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FossNews Weekly
Issue : 23
Team : T.Shrinivasan ( tshrinivasan@gmail.com ) , K.Balavignesh ( kbalavignesh@gmail.com )
Date : 08062009
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Contents
1. Python 3.0 "Python 3000" Released
2. The Perfect Desktop Linux Mint 7 (Gloria)
3. The Top 5 Free Network Monitoring Tools
4. Blender 2.49 Released With Great Changes
5. 8 Essential OpenOffice Extensions
6. Digital and Analog Circuit Simulation with Ksimus
7. tcpdump for Dummies
8. Recovering Lost Data On Linux Or Unix Using The Coroner's Toolkit (TCT)
9. Record your Skype Calls on Linux with Skype Call Recorder
10. Launch of Free Software Movement – Karnataka
11. 117 new Effects for GIMP 2.6
12. Ubuntu Desktop Course 8.04 available
1. Python 3.0 "Python 3000" Released
The Python Software Foundation has announced the much
anticipated release of Python 3.0 (a.k.a. Python 3000).
Version 3.0 of the Python language breaks compatibility with
Python 2.x with many deprecated features now being removed
and a number of significant changes including numerous
syntax differences.
The Python 3.0 release announcement (with download links) can be read at Python.org along with
the what's new webpage and 3.0 changelog.
http://www.python.org/download/releases/3.0/
http://docs.python.org/3.0/whatsnew/3.0.html
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2. The Perfect Desktop Linux Mint 7 (Gloria)
This tutorial shows how you can set up a Linux Mint 7 (Gloria) desktop that is a fullfledged
replacement for a Windows desktop, i.e. that has all the software that people need to do the things
they do on their Windows desktops.
The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions that works even
on old hardware, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge. Linux Mint 7 is a Linux
distribution based on Ubuntu 9.04 that has lots of packages in its repositories (like multimedia
codecs, Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Skype, Google Earth, etc.) that are relatively hard to install on
other distributions; it therefore provides a userfriendly desktop experience even for Linux newbies.
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http://www.howtoforge.com/theperfectdesktoplinuxmint7gloria
If you want to download Linux Mint 7, go HERE.
http://www.linuxmint.com/
3. The Top 5 Free Network Monitoring Tools
Awareness of what's happening on your network, and why, makes the difference between average
and excellent network administration. Great tools are needed to obtain this knowledge quickly and
accurately. Fortunately, some of the best network monitoring tools are free. This article lists the top
five.
They are
1. MRTG
2. Cacti
3. Nagios
4. Ntop
5. Zenoss
Read more at
http://www.brighthub.com/computing/smbsecurity/articles/35543.aspx
4. Blender 2.49 Released With Great Changes
A new release of Blender, the immensely popular opensource 3D modeling software, is now
available. This is not the muchanticipated Blender 2.5 release, but instead version 2.49, which
brings forth several prominent changes and improvements while the developers continue work on
the next major release. As part of the 2.49 release, the Blender Game Engine (BGE) has also
received improvements too.
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=NzI5OA
http://www.blender.org/
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5. 8 Essential OpenOffice Extensions
OpenOffice is already a complete desktop office suite that
is at par in terms of features with the proprietary Microsoft
Office. However, its functionality can still be improved by
utilizing useful extensions that are easily available.
Like in Firefox, OpenOffice will let you install or remove
extensions without difficulty with the use of an Extension
Manager.
Now if you are ready to try out some handy OpenOffice
extensions, here are those that I highly recommend:
http://www.junauza.com/2009/05/8essentialopenofficeextensions.html
6. Digital and Analog Circuit Simulation with Ksimus
Ksimus is a circuit simulator that allows you to build digital and analog circuits with discrete
components and simulate them in real time. Ksimus does have its limitations though. Ksimus
doesn't supply any of the larger circuits like addressable memory or 8bit adders, but you can build
one for yourself and package it up as a Ksimus module. Also, because Ksimus provides only
discrete logic components, you're probably not going to be designing a quadcore microprocessor or
Free Open Source Software News 5
anything moderately complex. That said, you certainly can use Ksimus to learn about computer
logic design, and you even can use it to simulate basic logic circuits. But, best of all, it's just fun to
play with!
