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Linux Mint 17.1 review—less change is good change

The Linux Mint team recently released Linux Mint 17.1—a somewhat minor but still welcome upgrade to the Ubuntu-based ecosystem. And while Linux Mint 17.1 arrives as it usually does (a few weeks after the release of a new version of Ubuntu), version 17.1 is not based on Ubuntu’s latest effort, 14.10. Instead, this edition of Mint remains tied to the last Long Term Support (LTS) release, Ubuntu 14.04 . This marks the first time Linux Mint has not used the newest version of Ubuntu for a release. But if you paid attention to the curious approach of Linux Mint 17.0, you’ll know that was the plan all along. These days, Mint will not be changing its Ubuntu base again until the next LTS release—Ubuntu 16.04—arrives in 2016. And at first glance, it might seem like a bad thing. After all, Mint is missing out on whatever new stuff is in Ubuntu 14.10 (in this case it’s not much, but 15.04 will have plenty of changes). However, Mint 17.1 is in fact a very good sign for fans of the distro’s own tools, like its homegrown Cinnamon desktop. By relying on a consistent LTS release, Mint developers can more or less ignore the base system. Instead of spending all their time and effort making sure whatever Ubuntu has changed works with Mint, they can focus on what makes the ecosystem great—namely, its two primary desktops, MATE and Cinnamon. Read 32 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Linux 3.18 Released, Lockup Bug Still Present

jones_supa writes As anticipated, Linus Torvalds officially released Linux 3.18. The new version is now out there, though that nasty lockup issue has still yet to be resolved. Dave Jones is nearing the end of bisecting the issue, but since it also affects Linux 3.17 and not too many people seem to get hit by the lockups, Linus Torvalds decided to go ahead and do the 3.18 release on schedule. Linus was also concerned that dragging out the 3.18 release would then complicate the Linux 3.19 merge window due to the holidays later this month. Now the Linux 3.19 kernel merge window is open for two weeks of exciting changes. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Linux 3.18 Released, Lockup Bug Still Present

NASA: Mars’ Gale Crater held a huge lake for millions of years

Humans have been speculating about water on Mars for hundreds of years, and now thanks to the Curiosity rover we’re getting a better sense of how wet the Red Planet used to be. NASA revealed today that the Gale Crater, the 96-mile wide patch of land Curiosity has been exploring since 2012, held a large lake bed for tens of millions of years. What’s more, the agency found that the three-mile high Mount Sharp, which sits in the middle of the crater, was likely formed by sediment deposits from the lake. The big takeaway? Mars was likely warm enough to house liquid water for long periods of time — perhaps even long enough for life to form. “If our hypothesis for Mount Sharp holds up, it challenges the notion that warm and wet conditions were transient, local, or only underground on Mars, ” said Ashwin Vasvada, NASA’s Curiosity deputy project scientist. The only problem now is that we still don’t know how the Martian atmosphere supported such a wet environment. Curiosity previously found evidence of “vigorous” waterflow , which fueled long-held speculation about water’s presence on Mars. NASA is now focusing the rover’s efforts on on the lowest layers of Mount Sharp, which could give us a better sense of how it was formed. The findings will also help NASA when planning for future missions to seek out evidence of life on Mars, and potentially even affect how the agency approaches manned missions in the 2030s. [Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS] Filed under: Science Comments Source: NASA

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NASA: Mars’ Gale Crater held a huge lake for millions of years

The Light Bandit Lets You Plug Sunlight Directly Into a No-Electricity Lamp

It seems absurd to be burning energy by using lightbulbs while the sun is shining, but buildings can only have so many windows, and sunlight can only penetrate so far. MIT’s Solar Bottle Bulb and Ross Lovegrove’s Sun Tunnel are two ways to get sunlight inside, but both solutions require piercing a roof for installation. This new system called the Light Bandit , in contrast, is a no-construction-required solution. And it’s brilliant: “Sunlight is the fuel that powers all life on Earth, yet our lifestyles block most of it out, ” the developers write. “Between work, school and home we spend most of our time indoors under artificial lighting that lacks important benefits of natural lighting. The Light Bandit changes that.” What’s fascinating is that the coating on the reflectors filters out UV and infrared, delivering only visible light; this means you won’t fade out the part of your couch that’s got a Light Bandit lamp over it. The Light Bandit Kickstarter is no foregone conclusion, by the way; these guys need help and publicity. At press time they’d clocked under six grand out of a $200, 000 target, and there’s just 21 days left to go. But we’ve seen less impressive projects hit higher targets in a shorter stretch of time, so we’re hoping this product becomes a reality. (more…)

