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Linux in the news
Recommended Reading
'Open Source' Database Poses Threat to Oracle (Wall Street Journal)
The Wall Street Journal looks at the impact that open-source databases are having on commercial database companies. "But now, Oracle and other database suppliers face a growing threat from below: "open source" databases, which give customers a free or low-cost alternative to commercial products. While the impact has been small so far, some analysts expect open-source software to eventually turn databases into a low-cost commodity, just as the open-source Linux operating system is posing a threat to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows franchise."
Inside the open-source development model (News.com)
News.com is running this article from HBS Working Knowledge which looks into the open-source development model. "Many people have wondered why these people give their work away. The truth is that many projects have become incorporated in order to protect themselves from individual liability. Since the founding of the Free Software Foundation in 1985, a number of new nonprofit foundations have formed, often around specific technologies, to serve the interests of programmers."
The politics of open-source software (News.com)
This News.com article looks at the efforts of the Initiative for Software Choice (ISC) as it attempts to ensure that government agencies won't favor open-source over proprietary software. "The ISC is by far the most vocal opponent of a growing trend: Legislation that, if enacted, would all but prohibit government agencies from purchasing proprietary software for their own use. The ISC asserts that such legislation could jeopardize the future of the worldwide commercial software industry."
Linux To Become A De Facto Standard (IT-Director)
IT-Director.com is carrying a column by Robin Bloor on why Linux is the only reasonable choice for "server virtualization" applications. "It qualifies because it spans so many platforms - from small devices up to IBM's zSeries mainframe. It also qualifies because, like TCP/IP, it doesn't actually belong to anyone. It runs on most chips and is rapidly becoming the developer platform of choice. So the idea is starting to emerge that you virtualise storage by the use of SANs and NAS and you virtualise server hardware by the use of Linux - thus making it feasible to switch applications from one server to another automatically, and quickly."
Trade Shows and Conferences
The State of Open Source (O'ReillyNet)
O'RellyNet reports from OSCON 2003. "The night that divides the two days of tutorials from the three-day conference at the fifth annual O'Reilly Open Source Convention is reserved for the States of the Union addresses. Luminaries from the open source communities of Perl, Python, PHP, MySQL, Apache, and Linux each spoke for just under a half hour to present their take on the current state of their technology and where it is headed."
Kapor's Thoughts on Desktop Linux (O'ReillyNet)
Daniel Steinberg reports on Kapor's keynote from OSCON 2003 in this O'ReillyNet article. "Six years later, in 1991, Linux was introduced. Kapor argues that Linux is so successful on the server that it is attracting parasitic companies whose business offerings consist of little more than Linux-centered litigation. As for desktop computing, Kapor asserts that Linux is gaining credibility in this era of Net-centric computing as this focus on the Net is in the DNA of Linux."
SCO vs. Linux: Show Me the Money (eWeek)
eWeek covers a panel discussion at OSCON. "In a late afternoon panel discussion titled "The IP Wars: SCO Versus Linux," moderator Chris DiBona, vice president and founder of Damage Studios, said the topic essentially involves a "SCO versus everybody else talk," adding that the lawsuit was probably brought for financial reasons as IBM is a player with a lot of money.""
Here's how Linux gets to the desktop (ZDNet)
This ZDNet article focuses on Mitch Kapor's keynote at OSCON. "Kapor said he would not be surprised to see 10 percent of global desktops running Linux in the near future. That's a good bet."
Open source flexes its muscle at OSCON (ZDNet)
ZDNet's David Berlind went to OSCON. "Eric Raymond, president of the Open Source Initiative, was comparing open source to cockroaches as he explained to my 13-year-old son the simplicity of open source, why it has caught on with such rabid intensity, and why the buzz was undeniably vibrant here at OSCON '03."
Open Source on Rise in Government (eWeek)
eWeek covers Lisa Wolfisch Nyman's OSCON talk titled "Open Source in Government". "A 2002 report from the MITRE Corp. also identified 110 open-source software tools in use at the Department of Defense. And this year, the office of the CIO at the Department came out with an official open-source software policy, which placed open-source software under the same requirements of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) products and the same security certification, she said."
