Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell News Summary - Part I: New OpenSUSE Board, KDE 4.4, and Site Changes

Chameleon hunting for a meal



Summary: OpenSUSE events, new board members, many technical posts, and changes to the OpenSUSE.org Web site

MANY posts about OpenSUSE have appeared over the past week. Here is a concise overview of developments and observations.

Events



FOSS.in enjoyed some OpenSUSE presence and so will SCALE, which has a deadline coming around the same time as Christmas celebrations by OpenSUSE staff. The main development though was the hyped up announcement of the new openSUSE Board.

The full Board will consist of:

* Bryen Yunashko * Henne Vogelsang * Michael Löffler (chair) * Pascal Bleser * Pavol Rusnak * Rupert Horstkötter


This announcement was ushered in by key OpenSUSE people, including Zonker.

Novell's Zonker



Joe Brockmeier's controversial gig in London is not forgotten. Earlier this week we wrote about Brockmeier being slammed for lying about the Microsoft/Novell deal. He is again sort of misusing Moglen's position of authority ("Have Faith in the GPLv2"), which is ironic given that his employer attacked the GPLv2, after which he joined this company and started to defend its actions, for a paycheck. Steve Stites writes: "Eben Moglen and all of the other illuminaries of the Open Source movement said that the Microsoft-Novell agreement complied with the letter of GPL2 and grossly violated the spirit of GPL2. One of the mandates in designing GPL3 was that GPL3 had to prevent such cynical manipulations of the GPL."

Brockmeier wrote a variety of other things, he spoke about social media, spoke to Stormy Peters and also spoke with FLOSS Weekly about:

openSUSE 11.2, the free and open source Linux operating system distribution from Novell.


Releases



Ben Kevan is still building Chrome for OpenSUSE, as well as writing a lot about KDE (4.4). With screenshots floating out there, KDE becomes the centre of attention to some.

I have to admit when I first thought or heard of this feature in KDE 4.4, I wasn’t really excited. I thought.. now why the hell would I want that.

Then I started using it.. and found quite a few usage scenario’s for it.


To quote some more KDE 4.4 on OpenSUSE posts:

KDE SC 4.4 Beta 1 has been released, and of course I couldn’t stay still. Thanks to the friendly openSUSE Build Service, there were packages available, so I just pointed my zypper sources to KDE:KDE4:UNSTABLE:Desktop repository, adjusted a few other things (mainly other third-party repositories) and updated.


Kevan also looks at the installation process of OpenSUSE 11.2 under the latest VirtualBox. This new review of the same release agrees that it's promising.

I would have preferred to have a bit more of a shiny version to introduce, but overall through the years openSUSE is the most consistently stable and polished desktop Linux available. It and its big brother SLED are used by government agencies, big businesses, education departments, security specialists, and everyday desktop users like yourself. One release with a few rough edges does not negate its otherwise exemplary track record.

openSUSE is available in several formats. The install DVD is a large 4.3 gigabyte image with lots of software and your choice of desktop systems. The popular live CDs come in KDE and GNOME varieties and offers a nice stack of apps to get started. You can learn more at the openSUSE Website.


Well, OpenSUSE 11.2 is hitting store shelves -- a sign of maturity for the GNU/Linux desktop as a whole.

Retail versions of openSUSE 11.2 are once again available. For the first time, the retail box is being handled by a partner, open-slx.


Technical



The end of SaX2 in OpenSUSE was mentioned on a couple of occasions before [1, 2], but it still begs for responses.

HowToForge has a bunch of new articles about OpenSUSE 11.2 [1, 2, 3] and new HOWTOs in other Web sites include:



Scott Morris, who wrote for Linux Journal last week, is still writing about OpenSUSE but not as often as he used to.

Leftovers



OpenSUSE Weekly News reaches a special number which does not escape the attention of key people who also share this audio recording. Web site changes can be seen in OpenSUSE.org [1, 2] and OpenFATE suddenly reappears too. It has been a while.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft's Windows Falls to All-Time Low and Layoffs Reported by Managers in the Windows Division
One manager probably broke an NDA or two when he spoke about it in social control media
Inclusion of Dissent and Diversity of Views (Opinions, Interpretations, Scenarios)
Stand for freedom of expression as much as you insist on software freedom
 
