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Linux in the newsRecommended Reading Getting to know the new Linux-based Nokia 770 'handlet' (Linux Journal) Linux Journal takes a look at the new Nokia 770 (Linux-based) tablet. "My min-report: it's very cool. Basically, it's a browser with lots of extra features. The wide 800 x 480 screen is pretty and very sharp. That resolution in a palm-sized device (5.5" x 3.1" x 0.7" with a 4.3" screen) means looking at itty-bitty (but very sharp) type, which is a strain for my old eyes. But fortunately the 770 comes with two ways (one involving a nice big rocker switch with a + and a -) to zoom the display, and another button for making the browser window full-screen."
More MA Shenanigans (Groklaw) Groklaw follows the latest news in Massachusetts' attempts at adopting the Open Document Format: "According to what I've just learned, an amendment to a piece of important Massachusetts legislation (an economic stimulus bill) was passed out of the Senate Ways & Means committee this afternoon. If it is adopted, it could at minimum drastically delay the effectiveness date of the ODF policy, and at worst, could roll back the Information and Technology Division's (ITD) action entirely. I can't confirm at this time the identity of the amendment's proponents, but I am told that the amendment will be debated in the State Senate on Thursday, so those who are behind the amendment will become visible at that point. The gist of the amendment would be to create a new four-person "task force" that would have the power to approve or block a wide variety of IT policy decisions in the Commonwealth -- and many provisions of the amendment map specifically to the ODF situation. . . ."
Trade Shows and Conferences OSBC proves open source and business go together (NewsForge) NewsForge reports on the first "east coast" Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), held in Newton, Massachusetts last week. "Conference attendees weren't there to learn about open source in the "What is this phenomenon?" sense but to learn better ways their businesses could profit or cut costs by using it. One thought I heard from several people was that we are seeing the start of an open source investment mini-bubble, and it's true that there were venture capitalists around, sniffing out potential deals with nascent companies. The VC presence wasn't as strong as it was at the Web 2.0 Conference in October, but it was stronger than I've seen it at any other IT-oriented conference since 2000."
Trolltech Developer Days in Munich (KDE.News) KDE.News covers the second annual Trolltech Developer Days. "Trolltech continues to grow at an impressive rate, they increased their staff from 80 to 140 employees in the last twelve months. A second round of fundraising, which brought $6.7 million of disposable money to the company, was recently completed. Trolltech has opened an office in China. And of course the long awaited Qt 4 was released. In the coming twelve months Trolltech will become a professional service organisation. They will develop new products that complement and expand the usage of Qt. A continued focus on making Qt easier to use, faster, leaner and better will be kept and it is expected that Qtopia will explode in the phone market."
Companies Google gives back to Oregon universities (NewsForge) NewsForge reports on Google donations to two universities in Oregon. "Google, having gotten where it is thanks in large part to open source software and development, is giving back to the community with a $350,000 grant to Oregon State and Portland State universities for their collaboration on the development, systems administration, and learning of open source software. Google was impressed with the efforts at the two Oregon schools, which are home to one of the premier open source education facilities and some of the industry's most advanced curricula, according to Google Open Source Program Manager Chris DiBona. He said that Google figured if the colleges' efforts were fruitful on their existing, limited budgets, a cash infusion would likely spur even more progress faster."
Felten on Sony's rootkit update As has been reported in a few places, SonyBMG and First4Internet have released a software update which is supposed to clear a system of the rootkit-like DRM they were caught shipping on CDs. Ed Felten is skeptical: "The update is more than 3.5 megabytes in size, and it appears to contain new versions of almost all the files included in the initial installation of the entire DRM system, as well as creating some new files. In short, they're not just taking away the rootkit-like function -- they're almost certainly adding things to the system as well. And once again, they're not disclosing what they're doing."
Linux Adoption Linux in Italian Schools, Part 4: Progetto 'Mottabit' (Linux Journal) Marco Fioretti reports on the use of free software in elementary schools in Motta di Costabissara, Italy. "A recent official report on FOSS in Italy says, among other things, "[the standard usage] of Free Software can be reproduced in elementary schools only with difficulty". Luckily, says Italian Linux activist Antonio Bernardi, "Nobody in Costabissara had read that report, and we hope they never do.""
Linux at Work It's unofficial: Microsoft bets business on Linux (Computerworld) Microsoft plans to deploy some Linux-based networking equipment, according to Computerworld. "Aruba Networks was selected to provide the networking equipment for what is considered to be one of the world's largest next-generation wireless LANs, serving more than 25,000 simultaneous users a day in some 60 countries. According to an Aruba press statement, Microsoft's new WLAN will be deployed in 277 buildings covering more than 17 million square feet using Aruba mobility controllers, mobility software and some 5000 wireless access points. What the press statement didn't mention is that Aruba mobility controllers run the Linux operating system which Microsoft has aggressively targeted as being inferior to Windows as part of its "Get the Facts" marketing campaign." (Thanks to Frankie D.)