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The Light Bandit Lets You Plug Sunlight Directly Into a No-Electricity Lamp

KA Lite Downloads Khan Academy Videos for Offline Lessons

Windows/Mac/Linux: Khan Academy is pretty useful for learning about computer science , math, and many other subjects. If you’d rather learn without being tied to an internet connection, KA Lite allows you to manage and view downloaded Khan Academy videos. Read more…

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KA Lite Downloads Khan Academy Videos for Offline Lessons

Brits double their broadband data usage, but speeds are still an issue

Broadband usage is soaring in the UK, but the companies piping it into our homes are still playing catch-up . That’s according to Ofcom , which looked into the state of connections across Britain. So how does it all break down? For a start, the average household now uses around 58GB each month (including downloads and uploads), almost double the 30GB of data Brits were moving last year. That increase may have been helped, in part, by an increase in connection speeds. According to the regulator, the UK’s average has increased from 18 Mbps to 23 Mbps over the last 12 months. However, that isn’t the case for everyone; many Brits are still struggling to get a decent connection in their home. In its report, the watchdog said the typical UK household now requires a 10 Mbps connection; anything lower and you’re “likely to be constrained.” However, Ofcom estimates that those speeds are currently unavailable to 15 percent of UK homes. So never mind whether or not you can afford (or want) a broadband package with a faster connection; if you’re living in one of the unsupported areas, you’re stuck with what you’ve got. Ofcom also looked at existing broadband connections across the UK, and how they stacked up to this proposed 10 Mbps threshold. Only a fifth of rural connections are faster, which then rises to 65 percent in semi-urban locations and 70 percent in UK cities. In fact, only 60 percent of broadband connections are faster than 10 Mbps. Given the varied nature of Britain’s communications networks, Ofcom wants to give homeowners some clarity by launching a new site that shows broadband speeds and 3G, 4G, Freeview and digital radio coverage anywhere in the UK. You can enter any street name or postcode, which could prove useful if you’re moving home or worried about a place’s potential connectivity. [Image credit: Dan Tentler, Flickr ] Filed under: Networking , Internet Comments Source: Ofcom Infrastructure Report , Ofcom Interactive Map

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Brits double their broadband data usage, but speeds are still an issue

Apple manager gets year in jail, $4.5m fine for selling industry secrets

Onetime Apple supply manager Paul Shin Devine will spend a year in prison and repay $4.5 million for selling Apple’s secrets to suppliers, the AP reports . Devine, who worked at Apple from 2005 until his arrest in August of 2010 , pleaded guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering—and could have been sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison. Working with Singapore resident Andrew Ang, Devine was accused of selling confidential information to companies that hoped to become Apple suppliers, and to suppliers trying to negotiate better deals with the company. Winning an Apple contract can be a make-or-break moment for a supplier, as we saw in the recent dust-up between Apple and would-be sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies ; companies hoping to get in on the action sent “millions in kickbacks” to Devine. Ang and Chua Kim Guan, who were respectively the sales director and general manager of Jin Li Mould Manufacturing, were charged in 2013 for bribing Devine. They were accused of paying Devine $387,600 between 2006 and 2009. Read on Ars Technica | Comments

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Apple manager gets year in jail, $4.5m fine for selling industry secrets

Report: Sony Leak Traced to a Bangkok Hotel

According to Bloomberg , the source of the huge Sony Pictures leak has been traced to a five-star hotel in Thailand’s capital . Leaching off of the St. Regis hotel’s high-speed wi-fi, the hackers, currently believed the work of the North Korea-linked group DarkSeoul, carried out their devastating and embarrassing attack, leaking 47, 000 SSNs and other sensitive information. Read more…

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Report: Sony Leak Traced to a Bangkok Hotel

NASA’s Orion spacecraft, designed to ferry the first humans to Mars, lifts off from Cape Canaveral o

NASA’s Orion spacecraft, designed to ferry the first humans to Mars, lifts off from Cape Canaveral on Friday morning. Orion reached speeds of 20, ooo mph and traveled 3, 600 miles from Earth before a successful splashdown in the Pacific. [ Bill Ingalls/NASA ] Read more…

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NASA’s Orion spacecraft, designed to ferry the first humans to Mars, lifts off from Cape Canaveral o

Tons of Albert Einstein Documents Are Now Online for Free

On Friday Digital Einstein went live, bringing with it a treasure trove of Einstein letters, correspondences, postcards, and notes detailing the life of one of the world’s greatest thinkers. As The New York Times reports , these are The Dead Sea Scrolls of physics and you can read them today for free. Read more…

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Tons of Albert Einstein Documents Are Now Online for Free

Ken May

Author: kenmay