Software News

Primary school teacher Simon Haughton decided to make his classes more interesting by employing an Apple TV to project large images and switch between slides from afar. He discovered it was "fantastic" for the job.

After using Apple’s set-top box in just one class, Haughton decided to make a blog entry and let everyone know that, “Using Apple TV in a lesson is FANTASIC!”

“Having read about it online I sort of knew what to expect but it was only when I actually tried it out in a lesson did I realise the huge impact that it has on teaching and learning,” he explains.

One of the key benefits, Haughton notes, is the ability to stand anywhere in the room to showcase something – “you aren't confined to just standing next to the projected display,” he writes.

Thanks to AirPlay integration, “the fact that you can pass an iPad to a child to write on makes it much more flexible,” in Haughton’s opinion, “and easier too for the shorter children who can't always reach the top of the board.” Talk about a thoughtful teacher, eh?

The third and last key benefit outlined by Haughton in his post, teachers can mirror any child's iPad display “to share it as an example of 'what a good one looks like' to the rest of the class.”

In other words, the class no longer requires a visualiser, thanks to the Apple-based solutions.

&l dquo;When I used it in Year 4 on Friday, the children were that impressed by the whole setup that they even asked me to mirror the iPad screen of one of the more confident children for a short while so that they could watch the process they did to create such super work,” Haughton said.

The teacher admits that he does have one small problem, and that is finding a suitable app for presenting lessons on. Maybe the next iOS will open the door to that.

Via: Teacher Uses Apple TV for Lessons, Deems it Fantastic Solution

The following Linux-based operating systems have been announced last week: Ultimate Edition 3.4, Fuduntu 2012.3, Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.07, and Parsix GNU/Linux 4.0 Test 1. In other news: Mandriva Linux gets renamed. Softpedia Linux Blog news includes articles about Linux kernel 3.5 RC5, Fedora 17 IBM System z 64-bit, GNU C Library 2.16, DoudouLinux 1.2, DRBL 1.0.9-2, Commodore OS Vision 1.0 Beta 9, Wine 1.5.8, Calculate Linux 12 Beta, Porteus 1.2, OpenMW 0.16.0, Qbittorrent 2.9.11, ArchBang 2012.07.02, Helal Linux Light 1.0, GNOME 3.5.3, Super Grub2 Disk 2.00 Beta 1, Calibre 0.8.59, Pidgin 2.10.5, Transmission 2.60, Parted Magic 2012_07_05, Descent|OS 3 Alpha 2, and much more. For this week we've also prepared a nice review for the LIMBO game. The weekly ends with the video clip of the week, the new and updated Linux distributions, and the development releases.


Summary:

· Announced Distro: Ultimate Edition 3.4 · Announced Distro: Fuduntu 2012.3 · Announced Distro: Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.07 · Announced Distro: Parsix GNU/Linux 4.0 Test 1 · In other news: Vote for Mandriva's New Name! · Softpedia Linux Blog: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS manual, Valve confirms Steam for Linux, and more... · Review of the Week: LIMBO Review · Video Clip of the Week: Valve Confirm s Steam for Linux · New Distributions: WoodOS Alpha 1, Anansi OS 0.04, Helal Linux Light 1.0 and Porteus Xfce 1.2 · Distributions Updated Last Week: Knoppix 7.0.3, DoudouLinux 1.2, Instant WebKiosk 1.5, and more... · Development Releases: Vine Linux 6.1 Beta 2, Clonezilla LiveCD 1.2.13-5, Descent|OS 3.0 Alpha 2, and more...

On June 30th, TheeMahn proudly announced that the Ultimate Edition 3.4 LTS operating system is now available for download on mirrors worldwide. Ultimate Edition 3.4 is now based on Canonical's Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) operatin g system, which makes it a Long Term Support release.

Packed with a new GTK3 theme, a comprehensive set of apps, all the updates from Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, new initrd, rebuilt vmlinuz, and a rock solid GNOME 3 desktop environment. Ultimate Edition 3.4 is distributed as Live DVD ISO images for both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures, containing Unity, Cinnamon, XBMC, GNOME Classic, GNOME 3 with GNOME Shell, and the GNOME Fallback sessions.

Ultimate Edition 3.4 - Image courtesy of TheeMahn

Download Ultimate Edition 3.4 now from Softpedia.

