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Install a graphical firewall client on Ubuntu 9.10

finid — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:22:51 +0000

Although Ubuntu 9.10 (aka Karmic Koala) ships with a command line firewall script – ufw (Uncomplicated FireWall) – for configuring IPTables (netfilter), the firewall application built into the Linux kernel, it does not come with a graphical firewall client for use by those not comfortable with managing IPTables from the command line. So in order [...]

Android/Linux’s Future and Advancement of Mobile Software Freedom

finid — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:18:57 +0000

By Bradley M. Kuhn: Harald Welte knows more about development of embedded systems than I ever will. So, I generally defer completely to his views about software freedom development for embedded systems. However, as you can tell by that opening, I am setting myself up to disagree a little bit with him just this [...]

Install NetworkManager on Hymera Open

finid — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:19:45 +0000

The network manager application that comes pre-installed on Hymera Open, a Debian-based, desktop-oriented GNU/Linux operating system, is Wicd. While Wicd is a decent network manager application, I find that NetworkManager, the other network manager application, has better features for the power user. For example, NetworkManager has “pluggable support for VPN software”. And there are [...]

How to install and configure NTP on Sabayon 5

finid — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:03:48 +0000

Sabayon is a Gentoo-based, GNU/Linux distribution. The latest version, Sabayon 5, was released on October 2, 2009. The GNOME edition was just reviewed here. One thing I pointed out in that review is that the NTP (Network Time Protocol) package is not installed by default. This post provides a step by step guide on how [...]

Sabayon 5 GNOME review

finid — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:05:09 +0000

Sabayon is a Gentoo-based, multi-purpose, GNU/Linux distribution. The latest version is Sabayon 5, released October 2, 2009. Two iso images, Sabayon 5 GNOME and Sabayon 5 KDE, are available for download. This post is a review of the GNOME edition. As always, let’s start with the installer… The installer’s interface is still the same. The default journaling [...]

Software Freedom on Mobile Devices

finid — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:55:31 +0000

From Bradley M. Kuhn: I agree pretty completely with Harald Welte’s comments regarding Symbian. I encourage everyone to take a look at his comments. We are in a very precarious time with regard to the freedom of mobile devices. We currently have no truly Free Software operating system that does the job, and there are multiple [...]

France begins IT research centre on innovation and free software

finid — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:20:36 +0000

France’s national computer science institute, Inria, says free software is essential to develop digital society. The institute is launching a research centre to focus on this type of software, Cirill (IT Innovation and Research Centre for Free Software). The foundation of Cirill was announced at the Open World Forum in Paris earlier this month. [...]

Open Source and The Geographic Divide – Europe and North America

finid — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:10:01 +0000

Observations from the Open World Forum and Open Source Think Tank – Paris, October 2009 Despite some logistical challenges and a very diverse agenda, the second edition of the OWF was a tremendous success, I believe most of the 1600 attendees came away very happy. This year the Open Source Think Tank was a single track [...]

Astaro home user license upgraded

finid — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:13:04 +0000

Astaro Security Gateway Home Edition, a free, Linux-based firewall-cum-router distribution, has just had its IP address limit bumped to fifty (50). Previously, users of Astaro Security Gateway HE were limited to using it to protect no more than ten (10), active networked devices. The IP address limit change was made known to license holders [...]

The Car Analogy

finid — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:46:23 +0000

By Tal Schechter: What if buying a new car were like using nonfree software? While the following example may seem a little far-fetched, it is a pretty good analogy to understand the importance of user freedoms in software. Imagine going out to buy a new car. After deciding on a brand, you go to that dealer [...]

Breaking the dependency on proprietary software: A call to nonprofits to refuse Microsoft Windows 7

finid — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:42:08 +0000

“sinking money and time into proprietary software is inconsistent with the core values of freedom and progress.” The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has launched the next stage of its “Windows 7 Sins” campaign at http://windows7sins.org, making the case against Microsoft and proprietary software by writing to 500 leaders of the most influential nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide, [...]

Why Public Education Must Use Public Software

finid — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:32:21 +0000

This is an essay that attempts to argue in favor of promoting and using free software for public education in the United States. With some modification it should be usable worldwide. Edit it mercilessly as you would any other FDL-licensed text. Originally written on February 7-9, 2009 by Dara Adib. Public education ideally provides a comprehensive [...]

Lest CodePlex perplex

finid — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:19:08 +0000

by Richard M. Stallman: Many in our community are suspicious of the CodePlex Foundation. With its board of directors dominated by Microsoft employees and ex-employees, plus apologist Miguel de Icaza, there is plenty of reason to be wary of the organization. But that doesn’t prove its actions will be bad. Someday we will be able to [...]

Get paid “GNU Bucks” by the Free Software Foundation

finid — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 06:59:18 +0000

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced that it will begin rewarding those who find and report any nonfree components in free software operating system distributions with public recognition and “GNU Bucks.” The FSF maintains a list of guidelines covering what it means to be a free distribution, and endorses distributions that commit to meeting [...]