Linux

FUSION GARAGE has announced the availability of its Joojoo tablet in the UK, and The INQUIRER went along to the launch for a walk-through of the Linux handheld device and obtained an exclusive demonstation video.

The company claims that the 12.1-inch tablet is the world's largest capacitive touchscreen device. Beneath the screen is an Intel 1.6GHz Atom processor and an Nvidia ION chipset. Like Apple's Ipad, there is no keyboard and the battery is not removable. But the similarities stop there, because the Joojoo is open.

The Linux kernel panel at the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit is usually a glimpse into Linux's future, but this week, it was also a reflection on how far Linux has come and how its leadership is growing older.

This annual panel was, as usual, chaired by Jonathan Corbet, editor in chief of the Linux Weekly News, the best hardcore Linux techie news site. During the course of the conversation, Corbet, looking around at the group of top Linux kernel developers, asked "Is the Linux kernel developer crew getting too old?"

Sony's decision to remove the Other OS feature from the PS3 has definitely proven controversial. Earlier, we reported that the move has spurred a vocal community of homebrew hackers to attempt to circumvent the new limitation. One hacker has allegedly created a custom firmware for the PS3 that restores the ability to install Linux on the PS3. So, as things continue to worsen for the company, it has issued a statement to consumers apologizing for its decision (although Sony plans to stand firm on the Other OS issue). Here is what the company said in a statement issued on Monday:

iPhone OS is on perpetual lockdown. Android hacking’s boring, considering the platform’s Linux credentials. It’s webOS, Palm’s Linux-based OS, where some of the best gratuitous, for-the-hell-of-it hacking is taking place nowadays. Exhibit A: OpenOffice, running on a Pre. A Pre!

This hack is about 23 sweaty steps more obscure than your run-of-the-mill webOS Quickinstall homebrew app routine, but it’s not impossible. Here’s the routine, in abstract, by PreCentral user BoraWare:

2010 marks the 10th anniversary of Linux for the mainframe. Here, Knowledge Center contributor Bill Claybrook delves into the 10-year history of Linux for the mainframe, discussing its first deployments, advantages and appropriate workloads, as well as its current market outlook, cost of ownership and available applications. He also offers advice on how you can determine if Linux for the mainframe is the right choice for your data center's server virtualization project.

A Swedish firm called People of Lava has announced what appears to be the world's first Android-powered TV. The Scandinavia Window to the World TV runs Android 1.5 on a Cortex-A8 processor, and offers HD with 1920 x 1080 resolution, available in 42-, 47-, and 55-inch models, says the company.

People of Lava isn't alone in planning to bring Android to the TV -- Google itself is planning a Google TV offering (see farther below) -- but it may be the closest to having a final shipping product. According to a story in LinuxInsider, the TVs will reach stores in September.

Many computer users have an insatiable appetite to deepen their understanding of computer operating systems and computer software. Linux users are no different in that respect. At the same time as developing a huge range of open source software, the Linux community fortunately has also written a vast range of documentation in the form of books, guides, tutorials, HOWTOs, man pages, and other help to aid the learning process. Some of this documentation is intended specifically for a newcomer to Linux, or those that are seeking to move away from a proprietary world and embrace freedom.

Next month, the PS3 will be ditching its Linux operating system support – something that the console has had since it launched in 2006. There must be a way to stop this, no?

On April 1, Sony will release the next firmware update for the PS3, bringing it to v3.21. It seems the sole purpose of this update is to remove the “install other OS” feature from pre-Slim models of the console. Hacker Geohot is already working on a fix, sister site Gizmodo points out.

It was not long ago when Microsoft Windows had a tight stranglehold on the operating system market. Walk into a Circuit City or Staples, it seemed, and virtually any computer you took home would be running the most current flavor of Windows. Ditto for computers ordered direct from a manufacturer. In the last decade, though, the operating system market has begun to change.

Configuration Management is a term that may not be familiar to many Linux users. But for system administrators the concept will be well known. In a nutshell, Configuration Management software enables administrators to automatically manage the entire configuration of one or multiple computers.