“Filipinnovation: The Way Forward” is this year’s theme for the National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) Celebration. The theme focuses on the innovation of products and services designed for the Filipinos. It also aimed to make the public understand the practical applications of science and technology and to encourage the use of it.

Bayanihan Linux, one of the projects of the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI), was featured in the NSTW exhibits. BL5 installers were given away for free, and information regarding the open source desktop solution were disseminated through brochures and discussions with the viewers of the exhibits and participants of the various NSTW activities.

The Bayanihan Linux will also be promoted in regional NSTW celebrations in Isabela, Puerto Princesa, Dumaguete and Cagayan de Oro scheduled in the upcoming months.

Aside from S&T fairs and exhibits, the celebration also included a business and scientific forum entitled “Engaging Industry Partners in Business Opportunities”. The forum focused on how DOST technology helped improved existing products and services through partnering with other industries and agencies. Video presentations and scientific and technical papers presentation were also held.

NSTW is an annual activity of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). It is one of the venue for all DOST agencies to disseminate their programs and projects. This year’s celebration was held at the Centennial Hall, Manila Hotel last June 19 to 20, 2010.

The Bayanihan Linux Team is pleased to announce that Bayanihan Linux 5 “Kalumbata” Revision 3 is now available. Kalumbata Revision 3 now includes Mozilla Firefox 3.6.3, the latest version of the web browser. Also an upgraded feature is the configuration of wireless 3G devices (i.e. Globe Tattoo, SmartBro, Sun Broadband, etc.) which enables users to easily connect to the internet according to its preference.

The Kalumbata Revision 3 may be downloaded here for free.  ISOs for 486 and 686 versions of processors and live CD are also available for download.

For more information or inquiries, email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Maligayang Pasko Po sa inyong lahat!

Great news! Revision 2 ISOs are now available for download.

These new ISOs include tons of security updates and a default 2.6.32 kernel to support newer devices. This installer also features a 486 version for older processors such as the 486, Pentium 1 and AMD-k5. The 686 version supports most modern machines while the upcoming x86_64 will support newer 64-bit processors.

Also in this release are a handful of CD ADDONS to enhance the default Bayanihan 5 Desktop. The addons are categorized according to following: Development (for setting up a development environment), Education (composed of educational games for kids and adults alike), Multimedia (for video, graphics and audio) and Games (open-source games). These are the same applications that can be installed via Synaptic Package Manager using our online software repository. The ADDON CDs are primarily intended for users without a fast or permanent internet connection.

The new ISOs may be downloaded here or here.

Enjoy!

The Bayanihan Team announces the availability of the 64-bit version of the Bayanihan 5 Desktop.  The 64-bit version download is a 1.6GB DVD ISO image, packed with more software packages than its 32-bit sibling.  Aside from the usual office suite and internet applications, the list of includes various graphics, music, and other multimedia applications, games, software development tools, and other cool stuffs.  Note that this is a BETA-quality software and is intended for testing purposes only.

Help improve Bayanihan by sending comments and suggestions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

A critical vulnerability notice has been posted by Mozilla regarding FireFox 3.5.

Users of Bayanihan5 (Kalumbata) who have updated their FireFox to this version need to modify their configuration to temporarily close this vulnerability while Mozilla works on a fix.

The vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker who tricks a victim into viewing a malicious Web page containing the exploit code. The vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the JIT in the JavaScript engine. To do so:

1. Enter about:config in the browser’s location bar.
2. Type jit in the Filter box at the top of the config editor.
3. Double-click the line containing javascript.options.jit.content setting the value to false.

Once users have received the security update containing the fix for this issue, they should restore the JIT setting to true by:

1. Enter about:config in the browser’s location bar.
2. Type jit in the Filter box at the top of the config editor.
3. Double-click the line containing javascript.options.jit.content setting the value to true.

More information can be found at http://blog.mozilla.com/security/2009/07/14/critical-javascript-vulnerability-in-firefox-35/

Safe FOSSing! -- Rage

Hello everyone!  Kamusta!

It's been a few months since the latest release of Bayanihan (Kalumbata) and by now some of the software we've bundled in the initial release (Revision0) have already been updated upstream. So here we go -- it's time we update the installer to include these newer versions by default with the release of Bayanihan5 (Kalumbata) -  Revision1.

If you already have an existing installation of Kalumbata don't worry -- YOU DO NOT NEED TO REINSTALL Bayanihan. It's very simple to upgrade your system using the Synaptic Package Manager. You have the choice of either upgrading through the online repository or via the Revision1 installer CD. If you choose to update your system via CD, just click on Add CD-ROM in the Edit menu and follow the instructions on screen.

Cheers and happy FOSSing!  -- by Rage.