OiOS Change your login wallpaper or GDM

Its the objective of many integrators or individuals to make the system personal or customised. Changing the login screen wallpaper is easy and straightforward. Find the theme you think is suitable in the correct format (a good site is http://gnome-look.org).Open the file system and locate the user file.Click on this, go to the Share file, and locate the GDM file.Open this file as administrator (right click) by using your root password.Select the wallpaper file and replace it with the new file carefully giving it the default file name.It maybe a good idea to retain the old wallpaper by renaming it and leaving it in the file just incase you wish to come back to it.Now log off the system and restart.

XStreamOS new release available soon with Libraoffice

XStreamOS set to lunch new version of illuminos based Unix distribution

XStreamOS is Sonicle effort to mantain our own distribution of the illumos kernel, featuring a LibraOffice, the ZFS fileystem, Crossbow network architecture, virtualization, zones, and a starting point to contribute and develop the illumos kernel.

Upon XStreamOS, Sonicle mantains full featured products such as XStream Server and XStream Storage. Free versions of XStream Server and XStream Storage.

It can be downloaded at their website at
http://www.sonicle.com/index.jsp?pagename=xstreamos&parent=products&language=en

OiOS is eyeing the Libraoffice project on their distribution and would be interested to hear from developers who have an interest in this project.

Updating Mozilla Firefox on OiOS

Updating Mozilla Firefox on OiOS

New users to OiOS often sight difficulty in updating packages on OiOS outside IPS repositories.The below is designed to help with a simple unauthordox technique to undate firefox.Please note that this technique carries no warranty whatsoever you do so at your own risk.To get started down load the latest stable build of Firerfox at https://unixpackages.com/packages/mozilla.

Download Firefox to the desktop and extract it to this location.Now go to Places-File system-user-share and find the installed firefox version.Once you have located this right click on this file and open it as administrator by entering your password.You will now see the contents of this file as superuser leave this displayed.

Go back to the new package and do the same to this package from the desktop.High light-copy-and drag the new files into the file system file.Now restart the system. Select Firefox and confirm that the package has been updated.Trouble shooting make sure you have downloaded the correct file,make sure the file in the system is the correct disination.If there is a delay in updating you may try executing the updater files.If every thing goes wrong go to the IPS, remove everything and start again.

This technique is to get the new user started. Personally I have used this technique to update other packages Thunderbird,Eclipse etc.Remember you do this at your own risk but it works for me.Further reading http://rich-notes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/installing-firefox-on-solaris-server.html and http://wiki.openindiana.org/oi/OpenIndiana+Wiki+Home

Installing Virtual Box 4.2.18 on OiOS 151a 8

I put together a script to install the latest release of Virtual Box 4.2.18 on OiOS.This can be done through the terminal using the follow script.Open up the terminal on the desktop and type

Su
password...... enter your system password here


Past and copy this script and it should autorun

cd /var/tmp
wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/4.2.18/VirtualBox-4.2.18-88780-SunOS.tar.gz
tar xf VirtualBox-4.2.18-88780-SunOS.tar.gz
pkgadd -d VirtualBox-4.2.18-SunOS-r88780.pkg



N.B. These scripts are not guaranteed in anyway and the version codes must be updated with each release.

System Security and Internet Snooping

There is ample coverage in the media  about government spying or snooping programs monitoring or infecting your system with malware. Operating systems vary  in their security resilience. We have not yet arrived at the point where proprietary systems are complicit in the mining of personal data for commercial or government purposes.

When it comes to optimizing security on your system it can only be prudent to adopt a multidisciplinary approach. One of the areas in your system which users can more readily take security steps is the browser. Make sure it’s up to date. Browsers such as Mozilla Firefox offer add on’s featuring enhanced security features of which are free to use. According to Ixquick using a secure search engine would enhance your data security. Free to use and set as your default search engine it claims to
‘protecting people's Privacy and civil liberties. So it won't surprise you that we are a strong opponent of overreaching, unaccountable spy programs like PRISM. In the past, even government surveillance programs that were begun with good intentions have become tools for abuse, for example tracking civil rights and anti-war protesters.’ It further boasts it does not store any user data, uses encryption (HTTPS) by default, and cannot be forced to start spying by European law. https://www.ixquick.com/

oios_151a 8 Release Announcement

Release Date: August 9th, 2013
oios_151a8 is a bug and security fix release with some big version bumps and also the first rebuild of the JDS in the prestable series. Changes notably include changes to the illumos kernel.

