Rainbow Cybernuke

Linux Coaching Rebranded

Linux Coaching Organisation, aka LCO France has re-branded. Now known as Le Chat Overgnat, our new site has been refocused to better emphasize some of the less obvious reasons for visiting.

The new dynamic site at www.lcofrance.org has a less Linuxy look, yet retains the Linux course material, placing it as a secondary service. It adds some bright new course ideas, allowing the two geeky brits to devote more time to the ecological side of the Auvergne region. Concentrating their efforts towards the holiday and health aspects of life in the relaxed environment of the Livradois-Forez nature park.

If you are still struggling with Vista or Linux for that matter, then perhaps its time for an eye-opener break in France. We need your support.

Apologies to all our readers for the long silence.

The team at Rainbow CyberNuke would like to apologize for the absence of new articles since summer last year.

this was caused through Ill health and we hope to keep the news articles coming in for your browsing pleasure now that the problem is resolved.

Editor.

When using open source makes you an enemy of the state

The US copyright lobby has long argued against open source software - now Indonesia's in the firing line for encouraging the idea in government departments

It's only Tuesday and already it's been an interesting week for the world of digital rights. Not only did the British government changed the wording around its controversial 'three strikes' proposals, but the secretive anti-counterfeiting treaty, Acta, was back in the headlines. Meanwhile, a US judge is still deliberating over the Google book settlement.

read the full article on The Guardian

ResellersPanel Automates Script Installation

ResellersPanel, the leader in private label Linux-based reseller web hosting automation, has recently announced the introduction of a dropdown toolbar menu, named Elefante Toolbar, which allows a direct installation of almost 40 open source PHP scripts on customers’ websites. The instrument is available in the File Manager, Domain Manager and Subdomain Manager sections of the customers’ Web Hosting Control Panel.

The users only have to choose a script, pick a desired host location where it will be installed and simply hit the 'Install' button. Thus, they don’t have to waste time choosing a database, path, password, username, etc. because the toolbar generates all this information itself.

However, for customers who desire and have the necessary technical skills to perform a more advanced script installation setup, the Elefante Toolbar menu provides a quick ‘Advanced Installation’ shortcut link to the main interface of the Elefante Installer section of the Control Panel where they will be able to handle all script configuration settings and specifications by themselves.

There they will see a list of all the available scripts and their mouseover tooltip descriptions, grouped in the following categories: Ad Management, Blog, Calendars, Classified Ads, Content Management, Customer Support, Discussion Boards, E-commerce, Groupware Tools, Guestbooks, Image Galleries, Web Hosting Tools and Wiki. Upon an installation of a Joomla 1.0, Joomla 1.5, Moodle, WordPress or a 4images script, users are given the chance to preview a bouquet of free web design themes and install any of them together with the chosen script.

Nick Blaskov, CFO of ResellersPanel, said that the users can now install popular PHP packages in seconds without any script installation knowledge because the Elefante Toolbar will handle all the configuration settings instead of them. He added that those who are more advanced can elect to manually install the script of their choice by specifying certain admin details in the installation wizard, such as domain name, database prefix and destination folder.

The users, Mr. Blaskov continued, will be able to also select different design skins for their websites from the included template download menu and explore their layouts via the respective thumbnail images provided, and concluded that ResellersPanel will continue to automate the process of reselling web hosting services and all related activities in the future as well.

Watch a video version of the story.

UK national ID card cloned in 12 minutes

The prospective national ID card was broken and cloned in 12 minutes, the Daily Mail revealed this morning. The newspaper hired computer expert Adam Laurie to test the security that protects the information embedded in the chip on the card.Using a Nokia mobile phone and a laptop computer, Laurie was able to copy the data on a card that is being issued to foreign nationals in minutes. He then created a cloned card, and with help from another technology expert, changed all the data on the new card. This included the physical details of the bearer, name, fingerprints and other information. read full story on Computer Weekly

Ooh La La!!!

Peak Oil: Bugatti Makes a Car for the Ages

You want to buy a camera? We can pit it against three others with nearly indistinguishable features, no problem. Blu-ray players? We'll compile a three-axis matrix that triangulates the perfect combination of image quality, connected functionality and price.

But if you're considering the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, we can't do much for you. Comparing it to any other car is pointless, because there is nothing else in its $2.1-million (based on current exchange rates) class.

Read full story and see the pictures

Connecting my opensuse 11 with LAN adapter Edimax Ew-7711UTn

Some time ago I explained how you could use a Safecom adapter based on the Zydas 1211B chipset. I have given this one away and decided to buy a nicer one, the Edimax Ew-7711UTn. This one comes with a usb flexible extension, that can be useful. The adapter is supposed to be the smallest in the world. And indeed it is really small, but surprisingly good. You can find the specifications on :

http://www.edimax.co.uk/en/produce_detail.php?pd_id=280&pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44

One of the interesting feature (that I did not test) was the ability to use the 802.11n draft standard, allowing a connection at 150Mb/s, to a router such as the Netgear DGN2000.

French court savages "three-strikes" law, tosses it out

France's groundbreaking "three strikes" law that would disconnect repeat Internet file-swappers has been overturned by the country's Constitutional Council. "Innocent until proven guilty" still means something in France.

By Nate Anderson | Last updated June 10, 2009 12:01 PM CT

The French Constitutional Council has ripped into the new Création et Internet law which would disconnect repeat online copyright infringers, calling the basic premise unconstitutional. "Innocent until proven guilty" remains a central principle of French law, and it cannot be bypassed simply by creating a new nonjudicial authority.

Better known as the "three strikes" law, Création et Internet set up a High Authority in France that would oversee a graduated response program designed to curb online piracy. Rightsholders would investigate, submit complaints to the High Authority (called HADOPI, after its French acronym), and the Authority would take action. Warnings would be passed to ISPs, who would forward them to customers; after two such warnings, the subscriber could be disconnected and placed on a nationwide "no Internet" blacklist.

Read full story at ARS Technica

A bevy of new desktop processors arrives From $87 to $999

So far, 2009 has been a year of renewed competition in desktop processors, as a resurgent AMD has rolled out portions of its 45nm CPU lineup with reasonable success. For its part, Intel has responded by dropping prices on its own Core 2 processors to remain competitive, while riding high on the Core i7's undisputed performance leadership at the top of the market.

Tighter competition means better choices for consumers, but in technology, it almost always means more choices, as well. That principle was on ample display last week as AMD introduced several new products that essentially complete its transition to 45nm technology. Meanwhile, Intel has countered by quietly freshening up its low-end and mid-range offerings a bit and trumpeting the release of a new flagship CPU, the Core i7-975 Extreme.

With these moves, you have, uh, five.. no, four... wait, maybe it's six different strata of desktop CPUs from which to choose. Not counting the low-power versions. We have new processors to test that fit into... uh, I think four of those categories. Marketing is hard, folks. Especially when you're on the receiving end of it.

Read the full article at The Tech Report

Novell ponders "open-source apps store"

Novell plans to bring the wealth of open-source software to everyday users through an "open-source apps store". The vast amount of free software available to open-source users has long been one of the major benefits of switching to a Linux distro such as Ubuntu, or openSUSE. The problem has always been in explaining this to customers reared on a Windows diet. However, with the growing popularity of Linux on netbooks and the public's familiarity with apps stores on smartphones, Novell believes offering an "open-source apps store" could solve this problem for vendors. The fruits of this strategy are set to appear in the openSUSE edition of the Moblin OS.
Read full article at PC Pro