OpenOffice.org at OSCON
Louis Suarez-Potts overviews the OpenOffice.org coverage at the O'Reilly OSCON.
Linux Rules the Day at CA World (eWeek)
eWeek goes to Linux Solution Day at the CA World conference. "Computer Associates International Inc., which has pegged Tuesday as Linux Solution Day at its CA World conference here, is working on a range of new Linux deals, initiatives and products, including an upcoming formal partnership with Linux solution provider Ximian Inc."
Companies
AOL axes Gecko team, dumps Netscape (MozillaZine)
According to MozillaZine, AOL has laid off the Mozilla developers. "It has been learned through public and private sources that AOL has cut or will cut the remaining team working on Mozilla in a mass firing and are dismantling what was left of Netscape (they've even pulled the logos off the buildings). Some will remain working on Mozilla during the transition, and will move to other jobs within AOL."
Sun expands Unix deal with SCO (News.com)
News.com looks into deals between Sun and SCO. "The pact, signed earlier this year, expanded the rights Sun acquired in 1994 to use Unix in its Solaris operating system. But there's more to the relationship: SCO also granted Sun a warrant to buy as many as 210,000 shares of SCO stock at $1.83 per share as part of the licensing deal, according to a regulatory document filed Tuesday."
Walmart.com sells Microtel PC with SuSE Linux software (InfoWorld)
InfoWorld reports that Microtel PCs with SuSE Linux 8.2 installed will be available from Walmart.com. "For SuSE, this is a first not only with Microtel, which designs, manufacturers, and customizes computers, but also with Wal-Mart, one of the biggest retailers in the U.S., Egle said. "The deal with Wal-Mart is very important to us because it opens the door to the huge U.S. consumer market," he said."
Linux Adoption
Linux wins big over Microsoft in Munich (USA Today)
USA Today covers some concessions by Microsoft as the company tried (unsuccessfully) to win in Munich. "A Linux victory in Munich would be a stunning blow. So Ballmer visited Mayor Christian Ude to assure him Microsoft would do what it takes to keep the city's business. Documents obtained by USA TODAY show Microsoft subsequently lowered its pricing to $31.9 million and then to $23.7 million -- an overall 35% price cut. The discounts were for naught." (Thanks to Jamie Strandboge)
Japan Mulls Switch To Linux For Public Servants Data (TechWeb)
TechWeb is running an Associated Press article proclaiming that the Japanese government is considering using Linux when it upgrades its computer data files for public servants in 2005. "Japan has chosen a proposal submitted by a group made up of Fujitsu, IBM Japan, and Oki Electric Industry Co. The companies suggest using Linux to manage salary and other personnel data for the nation's 800,000 central government employees, government official Masanobu Arao said Wednesday."
Open Asia: GNU/Linux gaining visibility across the continent (NewsForge)
NewsForge covers some wins for GNU/Linux in Asia. "Like the legendary story of the blind men and the elephant, the role that GNU/Linux is actually playing is both difficult to notice and hard to understand. There are hints from all over that GNU/Linux has excited the imagination of a generation, whose members are suddenly finding the rules of the software game drastically altered -- in their favour, for a change."
Linux users rate stability over TCO (Australian IT)
The Australian IT covers a survey by Computer Associates. "According to the survey, which involved 2500 corporate customers across the globe, 95 per cent of companies rated Linux's reliability as its most important contribution to business value. Acquisition cost was the next most popular choice, cited by 89 per cent. TCO came out at the bottom list, with 65 per cent of companies listing it as a contributor to value."
Interviews
Interview: Andrew Morton (LinuxWorld)
LinuxWorld.com.au interviews kernel hacker Andrew Morton. "There simply is no room for great flights of self-expressive fancy in the Linux kernel. It is very much an exercise in maintenance and gradual evolution. You'll see much more innovation and change in the application world than in the kernel" (Thanks to Howie D).
