openSUSE 10.3 is now available [LWN.net]

Novell, Inc. has announced the release of openSUSE version 10.3. "Enhancements to openSUSE 10.3 include the newest versions of the GNOME* and KDE desktop environments, including a KDE 4 preview. OpenOffice.org 2.3 makes sharing files with Microsoft Office users easy, and the newest version of AppArmor(TM) protects the Linux operating system and applications from attacks, viruses and malicious applications. OpenSUSE 10.3 also now includes MP3 support out of the box for Banshee(TM) and Amarok, which are the default media players in openSUSE. In addition, openSUSE 10.3 offers the latest open source applications for developing applications, setting up a home network and running a Web server, as well as the latest virtualization software such as Xen* 3.1 and VirtualBox 1.5." There are more links in this announcement from the openSUSE team.

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openSUSE 10.3 is now available

Posted Oct 5, 2007 6:08 UTC (Fri) by eru (subscriber, #2753) [Link]

OpenSUSE 10.3 also now includes MP3 support out of the box for Banshee(TM) and Amarok, which are the default media players in openSUSE.

I really wonder how they tackle the infamous software patent issues that keep MP3:s out of the official content of other mainstream distributions? Cannot be due to the Novell-Microsoft no-sue deal, because Microsoft does not own the MP3 patents.

openSUSE 10.3 is now available

Posted Oct 5, 2007 7:28 UTC (Fri) by Beineri (subscriber, #39002) [Link]

Fluendo's MP3 plugin for GStreamer is used.

License

Posted Oct 6, 2007 5:23 UTC (Sat) by salimma (subscriber, #34460) [Link]

From the license:

"Your license rights with respect to individual components accompanied by separate license terms are defined by those terms; nothing in this agreement shall restrict, limit, or otherwise affect any rights or obligations You may have, or conditions to which You may be subject, under such license terms; however, if You distribute copies of any component independent of the Software, You must remove all Novell trademarks, trade dress, and logos from each copy."

This is similar to what Fedora does, though Fedora explicitly allows creation of subreleases as long as only official Fedora packages are used.

License

Posted Oct 6, 2007 13:26 UTC (Sat) by larryn (guest, #3457) [Link]

Thanks but that wasn't what I asked.

The question was the way Novell could bundle non-GPL software with its distribution, the Fluendo mp3 plugin, agfa font, Adobe flash player, etc.

License

Posted Oct 11, 2007 6:03 UTC (Thu) by njs (subscriber, #40338) [Link]

Bundling non-GPL software is easy; every distro on the planet does it. BSD software, for instance :-). (Or, more generally, any software whose license allows Novell to redistribute it.)

I don't know anything about the Agfa or Adobe licenses, though I assume Novell has done their homework. The Fluendo plugin is a weird case; the source code is free-as-in-speech, and the binary is free-as-in-beer. The binary comes with a patent license (despite being free-as-in-beer), but is not redistributable. However, Fluendo is happy to grant any particular distro the right to redistribute the binary for no charge (see http://www.fluendo.com/resources/fluendo_mp3.php). So assuming Novell has signed this contract with Fluendo, they can distribute a free binary mp3 plugin all they want. However, only they have this right; if you give your openSuse CD to a friend, then AFAICT you have performed a copyright violation, and if your friend plays mp3s then they have performed a patent violation.

(Obviously this whole crazy setup is a non-starter for any of the free distros like Debian/Fedora/Ubuntu/...)