North America, Home of Microsoft and of Windows, is Moving to GNU/Linux
Can it top 5% by year's end?
[Meme] The Heart of Staff Rep
Rowan heartily grateful
Management-Friendly Staff Representatives at the EPO Voted Out (or Simply Did Not Run Anymore)
The good news is that they're no longer in a position of authority
Microsofters in 'Linux Foundation' Clothing Continue to Shift Security Scrutiny to 'Linux'
Pay closer attention to the latest Microsoft breach and security catastrophes
Links 17/04/2024: Free-Market Policies Wane, China Marks Economic Recovery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/04/2024: "Failure Is An Option", Profectus Alpha 0.5 From a Microsofter Trying to Dethrone Gemini
Links for the day
How does unpaid Debian work impact our families?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
When you give money to Debian, where does it go?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How do teams work in Debian?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Joint Authors & Debian Family Legitimate Interests
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Bad faith: Debian logo and theme use authorized
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 17/04/2024: TikTok Killing Youth, More Layoff Rounds
Links for the day
Jack Wallen Has Been Assigned by ZDNet to Write Fake (Sponsored) 'Reviews'
Wallen is selling out. Shilling for the corporations, not the community.
Links 17/04/2024: SAP, Kwalee, and Take-Two Layoffs
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Examining Code of Conduct violations
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Ruben Schade's Story Shows the Toxicity of Social Control Media, Not GNU/Linux
The issue here is Social Control Media [sic], which unlike the media rewards people for brigading otherwise OK or reasonable people
Upgrading IRCd
We use the latest Debian BTW
The Free Software Community is Under Attack (Waged Mostly by Lawyers, Not Developers)
Licensing and legalese may seem "boring" or "complicated" (depending on where one stands w.r.t. development), but it matters a great deal
Jonathan Cohen, Charles Fussell & Debian embezzlement
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Grasping at Straws in IBM (Red Hat Layoff Rumours in 2024)
researching rumours around Red Hat layoffs
GNU/Linux Continues to Get More Prevalent Worldwide (Also on the Desktop)
Desktops (or laptops) aren't everything, but...
Who is a real Debian Developer?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 16/04/2024: Many More Layoffs, Broadcom/VMware Probed (Antitrust)
Links for the day
Links 16/04/2024: Second Sunday After Easter and "Re-inventing the Wheel"
Links for the day
Upcoming Themes and Articles in Techrights
we expect to have already caught up with most of the administrivia and hopefully we'll be back to the prior pace some time later this week
Links 16/04/2024: Levente "anthraxx" Polyák as Arch Linux 2024 Leader, openSUSE Leap Micro 6 Now Alpha, Facebook Blocking News
Links for the day
Where is the copyright notice and license for Debian GNU/Linux itself?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Halász Dávid & IBM Red Hat, OSCAL, Albania dating
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Apology & Correction: Daniele Scasciafratte & Mozilla, OSCAL, Albania dating
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Next Week Marks a Year Since Red Hat Mass Layoffs, Another Round Would be "Consistent With Other Layoffs at IBM."
"From anon: Global D&I team has been cut in half."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 15, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, April 15, 2024
Links 15/04/2024: Navartis, AWS and Tesla Layoffs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/04/2024: YAML Issues and Gemtext Specification 0.24.0
Links for the day
Richard Stallman to Give Public Talk in Portugal on Wednesday
new addition to his page
Richard Stallman's Hair Has Grown Back and He Does Not Talk About Cancer
May he live a long and happy life
New Video of Richard Stallman's Talk in Italy (Delivered a Week Ago)
a working copy of the video
Microsoft Windows Falling to New Lows in the United Kingdom and Worldwide
What's noteworthy here is that there's no sign at all of a Windows rebound
[Meme] Quantity of European Patents
they've rigged the system to make more money
Why do free software organizations eliminate community representatives?
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
[Teaser] Freenode LTD: What Happened
Upcoming series based on insiders' account with evidence
Links 15/04/2024: Signs of Desperation at Microsoft and Tesla Employees Brace for Mass Layoffs (Update: Yes, Over 10% at Tesla Laid Off)
Links for the day
Matthias Kirschner & FSFE People Trafficking, coercion of volunteers
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Gemini Links 15/04/2024: Profectus Alpha 0.4 and RPG of One Capsule Progress
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 14, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, April 14, 2024
Oceania: GNU/Linux Measured at Lower Than the International Average (4% or 7% Including ChromeOS)
statCounter's data
Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) Does Not Wish to Become an Instrument of Cost-Free Harassment or 'Cheap Revenge', It Says "Justice is Not Free. Quite the Contrary. Justice is Expensive."
Long story short, there is no lawsuit, there is a just a hateful, lying idiot abusing "the system" (which this idiot rejects entirely)