Slash'EM Interview (O'Reilly)
O'Reilly interviews game developers Warren Cheung and J. Ali Harlowe. "Any worthwhile Nethack variant eventually finds a home in Slash'EM. Tracking those variants and the main Nethack sources is quite a job though. Howard Wen recently interviewed Warren Cheung and J. Ali Harlowe, the lead developers of Slash'EM."
Resources
Device Classes (LinuxJournal)
Greg KH covers necessary insructions for making your new device driver play nice in the 2.6 kernel, in the August issue of Linux Journal. "In the 2.5.69 kernel, the driver class support was rewritten radically. In previous kernel versions, class support was tied tightly to the driver and device support. A class would be bound to the device at the same time it was registered to a driver. This did work for a number of devices and classes, but some real-world devices did not fit very well into this model. Now, class support is tied only loosely to devices and drivers; in fact, a device or driver is not even needed to use the class code now, as the tty class code shows. The class code is now split into three different types of structures: classes, class devices and class interfaces."
Reviews
A Microsoft guy tackles Linux (NewsForge)
NewsForge has an article from a Linux convert. "I am not especially a Linux advocate. I go with whatever software works best for me in terms of usefulness and feasibility. I'm Microsoft-certified, so persons meeting me classify me as The Microsoft Guy. However, thanks to the people I met at last month's Free, Libre and Open Source Conference, and guidance from the Trinidad and Tobago Linux Users' Group (TTLUG) mailing list, I have learned that free and open source applications are ready for mainstream use. Armed with my newfound knowledge, not only was it unbelievably easy to move from Windows XP to Red Hat Linux 9, I had fun doing it!"
Survey: What Linux needs now (NewsForge)
Joe Barr looks at what Linux needs (according to a survey he ran) on NewsForge. "My biggest surprise came when I thought about what is not on the list. The great anti-Linux mantra is gone. It has disappeared. Not one of the more than 60 responses mentioned a need for easier installation of the operating system. Kudos to everyone who helped to make that happen."
OGo: No go so far (NewsForge)
This NewsForge article concludes that the recently announced OpenGroupware.org (OGo) software is not yet ready for the enterprise. "There is an important lesson to be learned here. It's one thing to announce the formation of a project and the release of code; it's another to announce that the software that will change the industry has arrived. Announcement of the project would have been greeted warmly, but there is no way anyone can claim that the software released on July 10 is actually usable by organizations. I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of someone who actually read the press release and downloaded the software with hopes of using the software in business. Someone like that might be slow to touch the project again after finding that the press release promises don't match the reality."
Miscellaneous
Linux Reconstructing Tree of Life (Wired)
Wired covers the use of a Linux cluster to figure out the relationships of thousands of species on the evolutionary tree. ""The computer project has certainly grown over the years, but the real innovations that made this possible are the concept of cluster computing and the Linux operating system," [biologist Ward] Wheeler added. "Linux makes it so easy to create a supercomputer."" (Thanks to "Fuzzy Gorilla")
The Significance Of Open Source (Processor.com)
Russell Pavlicek begins a new bi-weekly column at Processor.com called "Open Source Perspective". In this first column he looks at the significance of open source. "Open source is not a gimmick. The world of IT is filled with buzzwords and trends. Those of us who have been around a while are used to seeing the ebb and flow of concepts in computing that sometimes resemble the fickle tastes of a fashion show runway more than they do the disciplines of logic and science. Like Visicalc skills on a resume, these supposedly "killer" technologies fade into oblivion in just a few short years. Open source is not one of these."
Some Xbox Fans Microsoft Didn't Aim For
The NYTimes looks at XBox hackers. (Registration required) "It is unclear just how many Xbox hackers there are. Officials of the Interactive Digital Software Association, a trade group of video game publishers, said that Xbox hacking appeared more prevalent in parts of Asia than in North America. Michael Steil, a 24-year-old German who is project leader of a group that calls itself the Xbox Linux Project, said by e-mail that a full version of Linux software for the Xbox had been downloaded more than 220,000 times." (Thanks to Martin Leisner)
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