[UPDATED] Peng’s links for Tuesday, 16 September

I’m afraid I let links back up on me during a very busy weekend that didn’t quite get out of the way until earlier today, so I have a number of links to share. I apologize for letting things get away from me.

• Matt Zimmermn: Toward a free web. With the move toward web-based applications, although that’s not an entirely new thing, there’s a very real possibility that developers of web apps could end up creating and using proprietary apps and interfaces that could make it difficult, if not outright impossible or illegal, for others to make things better/easier for users. While I’m not entirely against proprietary software, Matt has some strong points for open source work in web apps.
• Justin Dugger: Why single out Apple? People love to try to dopeslap Apple for how hard it is to get programs on the iPhone, but they may not be the worst offenders on mobile phones, and I’m not looking at Windows Mobile, as I type that.
• Julian Saraceni: VLC 0.9.2 released. When it was time to check the New Orleans television stations for coverage of Hurricane Gustav I fired up the feed in the VLC media player. It kept me from having to deal with Flash or another video program, plus I love how minimal VLC can get with the right skin. It looks like the new release of VLC is even better, and Tom “Tombuntu” Dryer has yet another tutorial on getting the new version installed. I haven’t installed it yet (it’s a few items down my gotta-do list) but there’s one thing I’ve seen from Tombuntu it’s that he writes kicking tutorials. Updated 17 Sep 12:30pm: After trying the updated VLC from Tombuntu’s blog I lost all ability to use the program. I’ll make sure the bug is filed but I’d hold off on using the version from the repo Tombuntu posts for the time being. Updated 1:43pm: It turns out the theme I had been using in my old VLC was causing problems. Once I specified the default theme and reinstalled the new version it works like a champ.
• Sayak Banerjee: Photography and ubuntu? There are a number of groups set up for Ubuntu users. Not only are there the usual regional Ubuntu user’s groups (like the Massachusetts Local Community Team), there are also a number of groups set up for people who love their bikes, even people who (God forbid!) smoke. Now even shutterbugs have an Ubuntu group to call their own. (If someone knows a place to see all of the Ubuntu groups, other than the geographic ones, please post it in a comment.)
• Dustin Kirkland: Ubuntu Manpage Repository Updates! One of the biggest hassles of using Linux is having to sort through manpages, those wonderfully difficult bits of program documentation that are great if you know what you’re looking for. But do you have manpages for all of your software? Thanks to Dustin’s hard work, as well as the work of those who have helped, you can make sure you have all the manpages you may need.
• TualatriX: One year old of Ubuntu Tweak. We’ll forgive the grammatical glitches (damned that English language and all it’s variations!) and simply say Happy Birthday, Ubuntu Tweak! I can’t believe it’s only one year old, but it’s almost amazing at how good it is already. Check out where it came from and get a glimpse at the next version in TualatriX’s post.
• Datamation: Linux Promotion in Mall Kiosks. Jonathan M. Prigot passed a link along to this article to the Ubuntu Mass. LoCo and it’s a great look at a way to show off Linux.

I have one other subject to blog, but I have over a half dozen links on the subject so I’m going to give it a post of its own.