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AnnouncementsCommercial announcements Android Dev Phone 2 availableThere is a new, fully-open Android Dev Phone offering available; this one is based on the no-keyboard HTC "Sapphire" platform. Information is available on the Brightstar ADP2 page, but one has to go through the process of getting an Android Market publisher account first.
Astaro offers free firewall for SMBsAstaro has announced the release of a free (of charge) firewall package. "Astaro Corporation, a leading network security vendor, today announced the launch of the Essential Firewall edition of its flagship security solution Astaro Security Gateway, available for free to all organizations worldwide. The Essential Firewall edition includes all the necessary functionality that all organizations need to secure their networks and operate a successful business."
Chumby Guts!--New Product from The Maker Shed StoreChumby is a compact consumer Internet device that enables people to receive a constant personalized broadcast of their favorite parts of the Web. It is now available in kit form. "Produced by Chumby Industries for Maker Shed, and coined "Chumby Guts" by the store's staff, the kit includes everything a tech enthusiast needs to build their own Chumby--either in the classic Chumby form or a form factor of their own design."
MontaVista's Montebello Stack Incorporated in Dell Latitude ONMontaVista has announced that the company worked with Dell to develop the software stack for Latitude ON - Dell's instant, always on connection to email, Web, contacts and calendar. "Built on the MontaVista Montabello MID platform, the software stack provides the advanced power management, fast startup, and connectivity management required by Latitude ON users."
PyIMSL Studio 1.5 now available at no chargeVisual Numerics has announced a freely downloadable release of PyIMSL Studio. "Visual Numerics, a Rogue Wave Software Company, is making PyIMSL Studio 1.5 available for download at no charge for non-commercial use or for commercial evaluation. PyIMSL Studio contains both open source and proprietary components that create a fully supported and documented platform for analytic prototyping and production development."
Rev 4.0 ReleasedRuntime Revolution Ltd. has announced the release of Revolution 4.0 "Software development company Runtime Revolution Ltd introduced today Revolution 4.0 for application and Web development, available for the first time in a free version. Rev 4.0 brings the ability to deploy your application straight to the web, without recoding or writing a line of html. Just select "Build for Web" from the file menu and exactly the same application as you previously deployed on the desktop can run in any standard web browser. And on Mac, Windows and Linux."
Legal Announcements EFF obtains behind-the-scenes FISA recordsThe Electronic Frontier Foundation has obtained documents that detail the behind-the-scenes negotiations between US government agencies regarding illegal telecom surveillance. "The documents include drafts of legislation and communications between Congress and the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) about amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). They were released as a result of litigation that started back in 2007, when Congress first debated granting immunity to the telecommunications companies for taking part in massive, unchecked surveillance of Americans' telephone and Internet communications."
The Open Web Foundation AgreementThe Open Web Foundation has announced the availability of the Open Web Foundation Agreement. This agreement is meant to cover web-related specifications, ensuring that developers can implement those specifications with minimal fear of copyright or patent suits. "This reusable agreement is designed to be easily adopted by a wide range of specification communities and organizations as an alternative to the challenging -- and costly -- process of negotiating new licensing agreements every time. Specifications made available under the Open Web Foundation Agreement may include everything from small ad-hoc formats sketched out among friends to large multi-corporation collaborations that ultimately grow into international recognized standards with the help of formal standards setting organizations."
Articles of interest Microsoft Patents Sudo?!! (Groklaw)Groklaw reports on a new software patent issued to Microsoft. "Lordy, lordy, lordy. They have no shame. It appears that Microsoft has just patented sudo, a personalized version of it. Here it is, patent number7617530. Thanks, USPTO, for giving Microsoft, which is already a monopoly, a monopoly on something that's been in use since 1980 and wasn't invented by Microsoft." Computerworld's IT Blogwatch covers blog reactions to the issue.
Lenovo returns to the Linux desktop (ComputerWorld)Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols takes a look at the upcoming Lenovo smartbook. "Lenovo might not describe their return to the Linux desktop like that, but that's what they're doing. Yesterday, November 12th, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs gave the world a sneak peak at the Lenovo ARM Snapdragon-powered smartbook, a cross between a smartphone and a netbook. Jacobs added that Lenovo Linux-based smartbook would make its debut at January's CES (Computer Electronics Show).
New Linux-Based PCs Encourage Seniors To Learn The Internet (redOrbit)redOrbit looks at a Linux PC that is aimed at senior citizens. "A new computer called SimplicITy has been aimed at people over the age of 60 who have never before used PCs or the Internet, BBC News reported. The simplified desktop has just six buttons directing users to basic tasks such as e-mail and chat and each machine is pre-loaded with 17 video tutorials from television presenter Valerie Singleton. The SimplicITy computer has no login screen when started up, and contains no drop-down menus."
