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AnnouncementsCommercial announcements Magnatune sends check to GNOME Foundation thanks to RhythmboxJohn Buckman, founder and owner of Magnatune, writes about sending money to the GNOME foundation based on 10% of the sales via Rhythmbox's Magnatune plugin. "Also FYI this means that RB has raised $3579.50 for independent musicians (because we pay out 50% of what comes in to musicians, and the 10% RB payout is coming out of Magnatune's half) [...] What this means is that I've now sent a check for $614.20 to GNOME Foundation." He also notes that Ubuntu has changed the referrer in the Rhythmbox plugin so that the $1017 in sales via that channel will instead be credited to Ubuntu. Also see the related article from the March 4th edition of LWN. (Thanks to Don Marti).
Legal Announcements European Parliament pushes back on ACTASwedish MEP Christian Engström reports that the European Parliament has passed a resolution coming out against the secretive ACTA copyright treaty negotiations and demanding transparency in the process. The vote was rather definitive: 633 for, 13 against. "At last, the elected representatives in the parliament have sent a strong message. We have shown that we do not accept secrecy. We have shown that we are prepared to stand up for a free internet open to everybody."
Meanwhile, back in Utah...The SCO case has long since dropped off the radar for most. It is worth noting, though, that the Novell "slander of title" trial is now underway in Utah. Groklaw has detailed coverage of the testimony thus far. "Why did Novell slander SCO's title? Because of Linux. Linux started as a hobbyist tool. It's open source; 'nobody can be completely sure where the code comes from'. Starting around 2000, IBM inserted into Linux stuff that belonged to SCO. SCO sued, and started their licensing program (SCOsource). Novell stated that SCO doesn't have the copyrights and can't sue IBM."
Microsoft Signs Linux Patent Agreement With I-O Data (ITProPortal)ITProPortal reports that Japan-based I-O Data Device has signed a patent cross-licensing deal with Microsoft. "The software maker asserted that the network attached storage devices from I-O Data Device use Linux-based technologies that come under the "patent covenants". David Kaefer, intellectual property chief at Microsoft, said in a statement: "We're pleased to reach this agreement with I-O Data"."
Articles of interest Greenschool Motorcycles develops Linux-powered electric motorcycle (Ecofriend)Ecofriend takes a look at a Linux-powered electric motorcycle. "The motorcycle sports a touchscreen dash powered by Ubuntu that offers stats about the bike's performance and GPS navigation as well. The one-of-a-kind motorcycle is based around a Honda chassis that has its tail chopped and engine replaced with a pack of nickel-metal batteries for a completely silent ride."
New Books "HTML & CSS: The Good Parts" and "RESTful Web Services Cookbook" -- New from O'Reilly"HTML & CSS: The Good Parts" and "RESTful Web Services Cookbook" have been released by O'Reilly.
Blog Postings Andy Updegrove: Elliott Associates and Novell: All About a Game of Cat and MouseAndy Updegrove looks at the next steps in Elliott Associates' bid for Novell. He looks at what a tender offer is, what Elliott's and the Novell board's strategy may be going forward, and what other bidders might bring to the table. "There are two things to watch for at this point: the first is whether Novell's board decides to enter into negotiations with Elliott, or to rebuff the offer (you saw Microsoft and Yahoo go through this dance not so long ago). And the second is whether other bidders enter the scene. Such a bidder could be solicited by Novell's management and board (a 'White Knight'), because they don't like the looks of the Elliott bid and what may come afterwards, or there could be further unsolicited bids."
Schwartz: Good Artists Copy, Great Artists StealJonathan Schwartz writes about patent attacks, and Apple's attack on Android in particular. "Having watched this movie play out many times, suing a competitor typically makes them more relevant, not less. Developers I know arent getting less interested in Googles Android platform, theyre getting more interested - Apples actions are enhancing that interest." He also says that Microsoft tried to shake down Sun with patent claims on OpenOffice.org.
Simon Phipps: Last Day At SunSimon Phipps, Chief Open Source Officer at Sun, reminisces about some achievements during his tenure. "Got some of the most important software in the computer industry released under Free licenses that guarantee software freedom for people who rely on them, regardless of who owns the copyrights. Unix, Java, key elements of Linux, the SPARC chip and much more have been liberated."
Event Reports Happenings: FOSS at CeBIT 2010 (The H)The H covers the CeBIT Open Source Forum. "The CeBIT Open Source Forum, a prominent feature in the Open Source area of Hall 2, featured several lectures, demonstrations and keynote speeches on several topics, from Open Source in data centres and security, to web browsers, mobility and multimedia. The H attended several of the Open Source Forum sessions, including the introduction of the latest 6.3 release of the popular Knoppix Live Linux distribution by Knoppix creator Klaus Knopper."
Calls for Presentations Call for Papers: EC2ND 2010The Call for Papers for the sixth European Conference on Computer Network Defense (EC2ND 2010) is open until July 2, 2010. The conference will be held in Berlin, Germany, October 28-29, 2010. "EC2ND 2010 specifically encourages submissions presenting work at an early stage with the intention to act as a discussion forum for innovative security research. While our goal is to solicit ideas that are not completely worked out, and might have challenging and interesting open questions, we expect submissions to be supported by some evidence of feasibility or preliminary quantitative results."
Upcoming Events LibrePlanet 2010 conference to feature Women's CaucusThe LibrePlanet conference, being held March 19-21 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will be featuring a day-long Women's Caucus on Sunday March 21st. That track will be focusing on finding concrete ways to increase women's participation in free software, including a panel on recruiting and retaining women, a presentation on mentoring, and a workshop on how non-coders can take up critical roles in free software projects. In addition, LibrePlanet has keynotes from FSF founder Richard Stallman and EFF founder John Gilmore. More information can be found on the web sites or in the schedule.
Texas Linux Fest announces 2010 programTexas Linux Fest has announced the initial list of speakers and presentations for its inaugural event. Keynote speakers include Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier and Randal L. Schwartz, with additional presentations by Linux, free software, and open source experts such as Jon "maddog" Hall, Amber Graner, Bradley Kuhn, and Max Spevack. The event will take place on Saturday, April 10th, in Austin Texas. Registration is available online. The complete list of talks is available as well.
PyCon ITALYThe call for papers for PyCon Italy ended March 10, 2010 but community voting is open until March 18. The conference will be held in Firenze, Italy, May 7-9, 2010.
10th Python Game Programming ChallengeThe 10th Python Game Programming Challenge (PyWeek) will run March 28 - April 4, 2010. "The PyWeek challenge: Invites entrants to write a game in one week from scratch either as an individual or in a team."
Events: March 18, 2010 to May 17, 2010The following event listing is taken from the LWN.net Calendar.
If your event does not appear here, please tell us about it.
Page editor: Rebecca Sobol |
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