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elementary OS Freya Features a Beautiful Notification System – Video

 The Linux distros have all kinds of system notification mechanisms. Some are better than others, but for the most part they function the way they should. On the other hand, some developers, like those from the elementary OS team, go a little bit further and are able to provide a much better experience for end users.

“System notifications” is the kind of feature on Linux that is usually taken for granted. It’s been available for a long time and users are now ignoring it completely. It’s there and it does its job, although it’s implemented differently on various operating systems. Some operating systems do it better than others, but it’s rarely noticed.

Read more at Softpedia.

Docker Hires VMware Exec to Lead Engineering

Marianna Tessel, credited with building VMware’s engineering efforts in the enterprise, hops to Docker, which is portrayed as a VMware killer in some camps.

Microsoft’s Next Surprise is Free Office for iPad, iPhone, and Android

Microsoft’s Office suite for iPad, iPhone, and Android is now free. In a surprise move, the software giant is shaking up its mobile Office strategy to keep consumers hooked to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. Starting today, you’ll no longer need an Office 365 subscription to edit documents or store them in the cloud. The move comes just days after Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with Dropbox to integrate the cloud storage service into Office across desktop, mobile, and the web. You can now download Office for iPad and store all your documents on Dropbox without paying Microsoft anything at all. Microsoft is also releasing a brand new iPhone app today, alongside a preview of Office for Android tablets, all with Dropbox…

Continue reading…

Read more at The Verge

War Thunder Combat Game Strikes Linux Gamers

Back in June we wrote about the War Thunder MMO game coming to Linux and today — on the second anniversary of Steam for Linux — the game has publicly surfaced for gamers. This war combat game is free-to-play while still being in its beta state…

Read more at Phoronix

Happy Second Birthday To The Steam Linux Client

It was on this day two years ago that the Steam Linux client went into beta following the many exclusive Steam Linux stories and after being over at Valve’s headquarters to learn about their ambitious Linux plans…

Read more at Phoronix

KDE Frameworks 5.4 Officially Released

The latest monthly update to the KDE Frameworks libraries are now available. KDE Frameworks 5.4 continues adding on new functionality and fixes to these KDE add-on components used to form the next-generation KDE desktop experience…

Read more at Phoronix

Distribution Release: AV Linux 6.0.4

Glen MacArthur has announced the release of AV Linux 6.0.4, a new update of the project’s Debian-based distribution with a collection of audio and video production software: “A new AV Linux 6.0.4 ISO image with important security updates and a lengthy changelog of updates and improvements has been….

Read more at DistroWatch

Mozilla’s Firefox OS Readies for Africa Launch

The Mozilla Foundation has signed deals with three new operators to bring Firefox OS to the continent.

Open Source cloud services avoid lock-in

Univention’s managing director Peter Ganten takes the new Active Directory Service by Amazon Web Services, which was launched last month, as an opportunity to talk about the problems companies can have by using big cloud service providers and continues with the advantages of using open source technology for the cloud which are: no vendor lock-ins, larger number of available software, high flexibility to change providers etc.

The article can be found at: http://blog.univention.com/open-source-cloud-services/

Forlinx industrial OK335xD single board computer now is launched

Forlinx, an embedded systems design and manufacturing company based in Hebei province in China, has announced OK335xD industrial single board computer powered by Texas Instruments Sitara AM335X processor, and which appears to be a high-end boards  more ports. Potential applications include communication devices, medical equipment, automotive computers, control panels, data acquisition devices, industrial control, industrial automation equipment, and more.

Forlinx_OK335xDOK335xD single board computer is composed of a CPU module (FET335xD), and a baseboard simply called “OK335xD Base Board”.

Listed specifications for FET335xD computer-on-module:

  • SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM3354 Cortex A8 processor @ 800MHz with PowerVR SGX530 GPU
  • System Memory – 512MB DDR3
  • Storage – 256MB SLC NAND Flash
  • Interfaces available via CoM connector:
    • 1x USB 2.0 Host; 1x USB2.0 OTG
    • Ethernet Dual Gigabit Ethernet
    • 3x MMC
    • 3x I2C, 2x SPI, 6x UART / IrDA
    • Various GPIO pins
    • 8x ADC
    • 2x CAN
    • LCD Interface
  • Misc – Watchdog (SP706SEN)
  • Power Supply – 5V; PMU – TPS65217C
  • Dimension – 46mm x 70mm
  • Temperature Range – -40℃~+85℃ (Operating)

Features listed for OK335xD baseboard:

  • Processor/Memory/Storage – Via FET335xD CoM
  • External Storage – 1x SD/SDHC card slot up to 32GB
  • Display
    • LCD interface with optional 4.3″, 5″, 7″, 8″, 10.4″ resistive or capacitive displays with various resolutions (480×272, 800×480, 800×600).
    • VGA is supported via an optional LCD to VGA board
  • Audio – 1x headphone jack, 1x MIC jack, 1x Line IN
  • Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet, connector for external SDIO Wi-Fi module
  • USB – 4x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB device port
  • Serial Ports
    • 3x Serial Port (2x RS232, 1x TTL)
    • 1x RS485 (Horizontal connectors with isolation protection)
    • 1x CAN (Horizontal connectors with isolation protection)
  • Other Expansion Headers
    • “BUS” header with 12-Bit address bus, 16-bit data bus
    • “I2C” header with 2x I2C
    • “SPI” header with 1x SPI,  1x PWM?
    • “AD” header with 8x ADC (4 for resistive touching, and 4 for user),
  • Debugging – JTAG connector
  • Misc – 4x LED, 6x user keys, 1x reset switch, 1x power switch, 1x boot switch (SD or NAND boot), on-board RTC
  • Power Supply – 5V
  • Power Consumption – 1.35W in standalone mode; 3.5 W to 5W with 7″ LCD in various scenario.
  • Dimensions – 190 x 130 mm
  • Temperature Range – -40℃~+85℃ (Operating), except the RTC chip.

Forlinx provides BSPs for Android 4.2,  Linux 3.2, and WinCE 6.0 / 7.0 with several drivers for each operating systems,and documentation and source code are available. You can find a little more information and/or contact the company for details on www.forlinx.net.