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Linux in the newsRecommended Reading Seeing yellow over color printer tracking devices (Linux Journal)Linux Journal covers the Seeing Yellow campaign. "A series of encodings on printouts from color laser printers to discourage counterfeiting? At first, the idea sounds like the urban legend from a couple of decades ago that claimed you could hear Satanic messages when you play vinyl records backwards. Yet the evidence from the Electronic Frontier Foundation is that the encodings are embedded in color printers from all major manufacturers. Moreover, the issues raised by the practice have caused Free Software Foundation director Benjamin Mako Hill and other members of the Computing Culture group at the MIT Media Lab to begin the Seeing Yellow campaign to stop the practice."
Game over for OpenDocument? (LinuxWorld)Here's a LinuxWorld article on the failure of the OpenDocument format to take over. "The truth is, the big ODF application vendors left governments with no other choice but to go with OOXML as the only way to migrate existing systems to XML. They hoped to capitalize on ill will against Microsoft and legislation forcing rip-out-and-replace migrations. But as the Massachusetts situation, the state legislation situation, and the situation in Denmark shows, government IT establishments are beginning to rebel against the foolhardy and expensive rip-out-and-replace strategy."
Companies BBC to hear open source concerns (BBC News)The BBC News looks at requests to make the BBC's on demand TV service work on all computer operating systems. "The BBC Trust has offered to meet with open source advocates who argue that the corporation has a duty to make the download service platform agnostic. When the BBC iPlayer, as it is known, launches on 27 July it will only work with PCs running Microsoft Windows XP." (Thanks to Mark Tall)
Xandros buys Linux e-mail vendor Scalix (LinuxWorld)LinuxWorld reports on the acquisition of Scalix by Xandros. "Linux desktop and server vendor Xandros Wednesday acquired Scalix, which develops an open-source e-mail, calendar and groupware platform. Xandros, which develops a Linux desktop, server and set of management tools called BridgeWays, said the acquisition would help it build toward its goal of developing a complete Linux stack, including desktop, small and midsize business and advanced enterprise servers, cross-platform management tools, and IT infrastructure applications."
Linux Adoption UK Greens connect to free software (Linux.com)Linux.com investigates a push toward open-source software by environmental groups in the UK. "For average hackers in their cubicles, the relation between environmental and free software issues may seem remote but the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) is working to connect the dots. Since adopting a motion in favor of free and open source software (FOSS) in 2005, party members have not only spoken frequently in favor of FOSS, but also on related issues, such as software patents and lockdown technologies in Vista. The reasoning behind these efforts might surprise, as much as gratify, the average hacker. For now, they also leave the GPEW scrambling to live up to its own ideas."
Legal What Linspire Agreed To (Groklaw)Groklaw examines the Microsoft/Linspire patent covenant. "If I am a businessman, and I'm thinking about getting a patent promise not to sue from Microsoft, because I think like that, wouldn't that last bit kill the deal? Business applications are not covered. So accounting, payroll, HR, project management, sales management, financial forecasting and reporting, supply chain management, "unified communications" -- none of that is covered."
Interviews Interview with Con Kolivas (APC)APC interviews (ex-)kernel developer Con Kolivas. "If there is any one big problem with kernel development and Linux it is the complete disconnection of the development process from normal users. You know, the ones who constitute 99.9% of the Linux user base."
Reviews GMF: Beyond the Wizards (O'ReillyNet)O'ReillyNet looks at the Eclipse Graphical Modeling Framework. "In today's development environment, users expect to be able to visualize data, configuration, and even the processes of a system. For this reason, they use tools to communicate requirements visually with stakeholders and subject matter experts. Think for a moment about UML, it takes a very complex set of data and represents it visually to simplify the communication of software requirements and design. Likewise, there are potential visual tools for describing workflows, data mining, server management, and many other business processes. These tools are able to boost productivity and reduce cost, which is obviously a win-win situation."
Canonical launches Web-based systems management for Ubuntu (Linux-Watch)Linux-Watch takes a look at Ubuntu's Landscape. "Landscape will be available to Canonical's support subscribers. Landscape provides a key tool for the growing number of businesses that want to take advantage of the ease of use of Ubuntu and have previously seen system administration or support as a hurdle. This is Canonical's first native Ubuntu system deployment and management tool."
Navicore on the N800: Taking Linux to the streets! (Linux.com)Linux.com takes a look at using GPS mapping and navigation on the N800 Internet Tablet. "Navicore is Nokia's GPS mapping and navigation program for the N800 Internet Tablet. The kit comes with a Bluetooth GPS receiver, car-mounting hardware, and a memory card containing the Navicore Personal software and map collection. If you have an N800, it's a great travel aid."
OLPC's XO laptop (BBC News)BBC News looks inside the OLPC XO laptops. "The One Laptop Per Child project is one step closer to releasing the completed machine to millions of schoolchildren in the developing world. But what makes the computer so unique?" (Thanks to Bevis R W King)
Pleasant Diversions At Studio Dave (Linux Journal)Dave Phillips looks at the LiVES video editor for Linux, and Reaper, a native Windows audio/MIDI sequencer running under Wine. "I've written about Reaper in previous articles, but recently I've had a special occasion to get into the program more deeply. I've inherited a gifted student who wants to learn how to use the computer as a tool for music composition. He's a very talented guitarist, he's already written more than a dozen songs, and he has no-one around him at his age who can play at his level. He's 12 years old."
Latest Mozilla Sunbird is a well-connected calendar (Linux.com)Linux.com reviews Sunbird. "Mozilla's Sunbird calendaring application lives perpetually in the shadow of its siblings Firefox and Thunderbird, garnering just a fraction of the developer effort and publicity lavished on the browser and email client. Nevertheless, it is slowing maturing into a reliable tool worthy of the Mozilla brand."
Pyro delivers Web apps to the Linux desktop (DesktopLinux)DesktopLinux looks at the alpha release of the Pyro Desktop. "The Pyro project has launched its "Pyro Desktop," a new Linux application with the lofty goal of "true integration between the Web and modern desktop computing." Pyro offers an interesting new approach to deploying Web-based applications on the Linux desktop, reminiscent of Opera's and Vista's widgets."
Mozilla begets WebRunner, a site-specific browser (Linux.com)Linux.com takes a look at WebRunner. "Nowadays, people are turning to Web-based applications as replacements for desktop applications. Web-based office suites, mail clients, multimedia apps, and general productivity tools are all extremely useful now, but standard Web browsers aren't always the best option for running applications. To provide a more suitable tool for Web-based apps, Mozilla Platform Evangelist Mark Finkle has been working on WebRunner, a site-specific browser (SSB) that's designed to work exclusively with one application at a time. It's not finished yet, but it's already showing promise."
Miscellaneous Next major PC company to go Linux will be HP (Linux-Watch)Linux-Watch predicts that HP will be entering the desktop Linux systems market. "What I expect to hear at LinuxWorld is that HP will be offering two Linux desktop SKUs. One will feature Novell's SLED 10 SP 1 for business users. The other will be for home owners and use Ubuntu 7.04."
Inside One Laptop per Child: Episode 04 (Red Hat Magazine)Red Hat Magazine has another entry in its video series about the OLPC project. "Episode 04 takes us on location in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Where the first batches of XOs have been delivered and deployed. Meet the teachers using the laptops in the classroom. Where besides doing daily assignments on the machines, some students have already learned programing." It's a six-minute Ogg Theora file.
Page editor: Forrest Cook |
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