Linux Answers Phone Makers' Call (BusinessWeek) Here's a lengthy Business Week article on the use of Linux in cellular phones. "'The open-source community is allowing us to take some thought leadership to influence the road map,' [Motorola manager Greg] Besio says. 'That doesn't happen with Microsoft.' He declines to state exactly what percentage of Motorola phones will eventually run on Linux. According to Gartner, the company has indicated that percentage could get as high as 80%."
Legal Moglen: open-source risks overblown (ZDNet) ZDNet covers a recent speech by FSF counsel Eben Moglen. ""The secret of the GPL was taking a small quantum of risk and putting it on the distributors," Moglen said. "The total risk could be brought close to zero. By contrast, the patent system still imposes risk on users of open-source software, a situation that that shows little chance of changing, he said. In particular, Moglen said that pharmaceutical companies, which have great political influence, will prevent significant reforms to the patent system."
The Copyright Chaos of Google Print (eWeek) eWeek wonders if Google Print breaks copyright laws or follows the fair-use principle. "If Google Print is allowed to proceed, the litigants foresee a world of copyright chaos, where people will freely steal material and authors will no longer be paid, destroying the very fabric of society. This is obviously an extreme view, one that fails to see the opportunity that an index of more than 20 million books can offer. Rather than be hurt, book sales may increase due to their exposure in the index. In fact, such an index may even revive long-forgotten or out-of-print texts."
Interviews Sebastian Kuegler (People Behind KDE) The People Behind KDE have an interview with Sebastian Kügler. "Profession: I'm doing research at the Radboud University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands on a European Software Quality standard. In a second project I'm working on for a living, I'm building a digital schoolyard to motivate secondary education students to become Open Source software developers." (Found on KDE.News)
Interview: Bob Young after Red Hat (NewsForge) NewsForge talks with Bob Young about life after Red Hat. "How did Young make the leap from Linux to self-publishing? Lulu.com actually has its roots in the short-lived Center for the Public Domain (CPD), a non-profit Young founded with Mark Ewing in 1999. The CPD's mission was to help combat the expansion of intellectual property laws that were, as Young put it, "the biggest single threat to the open source movement.""
Resources Linux Gazette #120 The November 2005 Linux Gazette is out. This relatively thin issue includes articles on playing with an iPod, building a Linux-based answering machine, gcc, and more.
The Open Source WRT54G Story (Wi-Fi Planet) Wi-Fi Planet has put up a tutorial on alternative firmware for the Linux-based Linksys WRT54G router. "With the code in hand, developers learned exactly how to talk to the hardware inside and how to code any features the hardware could support. It has spawn[ed] a handful of open source firmware projects for the WRT54G that extend its capabilities, and reliability, far beyond what is expected from a cheap consumer-grade router."
Reviews MapFS makes its debut (NewsForge) NewsForge covers MapFS. "Designed to simplify the interaction and use of a Linux network, the MapFS module specifically offers "optimistic copy and write capabilities," allowing users to share a single virtual file system that appears to be read-only, but allows users to save changes to files by writing changes to their own systems rather than the original files."
A Beginning Look At MythTV (Linux Journal) Linux Journal takes a look at MythTV. "MythTV is a software package that lets you turn your Linux-based computer into a television and personal video recorder (PVR) by recording shows onto the hard disk. MythTV lets you select the TV shows you want to record by using an on-screen menu, pointing and clicking your way way through a schedule by show name or time."
Linux thumbnail viewers (Linux.com) Linux.com takes a look at thumbnail viewers. "Thumbnail viewers are utilities that let you quickly view or manipulate images. For instance, many let you display, rotate, and zoom images. Some also offer built-in slide show features -- though not at the level of presentation programs such as OpenOffice.org Impress. Here's an introduction to several common Linux thumbnail viewer programs."
What Is TurboGears (O'ReillyNet) The O'Reilly Network introduces TurboGears and includes an interview with its author. "But I think there's a real shift happening in corporate America right now with regard to enterprise-level development. They're finally realizing that they don't have to do things that take thousands of lines of XML configuration and tens of thousands of lines of code when they can rely on smaller and more agile frameworks that are just as capable for the common case -- frameworks like Rails and TurboGears."
Miscellaneous Formation of KDE Marketing Working Group (KDE.News) KDE.News covers the creation of the new KDE Marketing Working Group. "The KDE Marketing Working Group has formed, after being proposed by the KDE community at aKademy 2005, with the aim of improving KDE's marketing and promotion efforts. Martijn Klingens, Sebastian Kügler and Wade Olson will be taking the lead in coordinating and implementing new practices, such as promoting releases more widely and running more exciting events booths. An initial charter has been created and approved by KDE e.V with the long-term goal of "coherent and strategic messaging around KDE"."
Linux Standard Base approved as international standard (NewsForge) NewsForge reports that the Linux Standard Base is slated to become an ISO standard. "An international organization is preparing to publish its approval of the Linux Standard Base (LSB) as a worldwide standard, which could potentially lead to easier migration to and software development for Linux. The nonprofit Free Standards Group (FSG) announced at the Open Source Business Conference in Boston this week that the International Standardization Organization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) unanimously approved the FSG's Linux Standard Base Core Specification 2.0.1 and is expected to publish the standard in December."
Page editor: Forrest Cook |
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