Open source development for the win! Linux hybrid graphics projects

 http://linux-hybrid-graphics.blogspot.com/
 
A new job means a new laptop for me! My employer was kind enough to buy a new Dell XPS L502X for me so naturally I installed a Linux desktop OS (Ubuntu 11.10). This is a pretty sweet laptop you might say, except for one problem: Nvidia does not support Optimus hybrid graphics on Linux.

Currently Nvidia only supports Windows 7 is officially, however there are open source projects that have made progress on supporting hybrid graphics in Linux.

Nvidia Optimus basically makes use of a 'discrete' card for graphics heavy lifting while it can switch to using the 'internal' graphics card (Intel) to conserve power.

Bumblebee, supports Ubuntu and Arch Linux for now (Fedora and openSUSE on the way). It is developed by Lekensteyn, Samsagax, ArchangeGabriel, pvriens(Fedora) and Ximi1970(openSUSE). The second one is IronHide, supporting only Ubuntu, developed by MrMEEE.

Bumblebee's latest version, 3.0 "Tumbleweed", supports power management although I still need to tinker with the settings because the battery lasts 2 hours after initial installation reboot. I am happy that the mini-display port (Intel) works easily in place of the HDMI port (Nvidia). Auto-switching between each graphics processors is not supported *yet* but any graphics intensive application can be invoked using optirun and the power consumption is much better.

I used these instructions with success:
installing-bumblebee-3-0-tumbleweed-on-ubuntu/

Details on the ATI and Nvidia hybrid graphics, Bumblebee and Ironhide projects here:
https://launchpad.net/~hybrid-graphics-linux

Sippy's B2BUA and RTPproxy projects
www.b2bua.org

I have spent a little time reading about sippysoft.com's open source projects: SIP B2BUA and RTPproxy which use GPL and BSD-style licenses respectively. On the surface they look great.

Unlike a SIP proxy "the Back2BackUserAgent maintains complete call state and participates in all call requests". Functions include "accurate call accounting, pre-paid rating and billing, fail over call routing".

RTPproxy can help SIP user agents transverse firewalls, "call recording, playing pre-encoded announcements, real-time stream copying and RTP payload reframing". There is a Java client and an Erlang implementation. It can work together with the major, open SIP proxies like OpenSIPS and Kamailio including their own Sippy B2BUA and another one I've never heard of reSIProcate B2BUA.

Sippy hosts B2BUA and RTPproxy on sourceforge.net, use git and are very recently active. This is impressive because these projects initial code commits look to be from around 8 years ago!

It is good to see more open projects for communications that are going strong. I also like look of their licensed product softphone and switch appliance. I hope to get to load testing each and to comparing notes soon. Asterisk and FreeSWITCH have B2BUA capabilities and for Sippy's B2BUA to be unlike a SIP proxy is interesting. The RTP proxy concept is also new to me.

WebRTC discussion on Voip Users Conference

From the VoIP Users Conference!

Podcast download: 

What is WebRTC?

It is a relatively new open source, real time communications framework that is used for voice and video directly in the browser

"Here are the next few topics covered in the FAQ
2 Why should I use WebRTC?
3 How do I develop a video chat application in a web page?
4 What is the xxxxxxx audio codec?
7 What other components are included in the WebRTC package?
7.1 Audio
7.2 Video
7.3 Network"

 

Installing And Using OpenVZ On CentOS 5.7

Installing And Using OpenVZ On CentOS 5.7: In this HowTo : CentOS 5.7 server for OpenVZ. With OpenVZ you can create multiple Virtual Private Servers (VPS) on the same hardware, similar to Xen and the Linux Vserver project. OpenVZ is the open-source branch of Virtuozzo, a commercial virtualization solution used by many providers that offer virtual servers. The OpenVZ kernel patch is licensed under the GPL license, and the user-level tools are under the QPL license.

More African beer!

SABMiller launches 'entry-level' cassava beer

from The Daily Maverick

SABMiller is hoping to attract aspirant consumers, with its new cassava beer, Impala Cervejas. It's brewed in Mozambique, and currently available only in the north of that country, but will potentially be rolled out elsewhere on the continent if it proves a success. By THERESA MALLINSON.

PfSense CARP failover

How To Configure A pfSense 2.0 Cluster Using CARP

from HowtoForge - Linux Howtos and Tutorials -

How To Configure A pfSense 2.0 Cluster Using CARP

In this HowTo I will show you how to configure a pfSense 2.0 Cluster using CARP Failover. pfSense is quite a advanced (open-source) firewall being used everywhere from homes to enterprise level networks, I have been playing around with pfsense now for the last 3 months and to be honest I am not looking back, it is packed full of features and can be deployed easily within minutes depending on your requirements.

I predict:

The first mass use tech-bio implants will be like contact lens displays that will run on Linux with no GUI and everyone will have to learn bash and terminal commands to read their mail and Internet!