Dietrich Schmitz Joins ECT News Network

Dietrich Schmitz today accepted an offer to write for ECT News Network.  He will be writing regular weekly feature articles beginning June 6th, 2013.

About ECT News Network

ECT News Network is one of the largest e-business and technology news publishers in the United States. Our network of business and technology news publications attracts a targeted audience of buyers and decision-makers who need timely industry news and reliable analysis.

The network currently includes several e-business and technology news sites: the E-Commerce Times®, TechNewsWorld™, LinuxInsider™, CRM Buyer™ andMacNewsWorld™. ECT News also publishes the E-Commerce Minute™ and the Tech News Flash™ daily newsletters and the ECT News Network Weekly Newsletter™.

These publications are some of the most respected and widely-read business and technology news sites of the Internet age. ECT News Network features an award-winning team of journalists who produce daily news and industry analysis. Content throughout ECT News Network covers the following areas:

• E-Commerce and E-Business
• Information Technology (IT)
• Internet Trends
• Enterprise Networking
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Internet and Network Security
• Wireless Technologies
• Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce)
• Linux, Open Source & Operating Systems
• Tech Stocks & Financial Deals
• Mac Computing

For an overview of each ECT News Network site, please visit the Publications segment of our advertising section.

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Google I/O 2013: Voice Search on the Desktop Using Google

by Dietrich Schmitz

Alright, Apple may have a head-start with their iPhone Siri voice search system, but one of the neat things shown at the Google I/O 2013 conference last week is the new Conversational Search, which is now available in Chrome version 27 which was updated today.

If you've got that version of Google Chrome, you'll notice in the Google.com search field to right-most extent a 'Microphone' symbol.  Clicking that symbol will activate voice search.  I tried it by saying: "Open the pod bay doors HAL", hoping desperately to hear HAL come back with "I'm sorry Dave, I am afraid I can't do that".

But no....it dutifully complied by performing a Google search using that exact string of text and found the movie 2001 Space Odyssey at imdb.com.  I am disappointed. (kidding):

Me, using Google trying to ask HAL to open the frickin' pod bay door.

Clearly, it's not a perfect science, and given HAL recognized voice quite a few years ago, I would suspect that there is some serious intellectual property infringed patents at issue here.  Time to get the PAEs (cough trolls) on the horn, perhaps?  Put me through to Dewey Cheatum and Howe right now.

Anyhow, if you really want to see how voice recognition works correctly, here's a short Youtube video from the 2001 Space Odyssey showing Dave's mastery of voice activated search:

Alright so I kid.  But I couldn't help but think about this movie as I uttered my search in Google wondering if we are getting closer to doing what the fantasy of movie making did in spurring the imagination with wild and fanciful story telling mixed with surreal technology non-existent at the time of making this classic (1968).  Pretty wild stuff then and I would add still pretty wild that I sit here, one with something called a Netbook, using something called wireless, magically connecting me to something called a router and cable modem and something even more bizarre called the Internet.  Is this a dream?  I hope not.  It's a movie and it's getting better and better with each technology du jour announcement.

Okay enough of my carrying on, here's a video from the Google I/O conference demonstrating the use of this new Chrome technology for your viewing pleasure:

So, that's it, the hotkey ("Okay Google") didn't work for me.  I suspect that will be worked out in due course.  As is demonstrated, this technology appears to be on par with Siri.  As I mentioned above, Voice Search is available as of today in Chrome 27 for Windows, Linux and Macs and is also available in all Chromebooks.  Have fun.

-- Dietrich

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PAEs Hide Real Party of Interest: A Veritable Shell Game

by Dietrich Schmitz

Several weeks ago, the Federal Trade Commission embarked on a special powers investigatory fact-finding mission to gather up details surrounding the activities of Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) which, including a growing list of public comments, indicate PAEs have been operating in an environment 'ripe for abuse and gamesmanship', advises legal eagle Pamela Jones in a story posted today at her website Groklaw.net. (Image credit: corrections.com)

PAEs Target Small Businesses

PAEs "have started to target end-users, especially small companies, because they typically lack the expertise, experience and ability to fight questionable claims. Litigation costs can quickly mount up to $250,000 to $500,000, and reach millions if the case goes all the way through trial (not to mention appeals). End-users also have to deal with disruptions to their business from discovery requests and managing the litigation. Often companies are forced to divulge secret financial and technical information as well as divert key personnel from their work to participate in depositions and give testimony. Patent trolls, on the other hand, have few costs in pursuing a suit because they do not operate in any market. The lawsuit has no disruptive effect on the patent troll's business because it is the patent troll's business.", PJ explains.

