Development
Linux Connectivity for the Wii Remote
Linux has had support for numerous hand-held infrared remote control devices for many years through the Linux Infra Red Controller (LIRC) drivers. There has been recent work to include LIRC in the kernel. The Nintendo Wii Remote is a more sophisticated remote control that was developed for the Wii game platform, it is accessible through a collection of Linux tools called CWiid. Wikipedia describes the Wii Remote:
The Wii Remote, sometimes nicknamed "Wiimote", is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via movement and pointing through the use of accelerometer and optical sensor technology. Another feature is its expandability through the use of attachments.
The Wii Remote was announced at the Tokyo Game Show on September 16, 2005.
The Wiimote hardware capabilities (photo) include:
- Two-way wireless Bluetooth connectivity to the host.
- A screen-mounted Sensor Bar with multiple IR light sources and a 5 meter range.
- A built-in IR camera with distance and rotation sensing capabilities.
- A three axis accelerometer for detecting hand motions.
- Six general purpose remote control pushbuttons labeled A, -, Home, +, 1 and 2.
- An up-down-left-right four-way pushbutton.
- A power switch.
- Four remote controlled LEDs.
- A built-in speaker for providing audio effects.
- A "rumble" device for producing vibrations.
- Built-in non volatile memory with space for user data.
- A hardware expansion port.
- Powered by two AA cells, can use rechargeable types.
CWiid was written by L. Donnie Smith and has been released under the GPLv2. The project has been around since March, 2007 and is currently at version 0.6.00. The libcwiid API document explains the CWiid software interface.
There are currently at least twelve programs using CWiid. Some of the highlights include control of DMX lighting systems with Wiimote Control, 3D display of chemical structures using the Avogadro molecular editor, the WiiOSC control device for music programs and a newly released prototype Wiimote Control for the Ardour multi-track audio editor. Although the Wiimote control is ideal for use in games, there don't appear to be any such developments under Linux at this point.
One of the more interesting uses of the Wiimote includes Head Tracking for an immersive 3D experience, based on the work of Johnny Chung Lee. This approach to 3D visualization produces full-color displays, unlike the the old-fashioned 3D movie technology that uses glasses with red and green lenses. Other 3D technologies require expensive LCD shutters that tend to produce a lot of flicker. The head tracking 3D technology would be well suited for use by the physically disabled.
New Wiimote devices can be purchased for $40 or less. Many of them exist on the used markets, thanks to the popularity of the Wii platform. If your favorite application could benefit from a two-way wireless remote control device with a wide variety of features, the Wiimote looks like a good choice.
System Applications
Clusters and Grids
JPPF: version 1.6 released (SourceForge)
Version 1.6 of JPPF, the Java Parallel Processing Framework, has been announced. "JPPF is an open source Grid Computing platform written in Java that makes it easy to run applications in parallel, and speed up their execution by orders of magnitude. Write once, deploy once, execute everywhere! The JPPF Team brings new features and bug fixes in this version."
Version 6.1.3 of the UNICORE server and UCC is available (SourceForge)
Version 6.1.3 of the UNICORE server and UCC have been announced. "UNICORE is a modern, Web services and WS-RF based, OGSA-compliant, standards-conform, ready-to-run Grid technology implemented in Java. UNICORE makes distributed computing, data, network, and software resources available in a seamless and secure way."
Database Software
cx_Oracle 4.4.1 released
Version 4.4.1 of cx_Oracle has been announced, a number of new features have been added. "cx_Oracle is a Python extension module that allows access to Oracle and conforms to the Python database API 2.0 specifications with a few exceptions."
IMDbPY 3.8 released
Version 3.8 of IMDbPY has been announced. "IMDbPY is a Python package useful to retrieve and manage the data of the IMDb movie database about movies, people, characters and companies. With this release, it's possible to access the data in the sql database using both the SQLObject and SQLAlchemy ORMs. Many bugs were also fixed."
phpMyAdmin: Security fix: 3.0.1.1 and 2.11.9.3 (SourceForge)
Versions 3.0.1.1 and 2.11.9.3 of phpMyAdmin have been announced. "phpMyAdmin is a tool written in PHP intended to handle the administration of MySQL over the Web. Currently it can create and drop databases, create/drop/alter tables, delete/edit/add fields, execute any SQL statement, manage keys on fields. Welcome to phpMyAdmin versions 2.11.9.3 and 3.0.1.1 which fix a security problem."
