New exciting Gnome developments

Source: Developing GNOME is going to rock even more very soon!



Gnome development is starting to see some interesting changes. The first is the previously mentioned gtkbuilder support in GTK+ 2.12. This adds new features over the previous libglade implementation and also is now part of GTK+ so it can be used everywhere GTK+ is used.

Another ongoing development is GVFS. Currently gnome uses something called gnome-vfs which is great but is showing its age when it comes to newer functionality such as FUSE.

These new features alongside the amazing existing language bindings for GTK+/Gnome make for a very exciting time for Gnome.

Related:
Initial plans to replace gnome-vfs
GVFS announcement
Upcoming talk on GVFS at GUADEC
GVFS Benchmarking Ideas

Kernel Change Logs for linux in English

Source: Linux Kernel Newbies



Ever want to know what was changed in the current release of the linux kernel but can't understand the cryptic changelogs? This site rewrites the changelogs in English and adds references. A great resource for anyone interested in the linux kernel.


Related:
Kernel Terms Glossary
Current Stable Kernel Changelog

Vista vs. Linux vs. Mac OSX 90 Day Vulnerability

Source: Windows Vista - 90 Day Vulnerability Report



Recently (March 2007) there was a report (pdf) released comparing the 90 day vulnerabilities of all the major operating systems. The report compares RHEL 4, Ubuntu 6.06, Novell SLED 10, Mac OSX 10.4, Windows XP, Windows Vista. One dramatic result of this is the large number of vulnerabilities for the various linux distros compared to windows. Newer articles have come out and have shed more light on this issue. Most of the reasons come from the huge number of programs installed in the typical linux distro as compared to windows. Also the enterprise class distros have a policy of very long freeze cycles before release where some security advisories are not corrected. This all adds up to a test that does not properly compare the actual security of the different operating systems.

Related:
List of all RHEL 4 vulnerabilities
List of Ubuntu 6.06 vulnerabilities
Windows Vista 6 month report

KDE 4 Alpha 2 Released

Source: KDE 4.0 Alpha 2 Released



KDE released the 2nd alpha of their upcoming 4th desktop environment. This release sees much more work done on the Plasma part of KDE 4. KDE 4 is tentatively scheduled to be released in October of this year.

Related:
KDE 3.91 (4 Alpha 2) info page

Compiz Fusion Aquarium

Source: Compiz Fusion cube aquarium - first look



Compiz Fusion has a new aquarium plugin. It makes the desktop cube transparent and adds some fish. See the full image for a better look

Related:
OpenCompositing.org - Home of compiz fusion
YouTube Video of Compiz Fusion features

New GTK+ UI Builder

Source: gtkbuilder has landed



GTK+ has just gained UI builder support. Previously this functionality was only available through the libglade library (an external gnome library). This is important as it brings more advanced functionality out of the desktop environment and into the toolkit itself. Currently the functionality is only available in the development releases (2.11.3 and later) but will be incorporated into GTK+ 2.12, which is what GNOME 2.20 will be using, and therefore, Ubuntu 7.10 Gusty & Fedora 8.

Glade currently (3.2.2) does not support gtkbuilder, but the developers are meeting July 9th, 2007 to discuss what their plans are. It may be included in Glade 3.4, but definitely in 3.6.

Related:
"Add support for UI builders in gtk+" bug
Glade Development Meeting

Linux Journal: The Real Meaning of GNU GPLv3

Source: The Real Meaning of GNU GPLv3



Interesting article at Linux Journal about the GPLv3 and what it really means. Discusses the huge amount of media coverage of this event, the much increased collaboration in the development of the GPLv3, whether RMS has compromised, and the true meaning of the GPLv3. Good read, check it out.

Related:
GPLv3 Website
GPLv3 Licence
RMS
Linux Journal

Ktorrent 2.2 Released

Source: Ktorrent 2.2 released



Ktorrent 2.2 was just released. This release is just a minor update over the past 2.1.4 release. This is also the last KDE 3 release and the developers will be focusing upon KDE 4 for the next release.

Related:
Ktorrent Homepage
Ktorrent Downloads

DPotD: gnu units

Source: Debian Package of the Day - gnu units: units converts quantities between different scales



Debian Package of the Day post about gnu units. Gnu units is a cool program that converts various units. It has an interactive command prompt interface that is easy to use.

Related:
Ubuntu package
Debian package

Further work on Radeon r3xx & r5xx free drivers

Source: tirdc: RS480 and compiz



One of the developers of the free Radeon R300 & R500 drivers reports that compiz is now somewhat working. There are still major visual defects but it does start up.

Related:
RS420: Xpress 200 Chipset
The irregular Radeon Development Companion
Avivo Git Repo (r5xx driver for Xorg)

Sun ODF Plugin for MS Office

Source: Sun ODF Plugin 1.0 & FAQ about Sun ODF Plugin 1.0



Sun has now released an ODF plugin for MS office 2000, XP, and 2003. This plugin now supports Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents and seamlessly integrates as a native filter. The plugin currently does not work with Office 2007 as there is a bug that hopefully will be rectified with the first Office service pack.

Related:
Download Link

Krita SVN: New Colour Palette

Source: Fading Memories



The development version of Krita has just checked in new colour mixing palette code. This allows for mixing of colours like it was real paint. Who knows how useful this feature actually will be, but congratulations on trying new and innovative ideas.