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Linux in the newsRecommended Reading What does the Linux desktop really need? (Linux Magazine) Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier analyzes areas where the Linux desktop could improve in a Linux Magazine article. "On the one hand, you can easily argue that Linux doesn't lack for applications -- and, to a certain extent, that's true. Scour Freshmeat for a few minutes, and you'll find a gazillion and one apps for Linux. Many of which are useful, actively maintained, and at a point in development where they're ready for production use. But, the question is whether users can find the applications that they need to do their job. In some cases, Linux apps just aren't up to the task just yet. In particular, I've noticed a few areas where you're not likely to find suitable tools on the Linux desktop."
13 reasons why Linux should be on your desktop (DesktopLinux) DesktopLinux has a guest column with thirteen reasons Linux should be on your desktop. "Vista is a Wagner Opera that is usually late to start, takes too long to finish, and is spoilt by floorboards creaking under the weight of the cast. Mac OS X Leopard, meanwhile, is the late show in an exclusive nightclub where the drinks are always too expensive. In contrast, the Linux desktop is the free show in the park across the street -- it imposes some discomforts on the audience, but provides plenty of entertainment."
Trade Shows and Conferences Firebird Conference coverage Photos and Blog entries from the 2007 Firebird DBMS conference have been posted. "The 2007 Firebird Conference convened from October 18-20 in Hamburg, Germany."
Companies EU Win Over Microsoft Gives Ball To Linux -- Can It Run With It? (InformationWeek) InformationWeek takes a look at Microsoft's decision to stop appealing the European Union's antitrust ruling along with the impact of that decision on Linux and free software. "Proclaiming victory, the European Commission on Monday said Microsoft has agreed to make interoperability information available to open source developers for a one-time payment of 10,000 Euros (about $14,000 U.S.). Microsoft also dropped its previous demand that developers licensing such information also pay hefty sums to license related patents as well. For developers that choose to license the patents (it's now optional), Microsoft has reduced royalty fees from 5.95% to 0.4%."
Novell Offers Channel Linux Bundle (Linux-Watch) Linux-Watch reports on the latest Linux software Bundle from Novell. "Novell Open Workgroup Suite Small Business Edition, a SUSE Linux-based desktop-to-server solution tailored to meet the needs of small businesses, combines the flexibility and cost efficiency of open-source software with the support of Novell and its partners. The suite provides small businesses with productivity tools and a networking infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of alternative, proprietary-only software bundles such as Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2. The suite includes not just the server software, but five copies of SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 Service Pack 1."
RIP Linux "Greenphone" (LinuxDevices) LinuxDevices reports that Trolltech is discontinuing its Greenphone hardware platform in favor of other available platforms, including the Neo1973 OpenMoko phone. "Schilling said Trolltech will continue to support the Greenphone and Neo1973, while extending its family of supported development hardware platforms to encompass a variety of device types. He hinted that a WiFi-enabled hardware design of some kind might be next in line -- no surprise given Trolltech's success with VoIP phones. He noted that 'the Neo1973 does not have WiFi, and that has been a major criticism.'"
Linux Projects' Best Kept Secret (TuxMachines) TuxMachines takes a look at Webpath Technologies, the parent company of On-Disk.com. "There are a total of 42 developers earning money at On-Disk.com. Some of the projects being supported include Wolvix Linux, Ark Linux, Frugalware Linux, SymphonyOS, Berry Linux, Zenwalk Linux, Goblinx, Feather Linux, PCLinuxOS, and dynebolic. Karlie Robinson, of Webpath Technologies, states, "And some of our projects aren't Distros at all. Projects like Glest (Open Source Turn-based game), Smart Technology for Smarter Business (tutorials for commercial office software), Ray Larabie/Typodermic (Fonts) to name a few." They also participate in Fedora Sponsorships and other disc donations."
Legal Getting Inventive With Software Patents (Linux Journal) Glyn Moody looks at the Open Invention Network. "The Open Invention Network (OIN) is a company set up in 2005 with investments from IBM, NEC, Novell, Philips, Red Hat and Sony. It has a war-chest of tens of millions of dollars (it won't give an exact figure) that enables it to buy software patents on the open market for the defence of the GNU/Linux ecosystem, which it does in a very novel way. OIN's growing collection of patents is available royalty-free to any company, institution or individual -- provided that the latter agrees not to assert its own patents against GNU/Linux, defined very broadly."
