Linux in the news [LWN.net]

Recommended Reading

Tech activists protest anti-copying (News.com)

News.com covers the "Digital Rights Management Roundtable" held by the U.S. Department of Commerce. "The assembled band of free software devotees said later that they believed they had won a commitment from the Commerce Department to include a representative in a future roundtable."

Declan McCullagh has also posted a set of pictures from the event, including this one of Richard Stallman.

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Ogg Vorbis official release is here (News.com)

News.com reports on the Ogg Vorbis 1.0 release. "The keepers of a patent on MPEG-4 just culminated months of hashing out a royalty plan for their technology that would encourage use of the technology, something Ogg Vorbis users don't have to deal with."

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O'Reilly: Open-source .Net inches closer to fruition (InfoWorld)

This InfoWorld article talks about Ximian's Mono Project, and sessions with Miguel de Icaza at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention (OSCON) in San Diego. (Thanks to Jay R. Ashworth)

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Gartner's predictions for Linux and open source (ZDNet)

The Gartner Group reviews a 1999 pronouncement on Linux and looks forward in this ZDNet article. "Today, the Open Source Software (OSS) community has demonstrated that it can organize itself into selective peer groups with responsibility as the "maintainer" for the ongoing development and leadership of kernel and applications. How far up the "food chain" this process applies has still not been proven. We know it works well at the infrastructure (such as load balancing, caching, Domain Naming System, Secure Sockets Layer acceleration), with Web services (such as Apache) and at the plumbing level. We have seen some progress in databases (such as MySQL), but the process is still inconclusive with regard to high-availability clustering, system management and transaction middleware."

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Companies

Is IBM Toast? (PC Magazine)

John Dvorak is glum about IBM's future in this PC Magazine column. "More recently, IBM jumped on another hot and trendy technology - Linux. IBM thought, 'Gee, let's consider Linux on a mainframe.' That makes a lot of sense for a company with genuinely powerful operating systems such as VM! Even more weird is Linux on a supercomputer, but up goes the stock anyway. If IBM is so high on Linux, then why doesn't the company port the Lotus software to Linux?"

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IBM announces Opteron support but lacks business rationale (ZDNet)

ZDNet examines IBM's Opteron support. "According to IBM spokesperson Sean Tetpon, IBM will showcase at LinuxWorld its DB2 database running on an Opteron-based system provided by a Newisys, a newcomer to an already crowded server market. The system will be running a 64-bit distribution of Linux provided by SuSE."

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Nvidia open-sources developer tools (News.com)

News.com covers Nvidia's decision to open-source some developer tools. "Nvidia hopes to fill that need with its free Cg set of tools. The Cg Compiler, a critical application for running code, will be available as open-source software starting in August, Nvidia said. "We're open-sourcing this compiler code to further accelerate the transition to an era of advanced real-time effects," Dan Vivoli, Nvidia's vice president of marketing, said in a statement."

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Bruce Perens on Real's Open Source gambit (Register)

The Register writes about recent license changes recently made by streaming media company Real Networks. "Real Networks is announcing plans to release some, but not all of its technology under an Open Source-friendly license within 90 days. Under pressure from Microsoft, and completely open formats, it's decided to meet the open source community halfway. The first batch of technology to be released under a new "community license" is expected to include RTSP/RTP/RTCP/SDP network playback, UDP support, local file playback, data type interfaces, file format interfaces and some AV code support."

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Real's WMP, Open Source moves risk Redmond ire (Register)

The Register takes a look at RealNetworks Inc's Helix Platform. "Glaser said that in tests conducted by KeyLabs Inc, commissioned by RealNetworks, the Helix Universal Server on Linux deliver 400% more concurrent 20Kbps Windows streams than Windows Media Server on Windows 2000, and 200% more streams when both servers were running on Windows 2000."

