Open Recall: MediaGoblin, tux3 and Secure Boot

Open Recall is a space on The H for those things that are too small to package as news but are worth covering. In this edition: MediaGoblin 0.3.2, a comeback for tux3, the state of Secure Boot support in Linux distributions, Parsix 4.0r1, and Calculate Linux 13.

• MediaGoblin 0.3.2 – The latest release of MediaGoblin, the free software media publishing platform, has added support for 3D models. Currently, the software supports STL and OBJ files, and it can use Blender on the uploading user's system to render a preview image of the object being uploaded to the web site. MediaGoblin is AGPLv3-licensed and source code for the application can be downloaded from the Gitorious project hosting service.

• The tux3 filesystem makes a comeback – Tux 3 developer Daniel Phillips has released a number of benchmarks on the filesystem, comparing it with ext4. After a relatively quiet period, development speed on the project seems to have picked up again and the benchmarks suggest the filesystem might be becoming competitive.

• State of Linux distribution Secure Boot support – Matthew Garrett, who was formerly a Red Hat employee and developed Fedora's Secure Boot solution, has written a blog post with an overview of the current state of Secure Boot in the major Linux distributions. According to Garrett, current versions of Ubuntu and Sabayon already support Secure Boot enabled systems and upcoming versions Fedora and openSUSE will do the same.

• Parsix 4.0r1 – The developers of the Debian-based Parsix distribution have released Parsix GNU/Linux 4.0r1, which includes an improved installer and updated packages. The distribution was synchronised with the Debian testing repository on 29 December. According to the developers, the live system also boots much faster with this latest release. Parsix aims to provides users with "rock solid stability" and timely releases every six months.

• Calculate Linux 13 – Calculate Linux, which is based on Gentoo, has also seen a new release. Version 13 of Calculate Linux Desktop and Calculate Directory server are now available and include changes to the package handling, complete localisation in French, and updates to the packages shipped with the distribution. Calculate Linux is available with a choice of KDE, GNOME or Xfce desktops.

(fab)