Linux April fools 2009

I’ll try to update this post during the day, while I discover new April fools

Be sure to refresh your rss feed or check this page again in a while or tomorrow !

Note: If you like this post, please vote for your favourite by adding a comment on this post.

Finally Windows users can get Compiz easily!!

On behalf of Compiz developers and the super smart guys at Novell-Microsoft Interop lab, I am happy to announce the easy way to get Compiz for Windows users. [read the article]

Fedora France announces stop of documentation localization

To easy to spoof. Let me tell you, if there’s something that a French guy requires, is having everything translated in French. I see no way they may consider localization too much work

Porting Mono to C++ is easy. Tomboy port announced.

Took me a while to figure out it was a fool. This guy claimed that, out of boredom, he started to port Tomboy to c++, and that he found porting to be quite easy. Definitely a good fool !

Suse installation on a Cube

Since there are not multiple desktops during Suse’s installation process, they well-thought to use Compiz Cube to switch between the installation wizard steps. Pretty cool

Ubuntu to rewrite Linux kernel in Mono !

I love this one ! Mark Shuttleworth announced the Mono porting of Linux kernel itself.

Itunes ported on Linux

Lots of ports this spring, uh ? May Apple, knowingly even more adverse to Linux than Microsoft itself, have changed its mind ? [warning: german!, thanks Harper]

Ubuntu to base itself on Red Hat foundations rather than Debian’s

Not sure about how may this couple with the kernel rewriting. The exclusive news comes from a German website, you can read it here. [ Warning, german ! ]

As for me I am quite happy. I have always hated APT – nothing’s better than a good yum install

First defection in the Ubuntu art community in favour of Fedora

I can’t believe this is not related with the story above. Thorsten, respected ubuntu-art member and creator of the beautiful Ubuntu Ring Countdown has announced – to the disappoint of all his fellows -  he will leave to join Fedora on the mailing list.

With the possible exception of some work for The Fridge, I will pull out of all ubuntu-related artwork!

I’m worried about the move of dumping brown for Karmic and have been less and less satisfied with the distribution.

I’m preparing to join the Fedora artwork community instead [...]

Read the thread here. Also bomb-mail the mailing list and propose to keep the color in order to keep him. BTW I”d say pink would be an original choice .

Ubuntuforums (old) theme fool

Quite a classic, I’d say. UbuntuForums changed the background color of the forum theme (you need to be logged to see how it looks) as they did last year.

Turnkey Linux to become TurnKey Windows

Given the fact that Windows 7 rocks this is a wonderful news: Turnkey has announced the end of life for their Turnkey Linux product in favour of the new Turnkey Windows based on Windows 7!

The key components of the reciprocal agreement are:

• The project formerly known as TurnKey Linux will relaunch as TurnKey Windows at http://www.turnkeywindows.org/
• Microsoft will collaborate with TurnKey Windows to develop appliances based on Windows 7, Microsoft’s highly anticipated next-generation PC operating system, slated for release in 2010. In the interim, new beta TurnKey Windows appliances will be based on Windows Server 2008.
• Existing TurnKey Linux users will be automatically upgraded to an equivalent TurnKey Windows appliance as soon as one becomes available. By allowing an appliance to upgrade automatically users implicitly accept the new End User License Agreement.
• Microsoft will generously allow free usage of TurnKey Windows appliances for the duration of the Beta, after which the appliances will require activation of a mandatory subscription plan. The new pay as you go model is intended to dramatically reduce total cost of ownership.

Read more here ! [thanks Liraz]

Open source to be founded by an Open Source Casino

This makes sense, since an open source bank is already in the workings.

So, here we go, LinuxFund launches their Open Source Casino.

Ubuntu-hr.org switches to a Fedora theme

Perfectly matching previously stated Shuttleworth intentions . Here’s a screenshot of their site:

Awesome work, guys !

Mythbuntu announces CableCard support

…and makes pubblic an agreement made with two major companies, Time Warner & Comcast !

Pretty cool, so after you head up on their site to read the news, read the lengthy instructions, you will probably click the .deb link  at the bottom. This is what will happen right after:

Ubuntu Italian community cries loud about the crisys and sets the off-topic forum as pay-for.

As stated, the Bar Sport sub-forum, the most visited and active forum on ubuntu-it.org, consumes too much resources on the server. Thus, it will be only accessible to those willing to donate as little as 2 euro for the server’s manteinance. Read eventual replied in the original thread.

Arch Linux to drop i686 architecture

Fair enough, i686 is around since 2002 and the vaste majority of users have x86_64 compatible hardware. Spring cleansing I call it This is something I’d want to see from Ubuntu as well ! Here’s the announcement.
[thank you Alberto !]

Empathy gets private mode

That’s the killer feature that may bring the win over Pidgin ! Many other details in the announcement. Look the image below to get an idea of their new kitten secrecy algorithm !

Ubuntu Pocket Guide releases the first (i guess) poetic book on Linux

Well, code is poetry, right ? And so it’s Linux. Ubuntu Pocket Guide explored the concept and released Musing on Ubuntu Dreams.

Download the book from their webpage

>> OT – special mention<< Internet Reboot announced

Not inherently Linux related, but too cool not to be mentioned. Sitepoint kindly reminded that the Internet will be rebooted at the end of the day.

Seems reasonably, since we already have passed the 10 years mark of uptime. The global downtime will last circa 1 minute, if you have critical business application running you still have time to handle the black out !