Get ready for a new Crash Reporter icon in Firefox 3.1

Firefox lead graphic designer Alex Faaborg says that they’re going to try to get a new icon for the Mozilla Crash Reporter. Right now they just use the icon for the software updater, but this is something they’ve been wanting to do for a while.

There’s no preliminary graphics, but Alex does have an possible idea. You can follow the discussion on his blog, but he does realize whatever they come up with could be an image that people get really sick of. Although hopefully people will get less chance of getting sick of it as Firefox gets more stable and crashes a lot less often (unless you’re testing pre-release builds, of course, when things are liable to crash until they get specific bugs munched).

Our favorite spaceman named as IT Community Hero of the Year

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical and the Ubuntu Linux distro has been names the IT Community Hero of the Year by CNET Networks UK. He received the honor for “the support he has given to the community of developers working on the Ubuntu project and his commitment to a freely available operating system that can be used by anybody, anywhere in the world.”

It’s no secret that he wants Linux in general to be even more successful than it already is, and while he fights for Ubuntu to be easier to use and prettier the improvements he pushes for are in many cases things that won’t be applicable just to Ubuntu.

You can get more info in the press release on SourceWire.com. Thanks to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter for bringing this story to my attention.

Did you see SecondLife had to push out a Security Update on Friday?

Some time back SecondLife decided they would peel the grid status messages (updates, rolling restarts, login issues, etc.) off of their main blog an put them on a stats blog under the Second Life Grid domain. While I haven’t been on SL nearly as much as I used to be, I totally missed the fact that there was a “potential security issue” that could have left malicious users able to act as if they were you, right down to stealing your Linden dollars.

I kind of have to laugh at the way the Lindens described the potential for stealing your Linden dollars.

In the case of L$ transactions, this action would be visible to you: if this were to occur, the viewer would report the transaction after it occurred in the normal blue dialog box. Also, you are always able to inspect the transaction log to see recent transactions. This would allow you to notice and report these actions for violating the Second Life Terms of Service.

This type of malicious action would constitute a violation of the Terms of Service, and would be against the law in some locations. At this time we have no evidence that this vulnerability was ever exploited.

Wow, both a violation of the ToS and against the law? I bet those meal old malicious users didn’t even think that may be the case.

Anywho, If you haven’t fired up SecondLife since Friday you may not be aware that you’re strongly advised, although not required for some odd reason, to download new viewers, whether you’re running the main viewer (version1.20.15, released 24 July) or the Release Candidate Viewer (1.21 RC2, and please don’t get me started on beta software being called RC’s).

You can get more on the SecondLife Grid Status blog. Personally I think this is just one more reason why I’m looking at the open source Meerkat viewer, although downloads are currently disabled due to SL’s security issue. I saw about the security issue on the Meerkat site, so big thanks to them for letting me know abut it.

Newbies in SecondLife get an even better perk

One of the benefits of being new in SecondLife is that you can get a free hairstyle from Gurl6 thanks to their hair vouchers (also available inworld). But now if you join the GuRLywood Update group before redeeming your newbie voucher you’ll get every color the desired hairstyle comes in!

Even if you’ve been in SecondLife a while you should be a member of the GuRLywood Update group. You’ll get notified of new hair styles, freebies, and random giveaways, just for being a member of the group.

For more info on the new Newbie voucher perk visit the Gurl6 blog. And subscribe to their RSS feed to know when there are daily specials. Does 50% off a selected hairstyle sound good to you? That’s the daily special, and while there’s not a special every day (that I can see) I’ve kicked myself for missing the sale on a style simply because I subscribed the day after a style was on special.

And if you’ve been in SecondLife for 45 days or less don’t forget to visit the stipend ball at the Newsstand at New Citizen’s Inc. Kuula sim. As long as they have funds in the ball you can get L$10 a day for your first 45 days being in SecondLife.

Zack and Miri make a porno

The newest movie from Kevin Smith is coming on 31 October! Check out the trailer for it and make plans to see it with someone you like.