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Investor woes plague TurboLinux (ZDNet)

ZDNet reports on the somewhat overstated TurboLinux financial troubles. "Last week, reports circulated that Turbolinux had been forced to close its doors following the last-minute withdrawal of a key investor from a round of financing. On Friday, in a statement issued to the industry newsletter Linux Today, the company confirmed the investor pullout, but said that the damage would be limited to its US operations. "The result is that we have had to take immediate action to restructure our US operations," said Turbolinux president and chief executive Ly-thong Pham in the statement. The company has already reduced its US staff as of 15 July. However, Pham said the company would continue operating, even in the US."

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Business

U.K. government backs open source (ZDNet)

ZDNet reports on the UK government's increasingly friendly approach toward free software. "In the final draft of the U.K. government's policy on open-source software, published on Monday by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), the government says that in all future IT developments where interoperability is an issue, it will only use products that support open standards and specifications. Furthermore, it will follow a recent European Commission policy document that suggested exploring the open-source route for all government-funded software research and development."

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Linux in the land of z/OS (ZDNet)

ZDNet predicts a slow, but steady increase in the use of Linux on mainframes. "While Linux will have only minimal effect on short-term mainframe MIPS (2-4 years), its longer-term platform effects must quickly become part of data center planning. For IBM's top customers (the 20 percent of customers that consume 80 percent of mainframe MIPS), Linux will garner less than 5 percent of all MIPS during this transition period. For the "lesser" 80 percent of mainframe customers (consuming just 20 percent of mainframe MIPS and generally well below 1,000 MIPS), Linux on z/OS will play a slightly larger "transitional" role, pointing to low double-digit adoption rates."

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'Star Wars' effects studio shifts to Intel (News.com)

News.com covers the switch from SGI to Dell/Linux boxes at Industrial Light and Magic. "The technical effects studio has switched from using RISC-Unix workstations from SGI to using Intel-based Dell systems running Linux for the bulk of its animation and special effects work, said Cliff Plumer, ILM's chief technology officer. As part of the conversion, ILM recently deployed 600 Pentium 4 workstations."

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Retail Therapy (Forbes)

Forbes looks at Boscov's, a department store chain which is moving over to Linux. "Down the road, Boscov's is even looking to use Linux as a desktop OS that could replace its 2,500 Windows PCs. The company is already starting to tinker around with Sun's StarOffice productivity suite, which aims to compete with Microsoft Office."

Also in Forbes: a quick survey of Linux web browsers. " An interesting note: The browsers designed by programmers tinkering for free outdid the Linux versions of the ones designed for the larger PC market."

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China looks to replace Windows (ZDNet)

ZDNet looks at China's efforts to replace pirated Microsoft software. ""The monopoly of foreign office software over the Chinese market will be broken," said Chinese officials announcing the move at a trade event in Beijing last week. Zymaris believes that an operating system based on Linux open source components and the Wine project would be the fastest and cheapest way for China to achieve its goal."

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Interviews

Interview: Robert Love (KernelTrap)

KernelTrap interviews Robert Love. "Anyhow, I am interested in the various primitives we implement (spinlocks and semaphores) and how they are used. We have a really nice lightweight spinlock implementation. At the kernel summit, I discussed implementing a new lightweight mutex lock - basically a binary semaphore with none of the "special features" that our semaphores have and perhaps some spin-then-sleep behavior."

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Nick Moffitt on Crackmonkey, GNU and Bill Gates (Gnuheter)

A Swedish GNU site known as Gnuheter has interviewed Nick Moffitt, creator of the CrackMonkey list. "Eventually the list dwarfed the BBS (since Web pages are still clumsy for holding conversations), and the phenomenon known as CrackMonkey was born. I think it was about 2000 when I implemented the "no Windows MUA" filters, making it so that you pretty much have to use Free Software to post to the list (or be clever enough to fake it)." Thanks to Mikael Pawlo.

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The San Diego Union-Tribune interviews Tim O'Reilly

The San Diego Union-Tribune has interviewed Tim O'Reilly, CEO of O'Reilly and Associates on the topic of open-source software. "What open-source software is really about is an expression of the desire to keep power in the hands of the public, as opposed to the hands of private companies. We see in the news about Enron and one corporate scandal after another that there's a whole "me first" culture in corporate America. Open source represents the countervailing attitude. It's, "Let's do some things for the public good.""

