Replicant project

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Replicant is a fully free Android distribution running on several devices. It is a free software project.

via About | Replicant project.

On this release, here is a quick summary of which major components are working and which are not:

  • Telephony is stable enough, there is working in-call volume change and audio routing, though we miss some features like conferencing
  • SMS are working nicely, including multi-part messages, both on sending and receiving
  • Data has a minimal implementation that is far from being ready (but can be set up manually), so this will be for next time
  • Some other minimal features are there (SIM I/O, DTMF, SIM unlock, etc)
  • Some are missing (USSD, working airplane mode for instance)

IBM optical chip moves data at 1Tbps

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The chip, called Holey Optochip, is a parallel optical transceiver consisting of both a transmitter and a receiver, and is designed to handle the large amount of data created and transmitted over corporate and consumer networks as a result of new applications and services. It is expected to power future supercomputer and data center applications, an area where IBM already uses optical technology.

via IBM optical chip moves data at 1Tbps | Computer Hardware – InfoWorld.

Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix, our recommended distro, is ready for download!

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The Remix is a distribution comprised of software packages from the Fedora ARM project, plus a small number of additional packages that are modified from the Fedora versions or which cannot be included in Fedora due to licensing issues – in particular, the libraries for accessing the VideoCore GPU on the Raspberry Pi.

The SD card image for the Remix includes a little over 640 packages, providing both text-mode and graphical interfaces (LXDE/XFCE) with an assortment of programming languages, applications, system tools, and services for both environments. There are over 16,000 software packages available from the Fedora ARM repositories which can be easily installed using the Internet to customize your system to meet your needs and interests (again, using either command-line or graphical tools).

via Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix, our recommended distro, is ready for download! | Raspberry Pi.

Ford Test Drives New Consumer Firmware Updates

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What’s confusing (and Ford says as much) is that there’s a first “Installation Complete” message after about a minute–but, wait, there’s more. Leave the USB drive in and keep the car turned on as a second installation then begins and will last much longer. After about five to ten minutes, the update is finally complete. You’ll then need to pair your mobile device again, but the contact information and your files should still be in the SYNC system.

via Ford Test Drives New Consumer Firmware Updates | SecurityWeek.Com.

What could possibly go wrong LOL?

You will then need to take the USB drive back to your laptop or home computer to report that the update was successful so that Ford can advance you to the next update, should one become available. This last step might not be completed by most consumers who will move on to other things. It’ll be interesting to see how many downloads correspond to successful installations of the update.

Facebook Becomes Location Backbone That Lets Apps Import Checkins From Each Other

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Facebook has confirmed with me that its new location APIs let any third-party app import and display the checkins as well as location-tagged posts published to Facebook by other apps. This turns Facebook into a location backbone that can power serendipitous meetups and other geo-functionality no matter which apps you and your friends use.

via Facebook Becomes Location Backbone That Lets Apps Import Checkins From Each Other | TechCrunch.

Open Invention Network

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Open Invention Network® is refining the intellectual property model so that important patents are openly shared in a collaborative environment. Patents owned by Open Invention Network® are available royalty-free to any company, institution or individual that agrees not to assert its patents against the Linux System. This enables companies to make significant corporate and capital expenditure investments in Linux — helping to fuel economic growth.

via Open Invention Network.

Researchers Seek Help in Solving DuQu Mystery Language

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While other parts of DuQu are written in the C++ programming language and are compiled with Microsoft’s Visual C++ 2008, this part is not, according to Alexander Gostev, chief security expert at Kaspersky Lab. Gostev and his team have also determined that it’s not Objective C, Java, Python, Ada, Lua or many other languages they know.

via Researchers Seek Help in Solving DuQu Mystery Language | Threat Level | Wired.com.

The module is an important part of DuQu’s payload — which is the part of DuQu that performs malicious functions once it’s on an infected machine. The module allows DuQu’s DLL file to operate completely independent of other DuQu modules. It also takes data stolen from infected machines and transmits it to command-and-control servers and has the ability to distribute additional malicious payloads to other machines on a network, in order to spread the infection.

Nvidia Jumps on Board with the Linux Foundation

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Nvidia has long taken a closed approach to Linux drivers for its graphics cards, offering only a proprietary one and declining to participate in the open source Nouveau driver project, which has depended instead on reverse engineering.

Nvidia’s GeForce graphics chips are used in many PCs–often targeting high-end gaming–while its Tegra system-on-a-chip platform is designed for the mobile and embedded market.

via Nvidia Jumps on Board with the Linux Foundation | PCWorld Business Center.

George Takei Helps Facebook Debug MySQL

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George Takei Helps Facebook Debug MySQL » Data Center Knowledge.

Wait – what was that last one? In today’s update on the Facebook Engineering blog, Mark Callaghan discusses the challenges in getting MySQL to scale on Facebook’s multi-core servers. The post provides technical insight into Facebook’s scalability initiatives, and then gives a shout out to Takei for helping resolve a database issue.

I have facebook blocked on my servers but will have to come back and look at the linked to blog entry.