinux, Open Source, Tech

    Software Freedom Day logoToday, 15th September, is Software Freedom Day, an annual worldwide event to promote the role that free and open source technology can play in the modern world, where our everyday lives are increasingly dependent upon technology. At the time of writing, there are over 200 teams in 60 countries putting on events of which the closest to us in Bristol is being organised by the Herefordshire LUG.

    Free and open source software gives you, the user, access to the source code. This ensures that you can know (or get checked) what exactly a piece of software will do. It avoids nasty surprises, spyware and all kinds of problems that we can’t be absolutely sure are avoided in closed software. Proprietary software keeps the source code locked away from public scrutiny, meaning that there is no way to know exactly what the software actually does and no way to trust it to safeguard your human rights. Transparent technologies are about ensuring you can trust the results and operation of your technology.

    As an increasing proportion of the world’s population starts using technology, getting online and developing the next major life-changing event of the future (such as the birth of the internet was for many of us), it is vital to ensure open, transparent and sustainable approaches are considered best practice. This is important to a future where technology empowers everyone equally, where knowledge is forever and where our basic human freedoms are strengthened – not hampered – by technology.

    Software Freedom Day is a global celebration of why transparent and sustainable technologies are now more important than ever.

    NB: This post originally appeared on the Bristol Wireless blog.

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