Peng’s links for Friday, 26 September

• Alan Pope: Minor Annoyance of The Day. I have to admit I’d said something very similar a time or two (text zooming in Firefox 3 got this type of response from me), but Alan gives a bug fixer’s perspective to the old “if this bug isn’t fixed I’m changing apps” threat. Unfortunately some bugs (like Firefox’s text zoom) change basic functionality to the point where the program is no longer a good fit for the user. Yes, sometimes it’s an unfortunate realization rather than a churlish threat, but Alan still puts a good, short look at the matter.
• DesktopLinux.com: Linux Foundation courts individual members. After looking mostly for developers to join, the LF is letting individual users join for a mere $50, and you get not only the quarterly newsletter and other perks, you also get a tee to show that you love, and support, the penguin. A great deal at any price, at no matter what value for the USD.
• Oliver Grawert: Announcing the first ubuntu-mobile image. Do you own one of those snazzy little netbooks? If so you can snag a daily build of Ubuntu Intrepid to check out on it. Of course Ubuntu Intrepid is still in alpha stage and shouldn’t be used on any device that is used on a regular, if not daily, basis just yet. That said, I wish I had a device that could run it.
• Frank Taylor/Google Earth Blog: Top 10 Games With Google Earth. You’ve probably played FlightSim in Google Earth, but did you know you can play D&D in GE, as well as (American rules) football?  And you thought Google Earth was just for being productive and looking things up. I may have to fire up GE for a round or two of Mars Sucks.
• Mackenzie Morgan: Swfdec 0.8: Open Source Flash. Even the latest testing versions of Flash 10 don’t work completely right in Linux (and not just because they’re testing versions, either), and if you’re running a 64bit build of Linux it’s even worse. Mackenzie has an open source alternative that comes in a 64-bit version that I may have to check out (although I’d use the 32bit build). There’s even builds in a PPA for Hardy and Intrepid so you won’t have to build it to check it out on Ubuntu. Swfdec even prevents Flash video from starting automatically, making it as if you had FlashBlock installed.
• Nicolas Deschildre: Introducing the Ubuntu Wanted project. Do you need some specific help with a project? Or are you someone that wants to help out with Ubuntu but don’t know where to start? Sense Hofstede and the Ubuntu Wanted project may be just what you’re looking for.
• LinuxDevices.com: GNOME Mobile hits the road. When GNOME 2.24 came out earlier this week they included a mobile version of their desktop environment, and LinuxDevices is happy to get away from their desk and check out the new kid in the mobile computing town.

WE LOVE IT!

Around 2:30 yesterday afternoon, the quiet around Chavez Ravine was broken with a song that is always welcome in the neighborhood.

Even though the Dodgers lost 5-7 to the Padres to close out their season at home last night they’re still the NL West champs thanks to yesterday’s Cardinals drubbing of the Snakes 12-3.

The Dodger’s opponent for the NLDS will either be Phillies or the Cubs, depending on who wins the NL Wild Card race, with the Dodgers doing the traveling. Either way, the team isn’t done playing this season, and this fan is hoping they can play for several more weeks. Out of the four teams going into the ALDS, I’m leaning toward either the Angels or (I can’t believe I’m typing this) the Red Sox. I wouldn’t mind facing the Angels in a Freeway (World) Series because then hopefully we can settle who is Los Angeles’ true team. If it were the Sox and the Dodgers, then we can see if Bill Shakin’s column on Sunday was prophetic or not.

Either way, I love this game, and I love the fact that I don’t have to cheer for some other team in the NLDS.

Woops!

Yesterday I went to see Peng to we could look at some possible theme changes for the blog, and for us actually see what the changes would look like I had to log onto the blog as me. Unfortunately Peng and I forgot to log me out when I left so when he wrote his two posts about Firefox and the updates he wrote it signed in as me. He just called me and pointed out the error so I made the changes of authorship on his two posts. I apologize for the confusion, especially for anyone reading the posts on Planet Ubuntu who wondered who I was and was using Peng’s hackergotchi. I’ll try not to let that happen again.

They did it!

It’s not 100% official yet, but I need to run and grab a subway but I wanted to a quick note before I fly. The Cardinals have kicked Arizona’s tail all over Busch Stadium (12-3 with two one outs left in the game), so what this am was an almost fact is pretty much a done deal. The Los Angeles Dodgers will be the National League West Champion for 2008, for the first time in four years.

I’ll post more in the morning, especially after the Dodgers and the padres play one more game, but bring on the Gi’nts! The Dodgers are on their way to the NLDS! I LOVE LA!