Microsoft Posts the New License Terms for Interoperability in the EU Agreement (Groklaw) Groklaw examines Microsoft's posted license terms in the EU. "But it does mean, whether the EU Commission realizes it yet or not that Microsoft's number one competitor, Linux, is completely unable to be interoperable with Microsoft's patented code. I'm curious as to how that is helpful to the public who wish to have a choice."
Interviews KDE and Distributions: ALT Linux Interview (KDE.News) KDE.News interviews the developers of the ALT Linux distribution. "ALT Linux started with tailoring of Mandrake Linux for the Russian market. However, it soon became evident that full-fledged technical support and more extensive customization were impossible without having a package repository and establishing the distribution development cycle of our own. That is why we created Sisyphus, which is now one of world's 5 largest Linux-based Free Software repositories."
Interview with Mark Taylor, Pres. of UK Open Source Consortium, by Sean Daly (Groklaw) Sean Daly talks with Mark Taylor, president of the UK Open Source Consortium about a variety of topics. Mark Taylor on Canonical: "Canonical are incredibly strong supporters of free software and speak about it on issues relating to the community and relating to the emerging industry, so people like Mark [Shuttleworth] get involved in the debate about software patents, and Canonical have made it very, very clear that, as a distribution, they will not be doing a deal with Microsoft, for example. They already speak strongly on issues affecting the industry, and it was really just a natural match. A number of the OSC member companies have done some public-sector work, some public-sector business here in the UK, so it was just natural for them to get involved. They are also very much involved in our iPlayer campaign as well."
Reviews Product Review - The EmperorLinux Wasp CF-19 (Linux Journal) Linux Journal reviews a rugged, Linux-powered notebook from EmperorLinux. "In this space, we're reviewing a laptop from Emperor's line of rugged laptops, the Wasp CF-19, which is the Linux edition of the Panasonic ToughBook CF-19. The Wasp, at 10.4", is the smallest of the ToughBooks; the larger 13.3" Tarantula and 15.4" Scarab (love those names, Emperor!) are also available from Emperor but not reviewed here."
GIMP 2.4 preview (Red Hat Magazine) Red Hat Magazine has a screenshot-heavy preview of GIMP 2.4. "Color management was introduced in this version. You can use ICC color profiles, load and adjust them, get your image on screen looking exactly as it was produced by your camera or scanner, and have the final results printed just as they look on screen. GIMP will even make use of the color profiles embedded in images."
Publishing High-Quality Documents with Kile (LinuxWorld) LinuxWorld reviews Kile, a front end for TeX and LaTeX. "Discerning typesetters have long relied on Tex and LaTeX for impeccable-looking documents. Now they have a front-end that works under Linux and BSD and brings control of the compilers and related utilities under the comprehensive graphical user interface. Authors and editors who use Kile can get increased productivity in the document creation business. This article will highlight some of Kile's key features which make it so attractive to newcomers to LaTeX."
Miscellaneous How Linux Is Testing The Limits Of Open Source Development (InformationWeek) InformationWeek has a lengthy article on the kernel development process. "Yet Torvalds can't let off the gas, for two reasons. First, Linux can't afford to fall behind technically, or it'll lose ever-demanding business users. The new kernel, for example, has hooks to take advantage of the latest virtualization capabilities embedded in Intel and Advanced Micro Devices processors. Second, Linux needs to feed its developer community. New features keep coders from getting bored and moving on to other projects, and they attract new talent as coders age or drop out of the process."
ExploitMe: Free Firefox Plug-Ins Test Web Apps (Dark Reading) Dark Reading covers the upcoming release of free Firefox plug-ins that test common web application vulnerabilities. As with most security tools, they could be used for good or ill. "The ExploitMe tools -- which are in currently in beta form -- include SQL Inject-Me, which lets you right-click on an HTML field in your Firefox browser and inject it with SQL injection payloads, and XSS-Me, which works the same way, but with XSS. The tools developers also plan to release Web services exploit tools as well."
Page editor: Forrest Cook |
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