PostgreSQL Weekly News
The November 2, 2008 edition of the PostgreSQL Weekly News is online with the latest PostgreSQL DBMS articles and resources.
Networking Tools
ZABBIX: 1.6.1 released (SourceForge)
Version 1.6.1 of ZABBIX has been announced, some new capabilities have been added. "ZABBIX is an enterprise-class open source distributed monitoring solution designed to monitor and track performance and availability of network servers, devices and other IT resources. It supports distributed and WEB monitoring, auto-discovery, and more."
Security
Announcing ClamAV 0.94.1
Version 0.94.1 of ClamAV, a virus scanner, has been announced. "ClamAV 0.94.1 fixes some issues that were found in previous releases and includes one new feature, "Malware Statistics Gathering." This is an optional feature that allows ClamAV users optionally to submit statistics to us about what they detect in the field. We will then use these data to determine what types of malware are the most detected in the field and in what geographic area they are. It will also allow us to publish summary data on www.clamav.net where our users will be able to monitor the latest threats. You can help us by enabling SubmitDetectionStats in freshclam.conf."
sqlmap 0.6.2 has been released
Version 0.6.2 of sqlmap has been announced, it includes major bug fixes. "sqlmap is an automatic SQL injection tool developed in Python. Its goal is to detect and take advantage of SQL injection vulnerabilities on web applications."
Web Site Development
Apache 2.2.10 released
Version 2.2.10 of the Apache web server has been announced. "This version of Apache is principally a bug and security fix release. The following potential security flaws are addressed: * CVE-2008-2939 (cve.mitre.org) mod_proxy_ftp: Prevent XSS attacks when using wildcards in the path of the FTP URL. Discovered by Marc Bevand of Rapid7. We consider this release to be the best version of Apache available, and encourage users of all prior versions to upgrade."
Django 1.0.1 beta is available
Version 1.0.1 beta of the Django web platform has been announced. "Following the previously-announced schedule, today the Django team has released Django 1.0.1 beta 1; this is a preview of the upcoming Django 1.0.1 release, which consists solely of bugfixes and other improvements to the Django 1.0 codebase. This package also follows our policy of maintaining compatibility in the 1.0 release series."
dotCMS: 1.6.5 Released (SourceForge)
Version 1.6.5 of dotCMS has been announced. "dotCMS bridges the gap between php CMSes and J2ee solutions. Included: clustering support, structured content, granular permissions, WYSIWYG editing, events management, e-communications tools. Please visit http://dotcms.org. dotCMS, Inc. is pleased to announce that dotCMS 1.6.5 is available for download. Weve worked hard to make dotCMS 1.6.5 faster, more robust, more feature rich and easier to use. The new 1.6.5 version includes almost 300 improvements and fixes."
Midgard 8.09.2 released
Version 8.09.2 of the Midgard web development platform has been announced. "The Midgard Project has released the second maintenance release of Midgard 8.09 Ragnaroek LTS. Ragnaroek LTS is a Long Term Support version of the free software content management framework. The 8.09.2 release focuses on major performance improvements and ease of upgrade from earlier Midgard 1.8 installations. It is the first maintenance release in the Ragnaroek series that combines both Midgard and MidCOM."
Desktop Applications
Audio Applications
Amarok 2.0 beta 3 released
Version 2.0 beta 3 of the Amarok music player has been announced. "This release is yet another significant step towards the final version. Beta 3 fixes a number of serious bugs and enhances many parts of the application. Some parts underwent significant rewrites in order to fix some deeply rooted problems. All in all, Amarok 2 is now a much more polished application."