 Download and give us your views.A big thank you for all those developers who have taken part.

Details of changes can be found at http://wiki.openindiana.org/oi/oi_151a_prestable8+Release+Notes

JavaOne 2013 for Unix professionals San Francisco, California, USA

San Francisco, California, USA

Dates

• Oracle OpenWorld: Sunday, September 22–Thursday, September 26, 2013
• JavaOne: Sunday, September 22–Thursday, September 26, 2013
• MySQL Connect: Saturday, September 21–Monday, September 23, 2013

http://www.oracle.com/us/dm/201343-wwmk11054264mpp002c016-se-1969817.html?src=7328809&Act=561&pcode=WWMK11054264MPP002

Oracle indicates the intention to discontune Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

ZDnet reports the intention to discontue Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Oracle has decided to stop development on its Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), Sun Ray Software and Hardware, and Oracle Virtual Desktop Client product lines. Some Oracle partners, which received the news over the weekend, are not happy with this change

.http://www.zdnet.com/oracle-to-halt-development-of-sun-virtualization-technologies-7000018028/

At this point in time it is not clear whether it will be sold or discontinued completely.This technology is popular with companies looking for enhanced security infrastructure and many argue its a future technology available today.Analyst point to the continuing slow down in workstation or desktop use in favor of a polarization of user choice to mobile and server based computing.Commercially supported alternatives are hard to find to replace such technologies examples include.Thinlinc and Openthinclient.

links
http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/1920496
http://wiki.sun-rays.org/index.php/Sun_Ray_Community
http://www.cendio.com/
http://openthinclient.org/home
http://insights.oetiker.ch/linux/sunray2thinlinc/http://openthinclient.org/home

Steve Wozniak of Apple talks innovation on Unix

  Steve Wozniak of Apple talks about innovation and his experiences at Apple.

Prof. Alan Brown Surrey University International Business School UK interviews Steve Wozniak of Apple and Business partner of the late Steve Jobs.

Talks about innovation of Unix systems at Apple.A supporter of open systems and the Human interface.


IBM Technical Summit 2013 Published on Jun 13, 2013

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV2I34L_z1M&feature=youtu.be

References

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/rational/innovate/

http://ovum.com/2013/06/28/ibms-smarter-commerce-summit-emphasizes-the-need-for-joined-up-thinking/

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/sbs/people/alan_brown/index.htm

Disclosure details about the NSA’s spying programs www.stopwatching.us

This was an article posted by Maxthon on the recent revelations of the extent of spying the us government has over other countries and their sovereignty.Please support this campaign.

2013-06-13 00:25:16
News last week brought light upon the NSA and the US Government’s surveillance strategies and information they had gathered from various internet and phone companies. The depth and breadth of the information accessed by the US Government – and the number of US citizens involved –  is shocking.  It underscores just how much of our daily lives are mediated through the web.
—

Make your voice heard! Tell the government to stop from “watching” users’ activity and disclose details about the NSA’s spying programs.
Go to www.stopwatching.us and sign the petition.

—
This is generating a broader conversation in the USA that we here at Maxthon think is long overdue.
- Who has access to your personal data and what do they have? What can they do with it?
- What steps are they taking to protect it?
- What role does the cloud play all of this?
- What steps can you take to protect your privacy?
So, in the coming days and weeks we’re going to be taking a look at the questions above with the goal of providing you—our  customer—a clear, plain-spoken understanding of what you need to know to live a private, secure life in a multi-device world powered by the cloud.   This is a conversation with a large signal to noise ratio. It’s too much to dispense with in one blog post.  But it’s an important conversation to have.
We want to do this for one simple reason. At Maxthon, we believe in a free web, providing the user an experience to freely and securely use internet across all devices.
Privacy and personal security is a huge part of Maxthon’s DNA:  past, present and future. We make great web browsers and the web browser is the doorway through which the entire web enters and exits your life. It has to be secure. It has to offer you the privacy you need. We are also huge proponents of using the Cloud to simplify your life.  It also has to be secure and offer you the privacy you need.
Next time:  Who has access to your personal data and what do they have? What can they do with it?
Thanks and don’t forget to sign the petition at www.stopwatching.us.

Karl Mattson
Vice President, GM
www.Maxthon.com
Karl@Maxthon.com 

OpenSXCE2013.05 for SPARC EA beta OS has been released

OpenSXCE2013.05 for SPARC EA was just RELEASED as beta OS. 

