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Announcements
Non-Commercial announcements
Instantiations Corporation donates to the open source community (LinuxMedNews)
LinuxMedNews reports on an open-source move by the Instantiations Corporation. "The Board of the FreeMED Software Foundation wishes to recognize the generous contribution of Instantiations Corporation of the GWT Designer, a designer for Google Web Tools. This most generous donation will allow us to move toward our next release of FreeMED, 0.9.1 FreeMED, in development since 1998, has had a consistent international base of support. The latest version, 0.9.0 is being transferred to a new UI."
Mozilla Messaging Starts up Operations
Mozilla Messaging has announced that it has begun operations. "The initial focus for Mozilla Messaging is the development of Thunderbird 3, which will deliver significant improvements, notably integrated calendaring, better search and enhancements to the overall user experience."
Commercial announcements
eRacks announces Linux-based audio workstations
eRacks has announced a line of quiet computers that come with either the 64 Studio or Ubuntu Studio distributions installed. "The eRacks / STUDIO is a professional-grade audio creation / production computer system, hardware-optimized for studio-level audio and video work. The system is Linux-based, Dual or Quad Core CPU, and QuietByDesignTM, which means computer noise won’t interfere with your audio production. The system comes loaded with a set of Open Source audio and video software applications."
Misys Connect goes open source (LinuxMedNews)
LinuxMedNews has an announcement concerning the release of Misys Connect as open-source software. "Misys plc, the global application software and services company announced today that it will release components of proprietary source code to the open source community at the Southern California Linux Expo (Scale), in Los Angeles on February 8. Scale signifys Misys’ first conference appearance into the open source arena. “In October 2007, we announced our intention to release the Misys Connect Healthcare solution to the open source community and now we’re delivering on our promise,” said Bob Barthelmes, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the newly created Open Source Solutions division at Misys."
Open-Xchange announces Groupware community edition
Open-Xchange Inc. has announced plans to release the server components and installation/administration tools of the Open-Xchange e-mail and collaboration server under the GNU General Public License. "With its AJAX-based user interface, Open-Xchange Community Edition provides an unprecedented user experience and allows businesses to take advantage of the cost benefits of open source software. Initially, Open-Xchange Community Edition will be available for Debian and Ubuntu, with more Linux distribution support to be added soon."
SCO's new reorganization plan
SCO has sent out a press release detailing a new plan to come out of bankruptcy. It seems that Stephen Norris Capital Partners "and its partners from the Middle East" have offered to put $100 million into the company and take it private. "SNCP has developed a business plan for SCO that includes unveiling new product lines aimed at global customers. This reorganization plan will also enable the company to see SCO's legal claims through to their full conclusion." We may be stuck with this story for a little longer than we had thought.
SGI acquires Linux Networx, Inc.
SGI has announced the acquisition of Linux Networx, Inc. "In exchange for the issuance of SGI common stock, SGI has acquired key Linux Networx software, patents, technology and expertise. Linux Networx is a recognized technology leader in the clustered HPC space and boasts a significant customer base. The acquisition is expected to advance SGI leadership in production-ready high performance computing solutions."
Sun Microsystems to Acquire innotek
Sun Microsystems has announced plans to buy innotek. "Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire innotek, the provider of the leading edge, open source virtualization software called VirtualBox. By enabling developers to more efficiently build, test and run applications on multiple platforms, VirtualBox will extend the Sun xVM platform onto the desktop and strengthen Sun's leadership in the virtualization market. This software is available for all major operating systems at www.virtualbox.org and www.openxvm.org." (Thanks to Cry Regarder).
Resources
The SFLC's Legal Guide on Free Software
The Software Freedom Law Center has announced the publication of the "Legal Issues Primer for Open Source and Free Software Projects." It is an extensive document with separate sections on copyright, patents, trademarks, and organizational issues. "Our intended audience for this Primer is any person interested in a basic understanding of the legal issues that impact FOSS development and distribution. In particular, this Primer, like most of our other public work at SFLC, is addressed to two constituencies. First, we provide creative, productive hackers insight on how to interact with the legal system-insofar as it affects the projects they work on-with a minimum of cost, fuss and risk. Second, we present a starting point for lawyers and risk managers for thinking about the particular, at times counter-intuitive, logic of software freedom."
The Linux Foundation Announces Linux Standard Base 3.2
The Linux Foundation has announced an update of the Linux Standard Base (LSB). "The new LSB 3.2 introduces new features for interpreted languages, printing and multimedia, further enabling application developers to easily and cost-effectively support the Linux operating system. "The LSB meets the increasing demands of ISVs that want to build portable applications for Linux," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. "With the inclusion of interpreted languages, printing support, and a variety of other requested features, this release provides the functionality that ISVs need to deliver their sophisticated applications in a portable, cross-distribution format.""