In total there are now 68 public comments which when taken in totality illustrate what many have decried as an abuse of legal process for so many years yet have had to 'knuckle under' and comply or risk having heavy punitive judgments levied.

Technology Industry Number OneTarget

One particularly interesting comment came from a Mr. Ken Walsh President of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) a 700 member group, including Red Hat and IBM, wherein he "details on how the patent trolls attack and what the results have been.", explains PJ.  There's no ambiguity in his comment to the FTC and Walsh uses strong words in his assessment stating that PAEs are: "masters at abusing and manipulating the patent system."

He goes further in his comment on behalf of his SIIA constituents to report that the Technology Industry is the "number one target of patent trolls."

The Shell Game: Real Party of Interest (RPI)

Still of more interest to the FTC is precisely 'how' PAEs manage to keep their affairs shielded from public scrutiny.  It turns out that a few of the public comments disclose their methodology.  

As Pamela explains, "But then comes the interesting part -- why trolls hide behind what are essentially nyms":

"This problem is exacerbated by another flaw in the patent system. Under the present system it is too easy for PAE’s to hide behind legal fictions and not identify themselves as a Real-Party-in-Interest (RPI) of their patents. Partnerships, LLCs, subsidiaries, and other legal entities can hold and assert patent rights while the connection between these entities and their corporate parents is often unknown or obscure to the public. Importantly, this secrecy makes it very difficult to determine what patents a PAE owns, to know whether a patent is owned by a party from which the prospective licensee has already been granted a license, and to determine the ultimate economic beneficiary of any monies obtained through infringed claims demands or suits. It also allows a PAE to increase its market power by acquiring a portfolio containing substitute patents that would have been competing technologies if owned by a different entity. This dynamic, in conjunction with there being no requirement that patent transfers be recorded with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or elsewhere, creates an environment that is ripe for abuse and gamesmanship. It allows PAEs to effectively “hide” their patent portfolio to the detriment of their prey.

The availability of complete, current and accurate RPI information would help (actual and potential) litigants make informed decisions on settlement and result in greater efficiencies in litigation. It’s difficult for a party to make an informed decision whether to settle if they do not really know who they are dealing with or what they are actually getting in the settlement."

I am both appalled and enraged to read this.  It's like shooting fish in a barrel as PAEs continue to take advantage of legal loop-holes

Still, what isn't being considered or mentioned is one fundamental issue, as PJ explains "the real problem doesn't occur to them, which is that software shouldn't be patentable in the first place. That truly is the core problem, and all the rest is symptoms."

-- Dietrich

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Caitlyn Martin Joins Linux Advocates

by Dietrich Schmitz

Linux Advocates is very pleased and honored to announce +Caitlyn Martin will be joining Linux Advocates as a regular contributing writer.

From her O'ReillyNet biography:

"Caitlyn Martin is a Linux/Unix and information security consultant. She has 30 years of professional experience in Information Technology. Caitlyn was introduced to Red Hat Linux in 1995 and has been using Linux professionally since 1998, during which time she has served as a systems administrator, security analyst, programmer/analyst, and network engineer. She also does freelance writing on Free and Open Source software, primarily Linux, and related technologies."

Caitlyn brings to Linux Advocates a strong technical background in real-world Linux applications, keen insights and a sterling reputation for unwavering Linux advocacy.  

On behalf of co-founder +Katherine Noyes and myself, I would like to make welcome Caitlyn Martin and we look forward to her active involvement on LA. 

-- Dietrich

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Mageia 3 Arrives: All Grown Up and Ready to Go Dancing

by Dietrich Schmitz

After a several project milestone delays, Mageia 3 was finally released today and featuring a new logo (two, shown right and left) with special thanks going out to its designer, Nicholas Duval.

"We still can’t believe how much fun it is to make Mageia together, and we’ve been doing it for two and a half years.