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/digitalandanalogcircuitsimulationksimus
7. tcpdump for Dummies
In this article I would like to talk about one of the most useful tools in my
networking toolbox and that is tcpdump. Unfortunately mastering this tool
completely is not an easy task. Yet stuff you do the most is relatively
simple and may become a good springboard when diving into more
complex topics.
http://www.alexonlinux.com/tcpdumpfordummies
8. Recovering Lost Data On Linux Or Unix Using The Coroner's Toolkit (TCT)
The method we'll be using for this walkthrough requires a few tools, plenty of disk space and a good
deal of patience (most likely). The two main tools are found in The Coroner's Toolkit (TCT)
,
which you can download for free from the preceding hyperlink. The two tools you'll need from this
set of computer forensic tools are:
unrm and lazarus.
readmore at
http://linuxshellaccount.blogspot.com/2009/05/recoveringlostdataonlinuxorunix.html
9. Record your Skype Calls on Linux with Skype Call Recorder
Skype Call Recorder for Linux is an open source application that allows you to record your Skype
calls to MP3, Ogg Vorbis or WAV files for free. It is absolutely free with no limits unlike many
others and offers automatic and manual recording on percaller basis.
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It works on KDE 3, KDE 4, Gnome and Xfce desktop environments and on any environment that
implements the System Tray Protocol Specification.
http://www.kabatology.com/05/16/recordyourskypecallsonlinuxwithskypecallrecorder/
download at http://atdot.ch/scr/index.html
10. Launch of Free Software Movement – Karnataka
We, the Free Software Movement Team having been consistently working to build the Free Software
Movement in Karnataka, have decided to consolidate our efforts by forming an organisation. Our
work has been built on the work of the pioneers of Free Software in the
country.
After much deliberation, we have decided to name our organisation the
'Free Software Movement Karnataka' to symbolise the all inclusiveness
of the Movement. What differentiates us from other LUGs,FSUGs,
groups, organisations or networks is our approach to building
the Movement. Our scientific understanding is that only a 'mass movement' in the Free software
domain can bring about the various changes that we envision. To build such a mass movement, a
democratic, transparent, representative and dynamic organisation is essential.
http://fsmk.org/
11. 117 new Effects for GIMP 2.6
The Gimp FX Foundry SourceForce project made it its assignment to provide scripts for porting
into the current GIMP or allow creating them from scratch. The scripts allow GIMP graphics to be
endowed with special effects, such as blurring or distorting them in certain ways. The Foundry now
provides 117 new scripts for GIMP 2.6 that are not part of the graphic software's standard
installation.
Among them are the Roy Lichtenstein effect script to render graphics in the pop
artist's style, the Planet Render script to create a planet of your choosing and
desired size and dimension. and the Old Photo script to give existing photos that
antiquated touch. A complete list of scripts is on the project's documentation
page, although details on what each script does are rather sparse. The best thing
is to download the script and try it out.
Downloads can be tar or zip. Unpack and copy them into your home directory under the hidden
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~/.gimp2.6/scripts directory. After starting GIMP 2.6, actualize the scripts by using Filter, Script
Fu, then Refresh Scripts. A new FxFoundry menu will subsequently appear to access the scripts.
http://www.linuxpromagazine.com/online/news/117_new_effects_for_gimp_2_6
http://gimpfxfoundry.sourceforge.net/
12. Ubuntu Desktop Course 8.04 available
I haven’t seen any news out there so I think it’s really useful to make you all know that a new
Ubuntu Desktop Course has been released, it’s written on Ubuntu 8.04 LTS, here’s some link you
may like:
• Ubuntu Desktop Course 8.04 for students
• Ubuntu Desktop Course 8.04 for instructors
I can imagine what you’re thinking… Ubuntu 9.04 is already out, why this course is about 8.04? I
actuallly don’t have an answer but having a course for a LTS is really important and anyway training
structures cannot handle the effort of updating all the materials and instructors every 6 months.
http://fabrizioballiano.net/2009/06/01/ubuntudesktopcourse804available/
Thanks
http://linuxtoday.com
http://fsdaily.org
http://lxer.com
To meet the FOSS users and to know/discuss more about FOSS, Join in
Indian Linux Users Group Chennai (ILUGC).
http://chennailug.org
http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/mailman/listinfo/ilugc
Please read and share with your Friends
Prepared with OpenOffice 3.0.1