Linux in the news [LWN.net]

Code Red: How software companies could screw up Obama's health care reform (Washington Monthly)

Worth a read: this Washington Monthly article comparing the record of proprietary and open source medical information systems. "But another big part of the problem is that proprietary systems have earned a bad reputation in the medical community for the simple reason that they often don't work very well. The programs are written by software developers who are far removed from the realities of practicing medicine. The result is systems which tend to create, rather than prevent, medical errors once they're in the hands of harried health care professionals. The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals for safety, recently issued an unprecedented warning that computer technology is now implicated in an incredible 25 percent of all reported medication errors. Perversely, license agreements usually bar users of proprietary health IT systems from reporting dangerous bugs to other health care facilities. In open-source systems, users learn from each other's mistakes; in proprietary ones, they're not even allowed to mention them."

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Trade Shows and Conferences

The Business Of Free (KDEDot)

Nikolaj Hald Nielsen covers a talk about Amarok and business at the Gran Canaria Desktop Summit. "One of the things that was touched upon was the recent release of the Palm Pre smartphone which relies on Apple's iTunes software for synchronising music with a computer. An interesting question asked was what would happen if Apple decided to block the Pre from using iTunes. Now, just over a week later, this is exactly what happened. Apple has indeed blocked the Pre from using iTunes with its latest update."

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Companies

OpenMoko Layoffs Lead to New Open Hardware Venture (Linux.com)

Linux.com looks at Qi Hardware, a new venture run by former OpenMoko VP Stephen Mosher. "Qi Hardwares first product will be the NanoNote, a Linux-run mini computer the size of a cellphone with a screen, processor, keyboard, USB port and headphones but no radio frequency, Mosher said. To be launched this fall, the NanoNotes potential uses could include a nano-sized laptop, video or music player, photos or specialized portable personal or business uses."

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Legal

Linux Vendor Settles With Microsoft (InformationWeek)

InformationWeek reports that the Melco Group has reached a settlement with Microsoft involving indemnification against an unspecified patent. "A manufacturer of Linux-based networking devices has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to Microsoft in order to settle a patent claim, Microsoft disclosed Wednesday. Under the agreement, Melco Group will pay the sum to Microsoft in exchange for indemnity coverage for its Buffalo brand Network Attached Storage devices and routers. The patent indemnification covers Melco and its customers."

Comments (37 posted)

Interviews

Akademy 2009 Technical Papers Published: Research And Innovation In The KDE Community (KDEDot)

KDE.News has an interview with Celeste Lyn Paul and Laura Dragan. "We conducted a short interview with Celeste, member of the KDE e.V. board, usability specialist within KDE and Senior Interaction Architect at User--Centered Design, Inc. We also interviewed Laura Dragan, researcher at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute and the National University of Ireland, Galway and writer of a technical paper for Akademy 2009. They explained to us what the Technical Papers [presented at Akademy] are about."

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Reviews

Are You Afraid? You Will Be... (Blog of helios)

The Blog of Helios takes a look at the Linux port of the Frictional Games trilogy, Penumbra. "Understand, these are not games where you have an arsenal of weapons to blow bloody chunks off of Sauerbraten monsters. This is a world where you exist or perish by your own natural wit, awareness and reflexes. Think quickly and correctly or become part of the shadowworld that awaits its next victim. You physically build your own survival. You actually hand-make the barricades, the weapons, the ladders and escape routes that you will need to survive...and you do it with movements and manipulations just like in the physical world."

Comments (36 posted)

Miscellaneous

Open-source firmware vuln exposes wireless routers (Register)

The Register reports on a DD-WRT vulnerability that would appear to justify an update. "The bug resides in DD-WRT's hyper text transfer protocol daemon, which runs as root. Because the httpd doesn't sanitize user-supplied input, it's vulnerable to remote command injection. While the httpd doesn't listen on the outbound interface, attackers can easily access it using CSRF (cross-site request forgery) techniques."

Comments (7 posted)

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