For people who can’t wait,get it here; release notes are here. To upgrade from Mageia 2, see here.", writes +Trish Fraser in the Mageia blog announcement.

On a sad note, she writes:

"Before we get to the rest of the information: we dedicate this release to the memory of Eugeni Dodonov, our friend, our colleague and a great inspiration to those he left behind. We miss his brilliance, his courtesy and his dedication."

What's New?

Mageia 3 includes a raft of updated Applications and Packages as well as these new features:

• Updates to RPM (4.11) and urpmi, which has been given a good Mageia turnout and cleanup
• Kernel 3.8
• systemd 195
• GRUB is the default bootloader; GRUB2 is available to test.
• Revamped package groupings for installation and rpmdrake
• KDE 4.10.2
• GNOME 3.6.
• Xfce 4.10
• Libreoffice 4.0.3

Special Thanks

Trish adds not leastly special thanks reminding readers that Mageia would not be possible without the help of those in the community who selflessly gave of their time in fulfillment of the project, including the valued sponsors Gandi and Ielo:

"Our heartfelt thanks go to all the people who donated their time to make this release possible, and all the people who donated money allowing us to buy the servers that we use to build the distribution."

-- Dietrich

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What Value Does Linux Advocacy Have?

by Dietrich Schmitz

Do you benefit from coming here?  Is there value in the content you read?  I sincerely hope so.

It requires no more effort than what you might spend for that exotic blend of coffee first thing in the morning each day.

Take one of those five dollar bills and set it aside.  Make a small donation today to help me continue this advocacy and survive.

It is both a matter of survival and the continuation of this website that are at stake.

You see, I have been unemployed for over a year now and with how the economy in the U.S. has been, finding work has been extremely difficult.  Add to that the distinct possibility of 'ageism' and you have what has happened to me.

I am not afraid of work.  I was working for my Grandfather and Grandmother's 'Mom and Pop' grocery store when I was 16.  I caught down a chute 500 pieces of stock from a back alley delivery truck to a holding room, then moved that stock to palettes in a main cellar area of the store.  Then, I worked at night carrying each of those pieces of stock up a set of stairs to the store floor and stocked shelves.  It was hard work, but I was happy in the knowledge I was helping my Grandparents.  It was a passion then and it made me feel really good to do it for them.

Today, Linux Advocates is what makes me feel really good.  I am passionate about advocating Linux and I hope it shows in the quality of content I provide to you.

Still, I have enough money to pay one more month's rent.  I am running out of cash--all of our life savings has been depleted during this terrible period of unemployment.

I pledge to continue as long as I can to run this website and make Linux Advocacy my top priority.

If you can find just five dollars $5 to make a donation, I would be most appreciative of your help.

Thank you.

Dietrich Schmitz
Site Owner

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Top Ten Sleeper Distros

by Dietrich Schmitz

With all of the recent stories I've written and my obvious bias toward one particular Linux community Distribution, you'd think there is nothing else to talk about.

Well, there is.  When I was young and had nothing better to do than ride around in a rag-top 70 Mustang consuming fossil fuel, we coined the term 'sleeper' for those cars which looked innocuous but under the hood had some major performance value going on.  In other words, they'd blow the doors off of other so-called 'hot rods' but didn't give the tell-tale signs of being souped up.

I tend to think of only a few Distributions which have a lot of potential under the hood and are categorized as 'sleepers'.  They perform when called upon and do it well and mostly go unnoticed.  Today, I give you my subjective list of top ten sleeper Distributions.  Okay, here we go.

SolusOS

Do you long for the days when Ubuntu sported a simple Gnome2 interface--you know--when you could actually figure out where to go to do things?  Well then SolusOS is for you.  Based on the Debian stable branch, this nimble powerhouse Distro gives everything needed for the beginner, intermediate and advanced user.  Founder +Ikey Doherty is working on a new project, Consort, a fork of a few Gnome3.x components, i.e. panel, which will allow him to continue providing a GUI based on a more traditional Gnome2-like interface.   Consort will be included in an as of yet to be released version 2.0 of SolusOS.

