Computer Tips -Tech Info

Tag: GPL

  • Ubuntu Center – web control for your ubuntu machine

    I ran across ubuntucenter today, which aims to be a web based control panel for any ubuntu based machine, providing file access, etc. Here’s their summary…

    Ubuntu Center is a web based interface for accessing all kinds of information that’s being stored on your computer running Ubuntu Breezy, Kubuntu, XUbuntu, or even nUbuntu box. Ubuntu Center accomplishes all of this by integrating PHP software licensed under the GPL license in one giant package suitable for use on a Ubuntu computer. This release adds tons of new features and bug fixes and is suitable for everyday use.

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  • Flightgear multi platform open source flight simulator revisited

    Ok – I was thinking I might have been a bit too dismissive of flightgear. So, I took a second look (and a third and fourth.) In fact, I found a source rpm of the 0.99 version and rebuilt it for Mandriva 2006 and installed. And went in search of scenery for the local area. Now, to compare the two, X-Plane has more spit and polish and frankly the visuals (from the limited area I could see) are better. Flightgear is interesting from the standpoint that it’s open source (GPL) and can use a variety of flight models.

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  • More on the Sony XCP DRM (Rootkit)

    Freedom-to-tinker.com has some good detailed analysis on Sony’s (mis) use of GPL software in their XCP DRM (Digital Rights Management) software that’s been at the center of somewhat of a firestorm the last couple months. DRMS was the source of the code that was allegedly misappropriated, but the puzzle was why a Digital Rights Management removal bit of software was used in Digital Rights Management software to begin with…

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  • Sneaky TorrentSpy bundling…

    Sunbeltblog is talking about torrentspy, which has licensed their own version of Rufus, a bittorrent client. All well and good, but… they’ve decided to bundle WhenU SaveNow *(adware) with THEIR version of Rufus. This has ticked off the writers of Rufus among others.

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  • More on Sony’s copyright infringement with their DRM Rootkit

    “What a tangled web…” there is more today at freedom-to-tinker on the evidence that Sony (and or first4internet), have infringed on copyrighted code in their DRM software XCP which has been at the middle of quite a bit of controversy the last few weeks. Most of the coverage has been on some of the cloaking capabilities, the security vulnerabilities and the uninstaller vulnerabilities… but it looks fairly obvious that at least some GPL or LGPL code has been used without abiding by the terms of the GPL/LGPL

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  • Linux alternatives.

    Once you’ve made the plunge to look at operating systems outside of the Microsoft realm, linux has typically been the easiest accessible. Lot’s of livecds are out there and much can be freely downloaded. Of course there is the Mac as well with Os X. I’ve liked what I have seen of it, but there is a higher cost of commiting to that platform. (Hardware +software). I’m also not comfortable giving up one company that has fairly tight control over the software for a company that has fairly tight control over the hardware and some of the software.

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  • Kstars – great personal astronomy software under linux

    I’ve played around with Kstars off and on for a good while. It reminds me vaguely of a program I used to have under windows. It’s essentially a planetarium on your desktop. It is GPL licensed and part of the KDE Education suite of programs for the KDE desktop under Linux. It has all the basics for a program of this class (view the night sky and the stars from your latitude and longitude.)
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  • Open Source (linux) giving new life to some older software

    Internet news has an article about open source (specifically the GPL license) giving new life to several old software ideas. Gopher is mentioned as is the atari 2600, amiga os among others.
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  • Busy Evening

    I’ve got all traces of the old cms system off of the server now. (Well there might be a README here or there, but all php scripts from the old CMS are now gone.) At this point I can disclose a bit about the sudden move.
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