Meeting Minutes
Fedora Board Recap
A recap of the February 12, 2008 Fedora Board meeting has been posted.
Gentoo Council meeting summary
A summary of the February 14, 2008 Gentoo Council meeting has been posted.
Perl 6 Design Meeting Minutes (use Perl)
The minutes from the February 13, 2008 Perl 6 Design Meeting have been published. "The Perl 6 design team met by phone on 13 February 2008. Larry, Allison, Jerry, Will, Richard, Patrick, and chromatic attended."
Calls for Presentations
YAPC::NA 2008 call for participation (use Perl)
A call for participation has gone out for the YAPC::NA 2008 Perl conference. "The Chicago Perl Mongers are excited to officially open the call for participation for YAPC::NA 2008. To submit your proposal, visit the YAPC site, create an account, and let us know what you'd like to talk about. Submissions will be accepted through March 15th 2008, so get yours in soon. We are currently accepting proposals for conference talks with durations of 20, 45, 70, and 95 minutes."
Upcoming Events
Introducing Document Freedom Day - 26 March
Document Freedom Day is a global day for document liberation, a grassroots action for promotion of Free Document Formats and Open Standards in general. "On 26 March 2008, the Document Freedom Day will provide a global rallying point for Document Liberation and Open Standards. It will literally give teams around the world the chance to "hoist the flag": A "DFD Starter Pack" containing a flag, t-shirt, leaflets and stickers is in preparation and is planned to be sent out in the first weeks of March to the first 100 teams that sign up. Sixteen teams already signed up during the preparation phase of the DFD prior to this release. Sign your team up now!"
FREED.IN/2008 Delhi
FREED.IN/2008 will take place in Delhi, India on February 22-24, 2008. "In the new scheme of things, where every FOSS event in India chooses a particular focus (such as FOSS.IN, with its developer and contributor focus), FREED.IN has chosen to focus on knowledge, using the FOSS approach to things. Of course, there are talks about all kinds of FOSS related subjects, so there is something for everyone."
FSFE announces the first European Licensing and Legal Workshop for Free Software
The FSFE has announced a European Licensing and Legal Workshop. "FSFE's Freedom Task Force today announces the first European Licensing and Legal Workshop for Free Software will be held on Friday the 11th of April in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The venue for this meeting is the InterContinental Amstel Hotel. The event is targeted towards large projects and medium to large enterprises wishing to discuss their existing licence compliance processes."
LAC 2008: bandwidth to burn and volunteers needed
The 2008 LAC stream server is running. "The 6th annual Linux Audio Conference is taking place in Cologne, Germany, Feb 28th to March 2nd, 2008. As with each previous year this year's conference will be streamed live over the internet in ogg theora via icecast. The stream server is up at: http://lac2008.khm.de:8000/ There is nothing to see at the moment, but keep checking over the coming days as we hope to have a test stream up soon."
Speakers for the 2nd Linux Foundation Collaboration summit
The Linux Foundation has announced the speakers who will be featured at its second Collaboration Summit, to be held April 8 to 10 in Austin, Texas. Those speaking will include Dan Frye, Marten Mickos, Bdale Garbee, along with the return of the kernel developers' panel.
Linux Installfest workshop in Davis, CA on March 2
The Linux Users' Group of Davis will hold their next free Linux Installfest workshop in Davis, California on March 2.
OpenOffice.org Annual Conference - voting opens
A vote is being held to decide the location of the OpenOffice.org annual conference. "This year we have received a record six proposals from teams competing to host this prestigious event. In alphabetical order, they are: * Amsterdam, The Netherlands * Beijing, China * Bratislava, Slovakia * Budapest, Hungary * Dundalk, Ireland * Orvieto, Italy If you were a registered member of the OpenOffice.org community on January 1st 2008 then you are entitled to vote." Voting ends on February 29.
X Developers' Conference 2008
Google will be hosting the 2008 X Developers' Conference (XDC 2008) in Mountain View, California, from April 16 - 18, 2008. Attendance is free, but you must be registered beforehand. The call for presentations is open. Click below for more information.