Ataksak - Beta 3 of Amarok 2.0 released (KDE.News)
KDE.News briefly looks at Amarok 2.0 beta 3. "The Amarok team announces the third beta release of Amarok 2.0, codename Ataksak. It includes a database importer for users of Amarok 1.4, who want to keep their statistics and ratings, as well as a lot of bugfixes and improvements. The playlist, statusbar and Last.fm integration got a major overhaul and are a lot more stable and polished now."
New features come to Ardour
The Ardour multi-track audio editor recently acquired some new capabilities. Prototype Wiimote Control software has been added: "After languishing for months in the horror of hardware construction and the herding of cats, long-time Ardour developer Sampo Savolainen jumped back in to working on his favorite DAW and added support for the Wiimote as a remote control this past weekend. You just need working bluetooth support on your computer, the right library, and of course a Wiimote."
Also,
MIDI Clock Sync Comes To Ardour 3.0:
"Although Ardour 3.0 is not yet ready for serious testing, it is the subject of some cool development work. Hans Baier just added support for MIDI Clock sync, which means that Ardour's transport can now slave to you MIDI sequencing hardware/software without relying on more sophisticated (and better, but less widely used) protocols like MIDI Machine Control or MIDI Time Code.
"
Desktop Environments
GNOME Software Announcements
The following new GNOME software has been announced this week:- at-spi 1.25.1 (bug fixes)
- bug-buddy 2.25.1 (new features and bug fixes)
- Cheese 2.25.1 (bug fixes and translation work)
- Deskbar-Applet 2.25.1 (bug fixes and translation work)
- Eye of GNOME 2.25.1 (bug fixes, code cleanup and translation work)
- GCalctool 5.25.1 (bug fixes and translation work)
- gnome-applets 2.25.1 (new features, bug fixes and code cleanup)
- The Gnome Chemistry Utils 0.10.0 (new features)
- GNOME DVB daemon 0.1.0 (initial release)
- gnome-games 2.24.1.1 (bug fixes and translation work)
- Gnome Games 2.25.1 (bug fixes, code cleanup and translation work)
- gnome-keyring 2.25.1 (code cleanup and translation work)
- gnome-settings-daemon 2.25.1 (new features, bug fixes and code cleanup)
- GObject-Introspection 0.6.0 (new features and bug fixes)
- GOK 2.25.1 (bug fixes and translation work)
- Gtk2-Perl 2.25.1 (new features and bug fixes)
- gtk-engines 2.17.0 (new features and bug fixes)
- libgee 0.1.4 (Update for Vala 0.3.3)
- mousetweaks 2.25.1 (new features, bug fixes and translation work)
- Orca 2.25.1 (bug fixes and translation work)
- Papywizard 1.2. (new features and translation work)
- PyPoppler 0.10.0 (new features)
- RSS-GLib - 0.2.0 (initial release)
- Seahorse 2.25.1 (code cleanup and translation work)
- seahorse-plugins 2.25.1 (code cleanup)
- Vala 0.5.1 (new features and bug fixes)
KDE 4.1.3 released
Version 4.1.3 of KDE has been announced. "KDE Community Improves Desktop with KDE 4.1.3 Codenamed "Change". KDE Community Ships Third Translation and Service Release of the 4.1 Free Desktop, Containing Numerous Bugfixes, Performance Improvements and Translation Updates."
KDE Software Announcements
The following new KDE software has been announced this week:- digiKam 0.10.0-beta5 (new features and bug fixes)
- Gimper 1.2 (new features and bug fixes)
- kipi-plugins 0.2.0-beta3 (new features and bug fixes)
- PySMSsend 1.39 (new features and bug fixes)
- QTGZManager Beta4 (new features and bug fixes)
- skrooge 0.1.0 (initial release)
- TreeLine 1.2.1 (bug fixes)
- Xt7-Player 0.7.9 (new features and bug fixes)
Xfce 4.4.3 released
Version 4.4.3 of Xfce, a light weight desktop environment, has been announced. "Just because we're gearing up to release 4.6.0, it doesn't mean we've forgotten the 4.4 branch. A bunch of bug fixes had accumulated since 4.4.2, so we have a new release for you."