PCLinuxOS

PCLinuxOS has some really loyal, passionate users behind it and for good reason.  In fact it's so cool, ice cubes are jealous.  Founder +Bill Reynolds aka "Texstar" has much to be proud of in this rpm-based Mandrake fork (now Mandriva Linux).  It's almost like the second amendment and gun ownership as I am reminded of that famous line that Charleston Heston (may he rest in peace) uttered at an NRA convention: "From my cold dead hands" in reference to the right to bear arms.  Such loyalty I have not found stronger than in Distro users the likes of +Alessandro Ebersol who show the respect that PCLinuxOS has earned. The default GUI in PCLinuxOS 2012 is KDE Plasma Workspace.  Other installable GUIs include Enlightenment, Fluxbox, Gnome, IceWM, KDE, LXDE, OpenBox and Xfce.

Chakra

Chakra Linux, originally based on Arch Linux, employs a KDE Plasma Workspace GUI. Chakra maintains its own separate repository system and while its intention is to be a pure KDE implementation, employs a unique package 'bundle' method for applications which are GTk based, such as GIMP.  Of all the KDE-based Distros, I find Chakra's 2013.2 implementation easy to use, polished and professional.

Sabayon

Unlike Gentoo, upon which it is based, Sabayon Linux has a much more user-friendly 'out of the box' experience, .  Gentoo has a reputation of being the most difficult Distro to install and use, employing Portage package management system, only it ratchets up the difficulty with the requirement to compile 'everything' before use, including the kernel.  Sabayon attempts to bridge that technology chasm and succeeds with Entropy, a pre-compiled binary package manager, but also supports Portage for installing Gentoo repo 'ebuild' files.  It is one of the more leading-edge technology Distros in that it supports a non-root ZFS filesystem as does Gentoo.  Sabayon 13.04 installs with a choice of  Gnome3, KDE, Xfce, LXDE and Enlightenment GUIs.

Manjaro

At last check, Manjaro Linux, an Arch derivative, was ranked ninth just behind eighth place Arch Linux on Distrowatch.com, when viewed over the last 6-month period of activity.  Arch Linux users are among the most loyal following I have encountered.  Using Arch Linux is like wearing a red badge of courage, as its level of difficultly is only exceeded by Gentoo.  Manjaro, while based on Arch, maintains its own repository, but retains and uses the powerful Pacman package management system.  Manjaro 0.8.5.2, like Sabayon, succeeds in bridging Arch's difficulty gap by providing a graphical installer for Xfce, Cinnamon and KDE Plasma Workspace GUIs.

Rosa

Rosa Desktop Fresh 2012 is developed by Russian concern Rosa Labs and is a fork of Mandriva Linux.  Rosa Desktop's KDE Plasma Workspace GUI has been enhanced with improved workspace design and user-friendliness.  The company also provides long-term support (LTS) Desktop and Enterprise Server versions of the operating system.  According to their website, and of all the Distros reviewed in this story, ROSA Marathon 2012 LTS is the only Distro which is Linux Standard Base (LSB) compliant.

#! CrunchBang

I spent time last summer ranging over the Distro landscape in search of a home seeking refuge from Ubuntu (I loath Unity), and came across !#.  Let me tell you, this has been for me the fastest lightweight Debian-stable Distro, bar none.  At the time CrunchBang 11 Waldorf was still in beta, but you wouldn't know it based on its great stability.  Developer +Philip Newborough has done a superb job with CrunchBang--it is easy to install, and has a nice post-install shell script which allows the user to configure additional settings and add-on applications to suit their needs.  #! sports an OpenBox GUI, which is a minimal super lightweight Stacking Window Manager using a right-click pop-up menu interface.  Spartan as it may be, the memory footprint weighs in at around 70MB ram usage as measured with 'free' when reaching the Desktop from boot.  If you are Developer, and/or hooked on speed, #! is for you.  Newcomers may be less inclined to like the OpenBox interface as compared to others, e.g., Xfce or Gnome or KDE.  This lightweight Distro truly is a 'sleeper'.

