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Linux in the newsRecommended Reading The Future Is Open: What OpenDocument Is And Why You Should Care ~ by Daniel Carrera (Groklaw)Groklaw looks at the OpenDocument format. "I asked Daniel Carrera, an OpenOffice.org volunteer, if he'd please explain to us the OpenDocument format. How does a format get chosen? And is OpenDocument on the list when governments like the State of Massachusetts make up such lists of acceptable formats for governmental use? If not, what can be done to change that? He graciously agreed. Because we are all concerned about proprietary formats and standards, and more and more governments are adopting policies requiring open standards, it's a very important subject."
Group to Divide Linux Standards Base (eWeek)eWeek covers a Free Standards Group decision to break the LSB into modules. ""We decided that rather than add everything to the LSB core, it would be better to break this up into separate parts, the first of which is on the server side. We are thus looking at making the current, ongoing server work a branch of the LSB core," Chris Maresca, a senior partner at Olliance Group, an open-source consulting company that is working with the FSG, told attendees at the OSDL (Open Source Development Labs) Enterprise Linux Summit here on Monday."
Rewriting GPL No Easy Task (eWeek)eWeek covers a talk by Eben Moglen on version 3 of the GPL. "Another change to the technical paradigm that the license must address is the issue of trusted computing and the threat it poses. 'If I knew what the solution to the problem of trusted computing was, we would have a draft version of it in circulation by now,' Moglen said."
Trade Shows and Conferences Hawaii now has its own open source conference (NewsForge)NewsForge covers the Trans-Pacific Open Source Software Conference. "The first-ever Trans-Pacific Open Source Software Conference (TPOSSCON) was held at the Hawaii Convention Center January 17 - 21, 2005. In many ways, it was a "pilot project" meant to gain credibility for what organizer Scott Belford of the Hawaii Open Source Education Foundation (HOSEF) hopes will become a yearly event that attracts people not only from Pacific Islands but also from "mainland" countries on both sides of the world's largest ocean."
13-year old to address Linux conference (ZDNet)ZDNet Australia looks forward to Linux.Conf.Au, where Bdale Garbee's daughter is on the program. "Elizabeth will be speaking on 'Extending Tuxracer - Learning by Playing', a seminar which Chair of the 2005 organising committee Steven Handley has said will revolve around making modifications to Tuxracer (a popular open source game involving Linux's cuddly mascot) with the aim of making the game more fun. Ex-Debian Project Leader and dad Bdale will also present at the conference."
The SCO Problem Bitter struggle to control company (Salt Lake Tribune)The Salt Lake Tribune reports that things are getting ugly at Canopy. "On one side is Ralph Yarro, ousted chairman, president and chief executive of the Lindon-based Canopy, an investment firm whose extensive holdings include SCO Group, a company now widely known for its Linux-related lawsuits against IBM and others. Yarro is joined by ex-chief financial officer Darcy Mott and former corporate counsel Brent Christensen. The three are suing for at least $100 million, alleging they were illegally ousted in December by a group led by Noorda's daughter, Val Noorda Kriedel of Orange County, Calif.; longtime Canopy investment adviser Terry Peterson, and William Mustard, an independent senior executive consultant appointed CEO in Yarro's place." (As seen on Groklaw).
Companies Are Microsoft's licences unfair to open-sourcerers? (Register)The Register examines the effects of Microsoft's protocol licensing scheme on open-source development. "Carlo Piana, a partner at Milan law firm Tamos Piana & Partners, which represents FSF Europe, told eWeek:"Microsoft has proposed a licencing agreement blatantly tailored to exclude free software from accessing it." The terms of the Microsoft licence require that the holder does not distribute the source code of their implementation of the protocol, except to other licence holders." Thanks to Nigel Arnot.
Red Hat unveils government business unit (News.com)Here's a brief News.com article on Red Hat's new government sales group. "Red Hat also said that it has landed a new government customer: the U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratories and technology centers. Under the seven-year agreement, Red Hat Enterprise Linux will be broadly deployed at the labs and tech centers."
Open-Source Foes (ComputerWorld)Here's a ComputerWorld article on the differences between the Linux and Solaris approaches to open source. "Linux has propeller-head cachet and market credibility, along with billions of dollars in technical and marketing investment from companies such as IBM, Red Hat and Novell. OpenSolaris has one company behind it and Scott McNealy at its press conferences."
Sun: Patent use OK beyond Solaris project (News.com)In this News.com article Sun claims that its recently released patents may be used for all open source projects. "The server and software company clarified its position somewhat on Monday. "Clearly we have no intention of suing open-source developers," said Tom Goguen, head of Solaris marketing. However, he added, "We haven't put together a fancy pledge on our Web site" to that effect."
Linux at Work IT Powerhouse Strikes Back (IPSnews)Here's an article on the IPS site about embedded Linux uses in India. "It is unlikely that Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, ever intended this open-source operating system to be put to military use. But it is a mark of the robustness of this revolutionary operating system that the Indian army is reposing faith on it -- and indeed, has now completed user trials on the device. Called SATHI (short for Situational Awareness and Tactical Handheld Information and Hindi for buddy), the 875-gramme device helps soldiers coordinate with one another on the battlefield."
Legal The open-source patent conundrum (News.com)Bruce Perens examines software patents, on News.com. "The latest tactic in the software-patenting battle is the granting of patent rights to open-source developers. But are the grants really the equivalent of wolves in sheep's clothing?"
JURI Votes: It's Restart (Groklaw)Groklaw carries the news that the European software patent process will be restarted from the beginning. This is good news, but it means that the lobbying effort will have to start over as well.