Events: February 28, 2008 to April 28, 2008
The following event listing is taken from the LWN.net Calendar.
| Date(s) | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| February 25 February 29 |
NEW PHP 5 and PostgreSQL Bootcamp with Mark Fenoglio | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| February 28 March 1 |
Linux Audio Conference | Cologne, Germany |
| March 1 March 2 |
Chemnitzer Linux-Tage 2008 | Chemnitz, Germany |
| March 3 March 6 |
O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference | San Diego, CA, USA |
| March 3 March 6 |
Drupalcon Boston 2008 | Boston, MA, USA |
| March 4 March 9 |
CeBIT Germany | Hannover, Germany |
| March 8 March 14 |
Asia OSS Conference & Showcase 2008 | Guangzhou, China |
| March 11 March 12 |
4th AustralAsian Cleantech Forum | Melbourne, Australia |
| March 14 March 16 |
PyCon 2008 | Chicago, IL, USA |
| March 15 | FSF Associate Members Meeting | Cambridge, MA, USA |
| March 16 March 19 |
BossaConference 2008 - International Conference on Open Source Software for Mobile Embedded Platforms | Pernambuco, Brazil |
| March 16 March 21 |
Novell BrainShare 2008 | Salt Lake City, UT, USA |
| March 16 March 20 |
Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa | Dakar, Senegal |
| March 17 March 20 |
Eclipse Community Conference | Santa Clara, CA, USA |
| March 17 March 20 |
Spring VON.x Conference | San Jose, CA, USA |
| March 19 March 20 |
LinuxWorld Expo 2008 Brussels | Brussels, Belgium |
| March 24 | SDForum Global Open Source Conference | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| March 26 March 28 |
CanSecWest 2008 | Vancouver, BC, Canada |
| March 26 | Document Freedom Day | Everywhere, Worldwide |
| March 29 March 30 |
PostgreSQL Conference East 2008 | College Park, MD, USA |
| March 31 April 2 |
UKUUG Spring 2008 Conference - Dynamic Languages | Birmingham, England |
| March 31 | 2008 European Workshop on System Security | Glasgow, Scotland |
| March 31 April 2 |
UKUUG Spring 2008 Conference | Birmingham, England |
| March 31 April 2 |
Sharkfest Wireshark Network Analysis Summit | Los Altos Hills, CA, USA |
| April 2 | First meeting UKUUG PostgreSQL SIG | Birmingham, England |
| April 3 April 4 |
E-Mail Systems Conference 2008 (Exim and other mail systems) | Birmingham, England |
| April 4 April 5 |
openSUSE Packaging Days II | IRC, Everywhere |
| April 7 April 9 |
IT360 Conference & Expo | Toronto, Canada |
| April 7 April 11 |
Django Bootcamp with Juan Pablo Claude | Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| April 8 April 10 |
Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit | Austin, TX, USA |
| April 10 April 13 |
Go-OO Conference 2008 | Prague, Czech Republic |
| April 12 April 13 |
Open Source Developers Conference Taiwan, 2008 | Taipei, Taiwan |
| April 12 April 13 |
LugRadio Live USA 2008 | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| April 12 April 18 |
KDevelop Developer Meeting 2008 | Munich, Germany |
| April 14 April 18 |
Embedded Systems Conference - Silicon Valley | San Jose, CA, USA |
| April 14 April 17 |
MySQL Conference and Expo | Santa Clara, CA, USA |
| April 15 April 17 |
Embedded Linux Conference 2008 | Mountain View, CA, USA |
| April 15 April 17 |
SOA in Health Care | Chicago, IL, USA |
| April 16 April 18 |
X Developers' Conference 2008 | Mountain View, CA, USA |
| April 16 April 18 |
X Developers' Conference for 2008 | Mountain View, USA |
| April 16 April 18 |
Croatian Linux User Conference | Zagreb, Croatia |
| April 17 April 19 |
9th International Free Software Forum | Porto Alegre, Brazil |
| April 17 April 18 |
Samba Experience 2008 | Göttingen, Germany |
| April 18 April 19 |
Third Annual Silicon Valley Ruby Conference | San Jose, CA, USA |
| April 21 April 25 |
Open Source meets Industry: Application Park and International Congress | Hannover, Germany |
| April 22 | The Mobile Future | Santa Clara, CA, USA |
| April 22 April 25 |
Web 2.0 Expo | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| April 22 | OSADL International Congress | Hannover, Germany |
| April 23 April 24 |
Troopers 2008 Security Conference | Munich, Germany |
| April 23 | Linux Foundation Spring Legal Summit | Schaumburg, IL, USA |
| April 25 April 29 |
Open Tech Summit Taiwan 2008 | Taipei, Taiwan |
| April 27 May 2 |
INTEROP Las Vegas 2008 | Las Vegas, NV, USA |
If your event does not appear here, please tell us about it.
Page editor: Forrest Cook