ETA: And just as I’m about to publish it out three was made. The game is over and the Dodgers are your 2008 NL West Champs!

And now I really need to run.

A GNOME update, a way to buy non-free codecs in Ubuntu, and an Intrepid beta freeze, oh my!

We’ve got a few updates (in addition to a new Firefox) that are making Linux users pretty happy. First is an update to the GNOME free desktop software project.

Among the improvements in GNOME 2.24 that came out yesterday is the addition of the  Empathy IM client (which I’ve tried and ended up not thrilled with, although some users love it) as well as the upgrade to Ekiga 3.0. They also have a time tracker, an improved Deskbar, new screen resolution controls (that look a lot more user friendly in the screenshot than what came with GNOME 2.22), new sound theme support (yea! we can set up multiple sound themes and change between them much more easily!), more attractive backgrounds, and what I consider the pièce de résistance, tabbed browsing in the file manager!

Of course there’s more goodies in GNOME 2.24, which will be included in Ubuntu Intrepid unless I’m reading something wrong, so to see the entire list check out the release notes.

Buy non-free media codecs in Ubuntu

One of the biggest complaints about Ubuntu is that it doesn’t come with media codecs so you can enjoy your MP3s and DVDs out of the box, but the codecs aren’t free to distribute with the Ubuntu install disks. Windows, Macs and distros of Linux that come with a price tag have the codecs because you’re paying for them. Scott Wegner reminded me of a link in this week’s Ubuntu Weekly News that I had missed. Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, has teamed up with Fluendo and Cyberlink to allow Ubuntu users to buy the codecs required to enjoy these types of media.

The codecs are currently available in the Medibuntu repository,and it looks like that option will continue, but the new agreement will allow users to purchase legal copies of the codecs, but I suspect that most users will prefer to use either the Medibuntu repo or the ubuntu-restricted-extras package than shell out $40 for most of the non-free codecs plus another $50 to be able to enjoy DVDs. What about you guys (and gals)? Will you buy the codecs from the Ubuntu Store or will you continue using the no cost method for getting the codecs?

Ubuntu Intrepid in beta freeze

Ubuntu 8.10 “Intrepid Ibex” is one week away from entering the beta phase of testing and has entered the beta freeze. Basically this means that anything that needs to get added to the first beta of Ubuntu Intrepid has to get approved so they can get the disk images ready for distribution. They have an issue tracker set up so you can keep an eye on the bugs that the release team are watching. I burned a disk of Intrepid Alpha 6, and I’m looking forward to booting up with an image of the first Intrepid beta. I’m not sure when I’m going to start testing Intrepid, and I’m keeping an eye out for a way to test the Intrepid kernel while still using Hardy, just like we had for the Hardy and Gutsy kernels. André Gondim has a report on his testing of Intrepid Alpha 6 that is definitely worth the time to read if you have any thoughts of checking out Intrepid, even if it’s not until after it comes out.

Mackenzie Morgan has a way for you to start checking out the new themes that have been created for Intrepid. It’s super easy to get them, too. Simply add these two lines to your /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main

Once that’s done simply update your package list and install community-themes. You can do it at one time by running this in your Terminal

sudo aptitude update && sudo aptitude install community-themes

Then simply open your Appearance window (System > Preferences > Appearance) and check them out. You can also grab updates for the human-theme, ubuntu-artwork and ubuntu-sounds to check out what they will look like in Ubuntu Intrepid. Just remember, if you decide to use the Hardy sounds you’ll need to disable the new PPAs or you’ll find them getting updated next time Update Manager is run. Personally I’m linking the NewHuman (from the updated human-theme) and NewWave (in the community-themes) themes, but I find I prefer the Hardy (or Mac4Lin) sounds, especially for logon and logoff, to the Intrepid sounds. The current sounds have a great African tribal feel to them, but the new ones just seem to remind me of the Windows (and yes, OSX) sounds. I’d prefer Ubuntu have sounds that set it apart. We can always add other sounds.

Par-tay!

Of course now’s the time to start planning your Intrepid release party, and Jono Bacon has all the info you may need to start planning a celebration in your area. The Boston party hasn’t been set up yet, but as soon as I hear it’s official I’ll post the info so you can put it on your calendar.