Interviews The Big Kolab Kontact Interview - Part I (KDE.News)KDE.News talks with some people from the Kontact and Kolab projects. "Steffen Hansen: Kolab is a Free software groupware solution. The components are the Kolab server and Kontact, which is the KDE Kolab client. There is also a Kolab web client in the works."
The social structure of open source development (NewsForge)Tom Chance talks with Andreas Brand about KDE's social structure, on NewsForge. "Andreas Brand is a sociologist researching ways of recruiting and organising teams of volunteers on the Internet. He has been studying KDE as an example of an open source project based upon collaboration without hierarchies. As part of his work he has conducted interviews with KDE developers, participated in several open source conferences, analysed the KDE home page, and distributed a questionnaire among volunteers. We asked him about his thoughts on the KDE development model."
Resources KDE tips and tricks (NewsForge)NewsForge explores KDE tips and tricks. "The K Desktop Environment (KDE) is incredibly popular in the world of GNU/Linux. Distributions such as SUSE and Mandrakelinux use it by default. KDE has some useful features that, while easily accessible, are less prominent. Just as a camera inexplicably makes a cell phone more fun to use, KDE's cool but unnoticed details may make it more attractive to prospective users. Read on to learn about a few such features may help you every day."
Reviews Pentium-based ETX module supports Linux (Linux Devices)Linux Devices looks at a new Linux-compatible single-board computer from Adlink. "Adlink has released an ETX form-factor single-board computer (SBC) that supports embedded Linux on Celeron and Pentium processors. Target markets for the ETX-IM333 include medical automation, instrumentation, gaming, POS, mobile computing, and transportation, according to the company. The ETX-IM333 is based on an Intel 855GME chipset and supports Pentium M processors from 1.1 GHz to 2.0 GHz, as well as Celeron M processors from 600 MHz to 1.3 GHz."
Freevo: Freedom For Your TV (O'ReillyNet)O'ReillyNet covers the Freevo Project. "Freevo is a media platform that brings together various applications for video recording and playback. Under its open format, the user can fully customize Freevo to suit his media viewing needs. Its main feature is its ability to schedule and record television broadcasts."
Hacking Google (O'ReillyNet)O'ReillyNet presents excerpts from Google Hacks, 2nd Edition. "With access to more than three million documents in over 30 languages, Google is a researcher's dream. But like any invaluable tool, knowing the insider tricks of the trade is a must to save time and needless effort. Tara Calishain and Rael Dornfest, authors of Google Hacks, 2nd Edition, have set out to educate the masses to the ins and outs of Google. In today's excerpt, they offer the inside scoop on scattersearching, cartography, Google on the go, gmail-lite, and AdSense. With over 150 million Google searches conducted every day, why be just a number?"
GRAMPS got roots (NewsForge)NewsForge has a review of the GRAMPS genealogical application. "GRAMPS is easy to use, produces a variety of reports, handles GED files with ease, and allows you to add notes, photos, and other data to individuals in your database. Citing its web site, "GRAMPS is a genealogical application, the name being an acronym for Genealogical Research and Analysis Management Programming System. It allows you to store, edit, and research genealogical data, with similar functionality to other genealogical programs.""
How Beaverton, Ore. is boosting budding open source businesses (NewsForge)NewsForge takes a look at OSDL's new Open Technology Center. "[Executive director LaVonne] Reimer called the center the first and only place bringing together the best minds in the business to explore the benefits of open technology. She indicated the Beaverton business center would focus on and fund different aspects of business and provide space for startups, technology with which to experiment, and an executive program for open tech entrepreneurs and those who surround them."
Miscellaneous Steal This Show (New York Times)The New York Times (registration required) looks at the television business model, BitTorrent, MythTV, the broadcast flag, and more. "Cecil Watson, a 32-year-old software expert in Fontana, Calif., created KnoppMyth to make the installation of MythTV as simple as possible. The MythTV movement is 'picking up steam,' Mr. Watson said, because it satisfies the way he wants to watch television today - and he doesn't have to pay rental fees for a cable box or a DVR if he chooses not to. 'It records the shows I want to watch and I now have the choice to spend the time the way I want,' he said."
Where is the spirit of Linux? (LinuxFocus)LinuxFocus has an editorial on the spirit of Linux. "Linux really used to have a spirit and a small but very active community. It was almost like a little garage. Everybody was working on some part of the car. Adding tires, polishing and tuning the motor.... New people came and were amazed. Hey, this is a cool idea! How can I help? Give me that screw driver. I will fix the mirror. Next Linuxfocus came into the garage. The Linux "car" is a nice one! It is a bit difficult to drive but we like it so we will contribute by documenting how to use it. Everybody who was using the Linux "car" was also contributing to it in some way. It was very exciting." (Thanks to Mats Schneider)
Running Windows viruses with Wine (NewsForge)Matt Moen has some fun playing with Windows viruses on Linux under Wine. "Out of the five Windows viruses I ran under Wine, not a single one was able to send email and propagate itself. When I went out of my way to be part of the Windows community by doing my part to propagate Windows viruses (lots of Windows users seem to think this is important, seeing as how they run random executables and use Microsoft Outlook and Internet Explorer) I discovered that it couldn't easily be done with GNU/Linux tools." Thanks to Tres Melton.
The Real Price of Linux Software (law.com)Law.com has run a low-clue article on how businesses can protect themselves from the (perceived) threats of free software. "Open-source software's potential risks for intellectual property infringement litigation and the lack of warranties, indemnities and other protections mean businesses should be clamping down on open-source software. Despite the possibility of legal action by SCO, most companies have little understanding of how much open-source software they are using because they don't manage it properly and don't understand how many commercial applications have embedded open-source software."
Page editor: Forrest Cook |
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