2006 Linux and free software timeline: May [LWN.net]

April

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I don't think we can "relax" our firewall implementation and retain trust.

-- Rusty Russell

The Linux Power Management Summit happens (report).

OpenBSD 3.9 is released (announcement).

PC-BSD 1.0 is released (announcement).

Coverity finds a major X.org security hole (press release).

I believe the 2.6 kernel is slowly getting buggier. It seems we're adding bugs at a higher rate than we're fixing them.

-- Andrew Morton

The US Federal Aviation Administration saves $15 million by switching to Linux (press release).

Devicescape releases its 802.11 stack under the GPL (press release).

The OpenDocument format becomes an ISO standard (press release).

SUSE Linux 10.1 is released (announcement).

You can fight back against this trend by only using software that respects your boundaries. Boycott companies that don't honestly serve their customers, that don't disclose their alliances, that treat users like marketing assets. Use open-source software -- software created and owned by users, with no hidden agendas, no secret alliances and no back-room marketing deals.

-- Bruce Schneier

SGI files for bankruptcy protection.

Novell announces its "device driver process," essentially a backporting service for vendors (press release).

Sun changes the licensing for Java making it a little more distributable but not free (yet) (press release).

Kororaa Linux suspends work to review GPL violation allegations related to the packaging of binary-only drivers (announcement).

XM Radio is sued by the record labels for allowing users to record transmissions (EFF dispatch).

Debian developers begin to wonder how Java was accepted despite issues with the new license (article).

In fact, I was so unhappy about being forced by the RTSJ specification to do this insane thing that I wanted to make sure that if it were ever used, it would set a TAINT flag to warn people that just about anything unsane could have happened, and the system's stability was at the mercy of the competence of Java application programmers.

-- Ted Ts'o

Greg KH releases the first Linux Driver Development Kit so we can have one just like Windows does (kit).

X11R7.1 is released; this is the first modular X release (announcement).

Intel donates a Swing/AWT implementation to the Harmony project (announcement).

The Open Invention Network acquires three new patents to be used in the defense of free software (Groklaw).

The European Commission says explicitly that software cannot be patented (FFII dispatch).

The FSF launches DefectiveByDesign.org to fight DRM (announcement).

Ubuntu is gaining a ton of momentum. It is arguably one of the most important--if not the most important--Linux distro out there.

-- Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz

Ubuntu announces a SPARC "Niagara" version of its upcoming 6.06 LTS distribution (press release).

Parts of the Forgent JPEG patent are thrown out in court (press release).

The first FreedomHEC conference happens in Seattle, next to the WinHEC event (web site).

April

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June ==>

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