Bodhi

Bodhi Linux 2.3.0 is perhaps the most unusual Distro I have ever encountered.  It stands as being both a contradiction and mystery.  I mean, it's an Ubuntu derivative for all intents and purposes, but what sets this Distro apart in a crowd is it's GUI: Enlightenment, version E17.  Hat's off to +Jeff Hoogland for putting together a super lightweight Distro that while having a memory footprint of about 120MB ram as measured with 'free', the Compositing Window Manager is amazingly feature rich approaching KDE quality.  That's totally unique as far as I am concerned and you can spend a long time drilling down into Desktop configuration and find an almost infinite number of ways to tweak the Desktop to your liking.  It's a mystery to me how the Enlightenment Team got that much functionality with so little ram use.  This Distro ranks high on the lightweight 'sleeper' list.  You get speed, low ram use, and the Ubuntu repo and that is a major value proposition.

Xubuntu

If I had to chose which Distro in the Ubuntu derivatives to return to, I think my most favorite is Xubuntu.  Simply because you avoid all of the GUI contentiousness of Unity and Gnome3 yet can enjoy all of the Ubuntu repository goodness without hassle.  I actually spent a lot of time using Xubuntu for that very reasoning until I decided to make the switch to Fuduntu then Fedora.  Xfce is the GUI and because it's written with GTk2 has no dependencies on any of the Gnome libraries.  Combine Xfce with compiz and it harkens back to the pre-Unity days of Ubuntu.  The very idea that the Ubuntu classic menu should be eliminated in favor of having the user search for a given app to me is beyond ridiculous.  Be that as it may, Xubuntu really is a good Distro.  Xubuntu 13.04 is quite practical and so I have given it the 'sleeper' Distro designation.  Of course, Xfce is light on resources so your machine will appreciate that and it will be quite snappy as a result.

Slackware

Now, don't let the Ncurses character-based installer fool you into to thinking this is an ancient Distro.  Wait. It is an ancient Distro.  Never mind. In fact, it is the oldest Distro having been created back in 1993. Seriously, when you get by the installer, you'll discover that really Slackware gives you most everything all the other Distros have and in some cases newer software.  For those who hold systemd in disfavor, know that Slackware is still sysvinit BSD-style init based.  How much longer +Patrick Volkerding keeps it that way remains to be seen.  Slackware packages are tarballs in compressed LZMA format and in addition to a suite of local package tools, slackpkg is the network package manager.  Support for Gnome was dropped and replaced by KDE Plasma Workspaces as the default GUI.  Slackware gets the most Unix-like Distro designation for achieving simplicity. For pure speed and stability, Slackware gets a 'sleeper' designation.

And that is it for the Top Ten Sleeper Distros.  What are your thoughts?  Any other sleepers you like?

-- Dietrich

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Emmabuntus: Yet More Recycled Bits?

by Dietrich Schmitz

It's becoming a bit of a joke.  As the pool of Linux Distributions grows, it becomes increasingly diluted by unremarkable Distros which are nowadays easily cloned and, with a 'slap dab' of branding, being trumpeted as innovation.

I can count on one hand the number of Distributions that have a real value proposition today.  The rest are, well, sad to say, redundant and polluting the Linux ecosystem as they turn up like weeds at an alarming rate. (Image credit: bethlehemfields.boydwilson.com)

The newest clone, Emmabuntus, was reviewed in a story entitled Emmabuntus Review - Very Disappointing.   Aside from the obvious hint in the story title, the closing remarks reflect what I consider to be symptomatic with the 'cookie cutter' Distro phenomenon:

"Perhaps this is the first time I write a negative review for a Linux distro but I really dont like Emmabuntus. It is just Xubuntu with a lot of redundant pre-installed applications, which make the distro really bloated. Moreover the developing team is too careless and neglectful, they didnt test and double check anything before releasing the distro. So eventually I removed Emmabuntus after 3 hours."

I am very concerned that the Linux Community doesn't see the potential harm that all of this cloning will produce.

While the GPL allows such activity, it does hurt the image of Linux as outsiders see these efforts with little respect.  In fact, it also creates confusion for the newcomer who will react negatively when confronted with making a decision as to which Distro is best.  And, introducing another copy of a Distro which is laden with bugs increases the possibility of more bugs as it inherits a predecessor's work.

Is this all avoidable?  I don't think so, but I would suggest to the readers that they be vigilant and discerning as they go about selecting which Distro to use.  That is all the more becoming the greater challenge.

I am sorry, but, we don't need more recycled bits.  What we sorely need is real innovation.

Keep your powder dry.

-- Dietrich

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