Announcing xpra 0.0.5 - 'screen for X'
Version 0.0.5 of xpra has been announced, it includes bug fixes. "Xpra is 'screen for X' -- it allows you to run X programs, usually on a remote host, direct their display to your local machine, and then to disconnect from these programs and reconnect from the same or another machine, without losing any state. It is licensed under the GPLv2+."
Xorg Software Announcements
The following new Xorg software has been announced this week:- libdrm 2.4.1 (bug fixes)
- libpciaccess 0.10.5 (bug fixes)
- xf86-input-evdev 2.0.99.3 (new features and bug fixes)
- xserver 1.5.3 (new features and bug fixes)
Desktop Publishing
StorYBook: Version 2.1.6 released (SourceForge)
Version 2.1.6 of StorYBook has been announced, it adds some new capabilities and a Finnish translation. "Are you novelist, writer or author? StorYBook is a scene-based software for all creative writers that helps to organize your story. StorYBook assists you in structuring your book."
Financial Applications
SQL-Ledger 2.8.18 announced
Version 2.8.18 of SQL-Ledger, a web-based accounting system, has been announced. The What's New document summarized the changes: "workaround for Bizarre copy error caused by perl 5.10, lock order if it has been converted to an invoice, added user name and email for statements, fixed parts history order and added payment method variable for invoices."
Fonts and Images
Linux Libertine 4.1.8 released
Version 4.1.8 of the Linux Libertine font set has been announced, numerous improvements have been added.
Games
Cyphesis 0.5.17 released (WorldForge)
The WorldForge virtual world project has announced the release of Cyphesis 0.5.17, a server for WorldForge games. "Major changes in this version: Terrain modifiers are now fully supported. A new persistence backend has been written and is in testing. Properties have been re-written to be way more efficient. Internal metrics and monitors are now exposed using http. Registration with the metaserver is now much more reliable. Simulation is now jittered to make CPU load much smoother. Lots of bugs have been fixed."
libwfut 0.2.1 released (WorldForge)
The WorldForge virtual world project has announced the release of libwfut 0.2.1. "WFUT is a content distribution system initially intended to provide media updates for WorldForge clients. libwfut is a C++ implementation of the client side functionality. This release allows downloads to be aborted, contains some sample python front-ends and fixes a few small bugs. This version will also use a systemwide installation of tinyxml if available."
Sprite2d: New Release 0.8.0 (SourceForge)
Version 0.8.0 of Sprite2d has been announced. Sprite2d is: "A Java framework for writing sprite based games (turn-based, card, and arcade games.) Provides: Sprite management, rendering (Java2d or OpenGL), Collision Detection, Sprite widgets (buttons etc...), visual editor for layout of game widgets. We have released a new version of Sprite2d. This is another large change that includes: Event Containers, Font Creator, and new Demo called Slide Puzzle."
WOMBAT 0.4.0 and 0.4.1 released (WorldForge)
The WorldForge virtual world project has announced the release of WOMBAT 0.4.0 and 0.4.1, the WorldForge Open Media Browser/Artist Tool. "New features in these versions include: * Completely revamped look and feel * Support for users and roles * Actions that change the servers data * Custom icons that reflect the content of the media, if possible * New stock icons from the Tango project * Display total number of files under a directory to simplify browsing"
Graphics
Cairo release 1.8.2 now available
Version 1.8.2 of the Cairo graphics library has been announced. "This is the first update to cairo's stable 1.8 series and contains a large number of bug fixes. It is being released just over one month since cairo 1.8.0. This release consists primarily of bug fixes, but there is one notable new feature, (the ability to build cairo without an external font backend), and there are a few optimizations as well."
GUI Packages
New Qt Creator IDE from Qt Software (KDE.News)
KDE.News takes a look at a new IDE for Qt. "News emerged recently that Qt Software (formerly Trolltech) were working on their first IDE for Qt, code named Project Greenhouse. Today saw the release of the first technical preview under the name Qt Creator. The initial release is binary only, and under the terms of the Qt preview license, but the final release will be released with source code under a GPL compatible license. The initial release is available for Linux, Mac OS X and MS Windows."