On July 2nd, Andrew Wyatt proudly announced the immediate availability for download of the Fuduntu 2012.3 Linux operating system. Fuduntu 2012.3 comes with lots of under-the-hood improvements, such as GCC 4.6.3, GRUB 2 as default bootloader, the Anaconda 16 installer, and the Droid Sans Mono terminal font.

Highlights of Fuduntu 2012.3:

· Linux kernel 3.4.4;
· Chromium 19.0.1084.56;
· Mozilla Firefox 13.0.1;
· Mozilla Thunderbird 13.0.1;
· LibreOffice 3.5.4.2;
· GIMP 2.8;
· Pidgin 2.10.4;
· VirtualBox OSE 4.1.16;
· Wine 1.4.1;
· Infinality Freetype 2.4.10;
· GRUB2 2.0-0.27;
· GCC 4.6.3.

Fuduntu 2012.3

Download Fuduntu 2012.3 now from Softpedia.

On July 3rd, Anke Boersma has announced the immediate availability for download of the Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.07 operating system. Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.07 is the last maintenance release for Archimedes series and it is powered by Linux kernel 3.4.3 and KDE Software Compilation 4.8.3. It also contains QtWebkit 2.2.1, Qt 4.8.2, and an optional Linux kernel 3.0.35.

Highlights of Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.07:

· Linux kernel 3.4.3;
· Linux kernel 3.0.35 (optional);
 ·KDE Software Compilation 4.8.3;
 · Calligra 2.4.2;
· Qt 4.8.2;
· QtWebkit 2.2.1;
· tomoyo-tools 2.5;
· wqy-microhei is now the default font for Japanese, Chinese and Korean languages;
· udev 182;
· kmod 0.8;
· mkinitcpio 0.8.8;
· Move to /usr/lib to prepare for systemd switch.

Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.07

Download Chakra GNU/Linux 2012.07 now from Softpedia.

On July 4th, Alan Baghumian announced the immediate availability for download of the first test version of the upcoming Parsix GNU/Linux 4.0 operating system. Dubbed Gloria, Parsix GNU/Linux 4.0 Test 1 brings lots of updated packages, an updated installer, faster live boot, and new features. It includes all the security updated and bug fixes, as well as application updates, that were published on the Debian testing repositories as of July 1st, 2012.

Highlights of Parsix GNU/Linux 4.0r0 Test 1:

· Based on Debian testing repositories (as of July 1st, 2012);
· Linux kernel 3.2.20;
· GNOME 3.4.2;
· GRUB 2 boot loader;
· X.Org 7.6;
· X.Org Server 1.12.1.902;
· GNU Iceweasel 13.0 web browser;
· Chromium web browser 18;
· Libr eOffice 3.5.4 office suite;
· GParted 0.12.1;
· Empathy 3.4.3.3;
· GIMP 2.8.0;
· Grisbi 0.8.9;
· VirtualBox 4.1.16;
· xFarDic 0.11.7;
· VLC Media Player 2.0.1;
· Adobe Flash Player 11.2;
· Glibc 2.13.

Parsix GNU/Linux 4.0r0 Test 1

Download Parsix GNU/Linux 4.0r0 Test 1 now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a development release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only.

Other News:

· Mandriva S.A., through Charles Schulz, posted a very interesting announcement on their blog, asking users to vote for the new name of the Mandriva Linux distribution. Long story short, it looks like Mandriva S.A. wants to separate the Mandriva community and the distribution from the company. Among possible names chosen by Mandriva for the future distribution, we can mention OpenMandriva, Commundriva, Dracanea Linux, Drake Linux, Mana Linux, Mandala Linux, Mira Linux, Moondrake, NorthStar Linux, OpenDrake, Pulsar Linux, and Tulipa Linux. Read more about it here.

Softpedia Linux Blog:

· Download Linux Kernel 3.5 Release Candidate 5
· Fedora 17 Officially Released for IBM System z 64-bit
· GNU C Library 2.16 Officially Released
· LibreOffice 3.6 Bug Hunting Party Organized on 6 and 7 July

