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Linux in the newsRecommended Reading A dangerous conflict of interest between Firefox and Google (News.com)Chris Soghoian worries about Google's funding of Mozilla on News.com. "This begs the question: why doesn't Firefox adopt the features of AdBlock Plus and CustomizeGoogle? While the terms of Google's contract with Mozilla are not public, even if Mozilla were contractually free to include anti-Google-tracking features, it would not be a wise move, business-wise. After all, it is not too smart to anger the company that provides more than 85 percent of your financing."
Real or fake Linux PC? Everex will know (Linux World)Don Marti examines an effort by Everex to track Linux installations on their products. "PC vendors haven't been eager to know how many users actually run Linux when it's preloaded on their low-end PCs, and how many of the users replace it with an infringing copy of Microsoft Windows. But Everex, the latest company to introduce a low-priced desktop Linux system, will have the information, thanks to the software update system behind its Linux distribution."
Trade Shows and Conferences Ubuntu Developer Summit lays out vision for strong Hardy Heron release (ars technica)ars technica reports from the Ubuntu Developer Summit. "PolicyKit integration is also another topic that is considered highly relevant for Hardy Heron. PolicyKit is a new framework for secure privilege elevation. When programs currently need to perform operations that require permissions higher than those of a regular user, privileges for the entire program must be elevatedtypically with a graphical sudo utility. PolicyKit will instead require developers to isolate functionality that requires higher privileges in individual non-graphical utilities and services that will be accessed by programs through a D-Bus interface."
Companies It's official: Google announces open-source mobile phone OS, Android (ars technica)ars technica has some coverage of the long-rumored gPhone announcement, which is not a phone at all, as has also been rumored. It is, instead, a Linux-based platform for mobile applications. Google also announced the formation of the Open Handset Alliance. "Google's handset partners upon launch will include Motorola, HTC, Samsung, and LG, confirming many of the recent rumors that Google would not be developing the hardware on its own. Google has a number of carrier partners worldwide as well, such as T-Mobile and Sprint in the US, T-Mobile/Deutsche Telekom in Europe, and China Mobile in China, to name a few."
Red Hat signs on to Sun's open-source Java project (LinuxWorld)Red Hat joins forces with Sun to produce an open source version of Java Standard Edition (SE). LinuxWorld covers Red Hat joining the OpenJDK project. "Red Hat also has licensed the OpenJDK Community Test Compatibility Kit (TCK), which allows Red Hat to build an implementation of OpenJDK and test it to ensure its compatible with the implementation the project itself develops, he said. The Java SE JDK, the basis for OpenJDK, includes the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) as well as tools for developing Java applets and applications; it is the software that is the basis for desktop Java applications."
Linux at Work Hitting the Open Source Road With a Linux-Powered Driverless Vehicle (TechNewsWorld)TechNewsWorld covers the use of Linux in one of the competitors in the recent DARPA robot vehicle competition. "To build its driverless vehicle for entry into the DARPA Urban Challenge, Axion Racing enlisted the assistance of Linux developer Terra Soft Solutions. Though the vehicle, the Spirit, did not make the final cut for the competition, the project exemplified the soul of open development, the creators said, by borrowing work from the open source community, adding its own improvements, and then giving it back."
Resources The Linux GazetteIssue #144 of the Linux Gazette has been published. Contents include: Mailbag, Talkback, NewsBytes, by Howard Dyckoff, Virtualization made Easy, by Edgar Howell, 3D programming with Vpython, by Maxin B. John, Slow Receivers in a Distributed Data Management System, by Sudhir Menon, FlickOff: Escaping the Clutches of Web 2.0, by Ben Okopnik, Ecol, by Javier Malonda and The Linux Launderette.
Miscellaneous A second life for 'Second Life' with open source? (LinuxWorld)LinuxWorld looks at the process of replacing proprietary code with open source code in Second Life. "One of these projects is the Linux version of the Second Life client, the viewer application that runs on the resident's computer and lets the resident interact with the graphical environments of the virtual world. Ever since its release, the Linux client has remained in constant development by an informal team, usually three people. Their work could directly benefit the open source and Linux community beyond Second Life, in the aftermath of the hype."
Page editor: Forrest Cook |
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