Multimedia
Elisa Media Center 0.5.17 released
Version 0.5.17 of Elisa Media Center has been announced. "This release brings its usual lot of bug fixes and important performance improvements. A complete list of the new features and bugs fixed by this release is available at: https://bugs.launchpad.net/elisa/+milestone/0.5.17"
Office Suites
Announcing OpenOffice.org 2.4.2
Version 2.4.2 of OpenOffice.org has been announced. "The OpenOffice.org Community is pleased to announce the release of OpenOffice.org 2.4.2, a minor update of OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 released in June 2008."
OpenOffice.org Newsletter
The October, 2008 edition of the OpenOffice.org Newsletter is out with the latest OO.o office suite articles and events.
Video Applications
Theora 1.0 released
The 1.0 release of the Theora video codec is finally available. "A number of leading multimedia web groups already support Theora. Upcoming releases of Mozilla Firefox, the world's most popular open source browser, will support Theora natively, as will releases of the multi-platform Opera browser. Top-10 website Wikipedia uses Theora for all of its video."
Languages and Tools
C
Get to know GCC 4 (IBM developerWorks)
M. Tim Jones explores GCC 4 in an IBM developerWorks article. "In the last few years, the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) has undergone a major transition from GCC version 3 to version 4. With GCC 4 comes a new optimization framework (and new intermediate code representation), new target and language support, and a variety of new attributes and options. Get to know the major new features and their benefits."
GCC 4.3.3 Status Report
The November 3, 2008 edition of the GCC 4.3.3 Status Report has been published. "The GCC 4.3 branch is open for regression and documentation fixes. The number of P1s grew a little bit, so the 4.3.3 release will need to be delayed by a few days until they are resolved or downgraded. Out of the 5 P1s, 2 were already fixed on the trunk and I'll just need to retest them in 4.3, one had a patch posted but no progress after patch review, one needs reghunt and analysis, one is currently assigned. Once all the P1s are resolved, 4.3.3 rc will be prepared."
GCC 4.4.0 Status Report
The November 1, 2008 edition of the GCC 4.4.0 Status Report has been published. "The two months of Stage 3 have ended and the trunk is now in regression and documentation fixes only mode. At this point bugfixing should concentrate on getting the list of serious regressions down to a level that makes GCC 4.4 ready to release. As an exception to this we will still have the old register allocator removed before we branch for the GCC 4.4.0 release."
Python
Jython 2.5 Beta 0 released
Version 2.5 Beta0 of Jython, an implementation of Python in Java, has been announced. "Jython 2.5 Beta0 is the beginning of a code cooling period where the number of new features should significantly slow as we concentrate on solidifying Jython 2.5 for an eventual release. There are still a number of features that we will squeeze in (like jythonc). This is a beta release so be careful."
Tcl/Tk
Tcl-URL! - weekly Tcl news and links
The October 31, 2008 edition of the Tcl-URL! is online with new Tcl/Tk articles and resources.
Build Tools
64 Studio Platform Development Kit 0.9.7 released
Version 0.9.7 of the 64 Studio Platform Development Kit has been announced, it includes a bug fix and a new inst-timeout option. "The 64 Studio Platform Development Kit (PDK) is a Free Software tool that we use to automate the production and maintenance of several different projects. PDK is a kind of version control system for distributions, allowing us to create and manage many different custom products based on Debian and Ubuntu sources."
Editors
PHP mode for Emacs: 1.5.0 released (SourceForge)
Version 1.5.0 of PHP mode for Emacs has been announced. The software is: "An Emacs major mode for editing PHP code. Features: Syntax coloring and indenting; Documentation browse and search functions; Support for Imenu and SpeedBar; Customization options A new version of PHP mode for Emacs is released. Version 1.5.0 is the follow-up to the major improvements unveiled for PHP mode in January. There are no major new features in this release, but many bug fixes."
Version Control
Gitbuilder 0.2.0 is released
Gitbuilder 0.2.0 has been announced. "I'd like to announce the new v0.2.0 release of gitbuilder, an auto-bisecting autobuilder tool for git-based projects. The new version incorporates several suggestions from end users..."
Page editor: Forrest Cook
Next page:
Linux in the news>>