· OMAP4 Kernel Vulnerability Fixed for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
· The Summer Bundle Has Three Linux Games
· Official Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Manual Is Now Available
· DoudouLinux 1.2 Available for Download
· DRBL 1.0.9-2 Has Linux Kernel 3.2.21
· Commodore OS Vision 1.0 Beta 9 Has New Classic Games
· Free Software Foundation Criticizes Ubuntu for Secure Boot Policy
· Fuduntu 2012.3 Screenshot Tour
· Valve Confirms Steam for Linux, Blizzard Bans Linux Users
· Introducing Ubuntu Web History Lens for Unity
· Wine 1.5.8 Improves Windows Codecs
· Calculate Linux 12 Beta Released, Includes GIMP 2.8
· Porteus 1.2 Has Linux Kernel 3.4.4
· Blizzard Is Not Banning Diablo III Linux Players
· Calibre Plugin of the Week: FanFictionDownLoader
· Latest Games Added to Ubuntu Software Center
· OpenMW 0.16.0 Brings New Features
· Qbittorrent 2.9.11 Fixes a Few Bugs
· Parisx GNU/Linux 4.0r0 Test 1 Screenshot Tour
· ArchBang 2012.07.02 Now Has GParted
· Helal Linux Light 1.0 is Bas ed on Lubuntu 12.04
· GNOME 3.5.3 Development Release Is Here
· Super Grub2 Disk 2.00 Is Based on GRUB 2
· Calibre 0.8.59 Fixes GNOME 3 Problem
· Pidgin 2.10.5 Has Support for GNOME 3 Proxy
· Transmission 2.60 Has Been Officially Released
· Parted Magic 2012_07_05 Has Linux Kernel 3.4.4
· Descent|OS 3 Alpha 2 Available for Download
· Scientific Linux and Ubuntu Used to Find the Higgs Boson
· Tiny Core Linux 4.5.6 Is Available for Download
· LibreOffice 3.6.0 Beta 3 Is Available for Download
· Top Three Latest Wine Platinum Games

Review of the Week: LIMBO Review

· Limbo is not a nice place to be, but for some unbeknown reason it's a great place for game developers. Who would have thought that the adventures of a little boy in a place that could very well be the dreaded Limbo, will make a great game and something to be remembered.

LIMBO game running on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

Limbo is built with an amazing physics engine and almost all of the puzzles and conundrums are making use of it. Moreover, the deaths of the main character are one of the most imaginative I’ve ever seen, with the exception of Heart of Darkness.

Read the complete review here.

Video Clip of the Week: Valve Confirms Steam for Linux

· For this week we've posted an 480p HD video clip with an interview with Gabe Newell from Valve, confirming Steam for Linux. The video has 49 seconds, and it was posted by Softpedia Linux.


New Distributions:

· WoodOS Alpha 1
· Anansi OS 0.04
· Helal Linux Light 1.0
· Porteus Xfce 1.2

Distributions Updated Last Week:

· Knoppix 7.0.3
· 4MLinux Media Edition 3.3
· Fedora for IBM System z 64bit 17
· DoudouLinux 1.2
· Instant WebKiosk 1.5
· 4MLinux Rescue Edition 3.2
· Porteus 1.2
· ArchBang 2012.07.02
· Parted Magic 2012_07_05
· Tiny Core Linux 4.5.6

Development Releases:

· Vine Linux 6.1 Beta 2
· Clonezilla LiveCD 1.2.13-5
· DRBL Live Xfce 1.0.9-2
· Commodore OS Vision 1.0 Beta 9
· Calculate Linu x Desktop 12 Beta
· Calculate Linux Desktop Xfce 12 Beta
· Calculate Linux Directory Server 12 Beta
· Calculate Linux Scratch 12 Beta
· Calculate Linux Scratch Server 12 Beta
· Calculate Media Center 12 Beta
· Bodhi 2.0.0 Build 4
· Descent|OS 3.0 Alpha 2

See you again at the end of next week for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.

Via: Softpedia Linux Weekly, Issue 207

Linus Torvalds announced yesterday, July 7th, that the sixth Release Candidate of the upcoming Linux 3.5 kernel is now available for download and testing.

Linux kernel 3.5 RC6 brings some Btrfs improvements, ARM updates, as well as various networking and driver changes.

“That said, it's also summer (our Australian co-developers may disagree, but they are in the minority), and with that I also wanted to talk about the next merge window. Because I suspect that especially a lot of the European developers have either taken off for vacation or are getting ready to do so.”

“August tends to be off-season for a lot of people. I'm hoping summer plans not a huge part of the slowing down of the rc patches, but I do suspect that the next merge window will a lmost inevitably be completely overshadowed for some developers by their vacation.” - said Linus Torvalds in the email announcement.

Download Linux kernel 3.5 RC6 right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a development release and it is intended for testing purposes only.

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Via: Download Linux Kernel 3.5 Release Candidate 6