Points of interest

- Live DVD, Text, USB, and virtual HD versions
- Fully modernized PCI/USB device driver hardware data support for SPARC platform
- Dtrace support
- QEMU/KVM 1.5.0 support
- LDOM server virtualization and partitioning technology support
- full 2D hardware acceleration for all legacy GPUs
- Mesa 9.1.3 OpenGL-based 3D API graphics software support (experimental, WIP)

GNOME 2.28.2 and IceWM 1.3.7 are provided along with:
VIM 7.3, Samba 3.6.15, Firefox 21, Thunderbird 17.0.6esr, GIMP, Pidgin, Rhythmbox and Glade 3. 

For office productivity, Apache OpenOffice 3.4.1 is included.

http://svr4.opensxce.org/sparc/5.11/ISO/
http://svr4.opensxce.org/sparc/5.11/USB/
http://svr4.opensxce.org/sparc/5.11/VHDD/


Test it and give feedback

Details and developer blogs see 

http://svr4.opensxce.org/

XStreamOS launches illuminos based Unix distribution

 XStreamOS is Sonicle effort to mantain our own distribution of the illumos kernel, featuring a customized text install, the ZFS fileystem, Crossbow network architecture, virtualization, zones, and a starting point to contribute and develop the illumos kernel.

Upon XStreamOS, Sonicle mantains full featured products such as XStream Server and XStream Storage.

We will be soon providing free versions of XStream Server and XStream Storage.









 It can be downloaded at their website at


http://www.sonicle.com/index.jsp?pagename=xstreamos&parent=products&language=en

OpenSXCE2013.05 unix distribution just released for for x86, x86_64 EA

Opensxce has announced a new beta release based on the latest version of illumos kernel similar to OiOS 

 

http://www.opensxce.org

OpenSXCE2013.05 for x86, x86_64 EA was just RELEASED. A short
announcement to launch the beta release of x86_64 and soon to come sparc versions no documentation yet available SPARC version coming soon. 




http://svr4.opensxce.org/i386/5.11/ISO/
http://svr4.opensxce.org/i386/5.11/USB/
http://svr4.opensxce.org/i386/5.11/VHDD/

Screenshots

http://www.opensxce.org/images/screenshots/OpenSXCE049.png
http://www.opensxce.org/images/screenshots/

Developers blogg

 https://www.facebook.com/OpenSXCE?ref=stream&hc_location=timeline

 http://svr4.opensxce.org/

Try this Opensource Beta release and see what you think

Could a new Sparc chip ignite mobile Sparc laptop interest?

It was announce in January 2013 that Oracle and Fujitsu had extended their development partnership of Sparc technology with a new range of 'Athena' Sparc T5 processors for entry and mid range servers, along with Sparc M5 processors. These chips used for high end computing continues a roadmap set out by Sun Microsystems in Sparc technology. Following the takeover of Sun Microsystems the roadmap for Sparc technology remained uncertain until this announcement.

However the announcement has created a refocused interest in mobile technology for the sparc technology. Sun Micro systems sold rebranded laptops until 2005 when the company was purchased by Oracle. Specialist manufacturer Tadpole was acquired by General Dynamics who consolidated the range to specialist uses such as military field systems discontinuing large scale manufacture https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadpole_Computer. Further  interest continued in Sparc by Accutech Ultrasystems who launched a range of Sun Ray end user notebooks based on SPARC / Solaris environments.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UltraSPARC_T1

It remains to be seen if progression of leaner more effective notebook manufacturing techniques will once again open the business case for manufacture of Sparc based professional notebooks at a competitive point.

P.S. OiOS (Openindiana) according to Fijitsu has not yet been officially certified to run these chips for further information about support please visit kernel development project http://wiki.illumos.org

VLC Player as default player in Firer Fox

VLC Player on OiOS


As the industry slowly migrates over to HTML 5 formats many rely on Adobe Flash to play existing embedded flash content files.Adobe are not developing Flash Player in the wake of this transition but have opted for support for security updates.One option it to look at the VLC Player to opt for default playing of embedded files instead of Adobe Flash Player.To test this we headed over to Firer fox lan forums for answers at   http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=55544.

Using VLC on FF 3.6.12 we had mixed results with some files playing seamlessly,others needing prompting or not playing at all.We hope to now test more recent releases of Firerfox to see if seamless integration fares better on the more recent releases.