Nicaragua Builds An Innovative Agricultural Information System Using Open Source Software (Linux Journal)Linux Journal covers the creation of an open source solution for displaying agricultural data for Nicaragua. "An experiment in Nicaragua shows just how powerful Open Source software can be in leveling the playing field. The second poorest country of the Americas now has one of the best software solutions for displaying agricultural data in the western hemisphere."
The Future of Linux is Google (PCWorld)PCWorld looks at Google's success with Linux. "Google's migration into the operating system business has been so gradual that many industry watchers have shrugged it off. When the company announced its Android OS for phones, it looked interesting. There was nothing new about the idea of using Linux on a handset, and (apart from Google's involvement) little reason to expect it would carve out substantial market share in the competitive smartphone arena. But, with about 20 distinct Android handsets in the hands of more than three million users worldwide--and about 30 more devices expected to roll out in 2010--Google's mobile OS is now looking like a force to be reckoned with."
New Books Hello, Android, Second Edition--New from Pragmatic BookshelfPragmatic Bookshelf has published the book Hello, Android, Second Edition by Ed Burnette.
Resources FSFE NewsletterThe October, 2009 edition of the FSFE Newsletter is online. Topics include: "1. FSFE suggests to make MySQL independent as solution for Oracle/Sun deal 2. Announcing FSFE's new Finnish country team 3. Fellowship meetings in Frankfurt, Berlin and Vienna 4. Windows 7 to hit consumers with known security problem 5. New Fellowship jabber server 6. Welcome to Alina Mierlus as intern".
Linux Foundation NewsletterThe November, 2009 edition of the Linux Foundation Newsletter has been published. "In this month's Linux Foundation newsletter: * Second Annual End User Summit Connects IT Leaders, Linux Developers * Japan Linux Symposium Videos Available * New Members Elected to Linux Foundation Technical Advisory Board * New Perks for Individual Members Very Popular * Linux Foundation in the News * From the Foundation: Cloud Computing Too Costly in the Long Term?"
Surveys Poll on PyPI rating systemThe developers behind the PyPI Python software catalog are trying to decide whether to keep the package rating system, which is not universally loved. "PyPI recently got a rating system which includes the option of posting comments about a package release also. Several people have expressed a strong dislike of that system and want to see it changed or removed. In order to find out what the community thinks, we are now performing a poll, at http://pypi.python.org/pypi ".
Education and Certification LPI Affiliate promotes Linux education in Middle EastThe Linux Professional Institute has announced an affiliate education program in the Middle East. "The Linux Professional Institute (LPI), the world's premier Linux certification organization, announced that its affiliate, LPI-Middle East, had signed an agreement with Ma3bar initiative to promote the adoption of Free and Open Source software throughout the Arab world. Ma3bar is an Arab Support Centre for Free and Open Source Software established by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the University of Balamand, Al-Kurah, Lebanon."
UKUUG and O'Reilly announce Training DaysThe UKUUG and O'Reilly have announced two new training events. "3rd February 2010, 'Practical Erlang Programming' - Tutor: Francesco Cesarini Venue: Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London. also in our schedule: 27th January 2010 'Zenoss Introduction Workshop' by Jane Curry"
Upcoming Events PyCon talks announcedThe PyCon speakers have been announced, PyCon takes place on February 17-25 in Atlanta, Georgia. "The PyCon program committee has announced an unprecedented program of 95 talks for PyCon 2009. Talk abstracts can be browsed at http://us.pycon.org/2010/conference/talks/."
Events: November 26, 2009 to January 25, 2010The following event listing is taken from the LWN.net Calendar.
If your event does not appear here, please tell us about it. Web sites EFF: International Activists Launch New Website to Gather and Share Copyright KnowledgeThe Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL.net), and other international copyright experts have joined together to launch Copyright Watch -- a public website created to centralize resources on national copyright laws at www.copyright-watch.org. "Copyright Watch is the first comprehensive and up-to-date online repository of national copyright laws. To find links to national and regional copyright laws, users can choose a continent or search using a country name. The site will be updated over time to include proposed amendments to laws, as well as commentary and context from national copyright experts. Copyright Watch will help document how legislators around the world are coping with the challenges of new technology and new business models."
planet LAD launchedplanet LAD has been launched, check it out for the latest Linux Audio Development news. "..to make it easy to keep up on what people are up to in general and you can browse the planet to see who you'd like to follow..
Page editor: Forrest Cook |
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