Linux in the news [LWN.net]

Android Walks Out of the Mist (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal covers the release of the first phone to implement the Android mobile platform. "The first phone to implement Google's Open Source Android mobile platform -- the eagerly-anticipated T-Mobile G1 -- made its maiden voyage today, launching to the expected fanfare and with the surprise appearance of Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin -- on rollerblades. Developed by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC as the Dream, the G1 is Google's first volley in the ever-increasingly hostile mobile phone wars. The phone carries with it Google's reputation -- with the search giant's logo conspicuously placed on the phone's case where the manufacturer's normally would be -- as well as its noted prowess in launching things the computing public will find indispensable."

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Trade Shows and Conferences

Linux.conf.au lineup ready to go (TechWorld)

TechWorld looks forward to LCA 2009. "The organising committee for Linux.conf.au (LCA) have finalised the program for the conference to be held at the University of Tasmania's Sandy Bay campus from January 19-24. Co-organiser Ben Powell said the technical committee had whittled down over 200 submissions to 75 presentations and tutorials, and 11 mini-confs."

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Companies

IBM Announces New Policy on Standards (Groklaw)

Groklaw takes a look at IBM's new I.T. Standards Policy. "IBM has just announced a new corporate policy regarding its "behavior when helping to create open technical standards". Here's a paragraph you'll like: "IBM's new standards policy promotes simplified and consistent intellectual property practices, and emphasizes that all stakeholders, including the open source community and those in growth markets, should have equal footing as they participate in the standards process.""

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Mozilla admits 'giant error' with Firefox EULA move (NetworkWorld)

NetworkWorld covers a controversy over a EULA notice that was included in a Linux version of Firefox. "In a pair of blog posts, former Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker -- currently the chairman of the umbrella Mozilla Foundation -- first acknowledged the error of packing an end-user licensing agreement (EULA) with the Linux version of Firefox and then announced that the EULA would be dropped. "The most important thing here is to acknowledge that yes, the content of the license agreement is wrong," said Baker on Monday. "The correct content is clear that the code is governed by FLOSS [free/libre open-source software] licenses, not the typical end user license agreement language that is in the current version. We created a license that points to the FLOSS licenses, but we've made a giant error in not getting this to Ubuntu, other distributors, and posted publicly for review.""

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Nokia's Linux OS to support 3G (ZDNet)

Nokia plans to support 3G cellular connectivity on the next version of its Maemo tablet, according to this ZDNet article. "On Wednesday, Nokia's open-source chief Dr Ari Jaaksi told the audience at an Open Source In Mobile (OSIM) event in Berlin that Maemo 5 would include support for high-speed packet access (HSPA), a standard sometimes described as 'super-3G'. The operating systems in existing N800-series tablets only allow voice calls through VoIP applications and Wi-Fi, rather than natively supporting cellular connectivity. A mobile device supporting cellular connectivity would be able to link directly to mobile-phone networks."

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Symbian: Linux unfit for mobile phones (the Register)

The Register notes some negative comments by Symbian's Jerry Panagrossi concerning Linux on mobile phones. ""Theres been a lot of misleading information over the years...about the fitness of Linux for the mobile space," Jerry Panagrossi, vp of Symbian's North American operations, told industry insiders this morning at the GigaOM:Mobilize conference in San Francisco. "There has been wonderful work, fantastic work in the Linux community in the workstation and PC space, but when you drag that over into the mobile space, there is an entirely different domain with a different set of challenges that handset managers must overcome."

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VMware adds Linux, iPhone to virtualisation mix (ZDNet)

ZDNet reports that the next version of VMware's VirtualCenter Server will work with Linux and the iPhone. "The VMware VirtualCenter Server update will run on Linux and will be supplied as a virtual appliance, which is a ready-to-run virtual machine that has been preconfigured with all the necessary software, Stephen Herrod said in a keynote speech at the Las Vegas conference. Herrod also said that a future version of VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client, which is the software used to access VirtualCenter Server, would be made available for the Apple iPhone and other mobile devices."

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Miscellaneous

Linux Foundation courts individual members (Linux-Watch)

Linux-Watch takes a look at the Linux Foundation's recent push for individual memberships. For $50 a year, individuals will receive a T-shirt and quarterly newsletter—they can also vote on and run for the board of directors. "According to the membership agreement, individual members are considered 'affiliate members,' rather than full members, and thus 'shall not have any of the rights and privileges of 'voting statutory members.'' However, as with Silver corporate members, Affiliate members will apparently collectively control a single seat on the LF board of directors."

Comments (8 posted)

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