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Resources

Embedded Linux Newsletter for July 18, 2002

The July 18, 2002 edition of the LinuxDevices Embedded Linux Newsletter is out. Topics include the StarPilot Linux-based mobile communication platform, a discussion of priority inheritance, the IPm Remote Terminal Unit, and more.

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Selecting Wireless Networking (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal's Phil Hughes looks into the differences between the 802.11 a,b, and g wireless networking standards. " The most mature version of this technology is 802.11b. Yes, it seems strange that 802.11b would be more mature than 802.11a, but it is."

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Quixote: a Python-Centric Web Application Framework (Linux Journal)

The Linux Journal has an introduction to the Quixote web application framework written by one of its authors. Quixote, of course, is the framework used here at LWN. "Thus, in creating Quixote, we shamelessly stole Zope's best idea (mapping URLs to Python objects) and geared the whole thing towards Python programmers. The most obvious example of this is that where Zope maps URLs to arbitrary objects in an object database, Quixote maps them to Python packages, modules and functions--objects that are easily created and manipulated by Python programmers using nothing more than a text editor. The result is a web application framework that makes the creation of dynamic web pages so easy it almost feels like cheating."

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Reviews

Start-up has locks for Secure Notebook (ZDNet)

Here's a ZDNet article about the NAH6 "Secure Notebook" product. "Secure Notebook would be the first product to take the novel approach of running Microsoft Windows on top of Debian GNU/Linux, with the underlying Linux layer ensuring that all Windows files stored on a hard drive remain encrypted."

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Device profile: NSC StarPilot mobile communication platform (LinuxDevices)

LinuxDevices.com profiles the NSC StarPilot, a mobile system with built-in GPS intended for automotive use. "Since it is a complete embedded Linux computer running in the car -- and a modular, expandable PC/104-based one at that -- new functions and applications can readily be added to adapt the device to unique requirements and future standards."

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Linux Orbit Review Grab Bag #2

Here's another set of Linux Orbit software reviews. "This month, we'll take a look at the File Roller archive management tool for your GNOME desktop and its KDE counterpart Karchiver, the awesome ROX Filer file manager and the many faces of the Xine media player."

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Borland speeds Kylix C++ for Linux development (Register)

This Register article examines Borland Software Corp's Kylix RAD environment for C++, version 3.0. "Kylix 3.0 brings RAD to an estimated three million C++ developers on Linux. Borland is playing in a highly fragmented Linux market, which provides programmers with an array of open source command-line tools that largely lack integrated features."

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Miscellaneous

Tough talk on Web radio copying (News.com)

News.com reports on efforts by the RIAA to lock down digitally distributed audio. "Mitch Glazier, the association's top lobbyist, said the RIAA is contacting IT and consumer electronics groups to ask them to consider a "broadcast flag" for digital music sent through the Internet, satellite or cable. The RIAA's move seems likely to escalate a bitter war of words between the entertainment industry, some hardware makers and open-source aficionados."

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Fair Use advocates silenced by Big Brother (Register)

The Register reports on a public workshop on digital rights management. "Brett Wynkoop of NY for Fair Use did get a comment on the record because he sat at the table with Big Hollywood and Big IT and commandeered the microphone at one point, which meeting moderator Phillip Bond, undersecretary for Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce, later objected to. "We have a structure here," Bond said more than once when fair use advocates tried to take the floor."

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Dutch Court Okays Bulk Mail by Ab.Fab (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal covers a Dutch court decision about spam. "A recent Dutch court decision lets spam continue as they begin to categorize privacy violations.In appeal, Dutch internet provider XS4ALL lost a case requesting an injunction against direct marketing company Ab.Fab to stop bothering the ISP's customers. The main discussion centered on opt-in (ISP) or opt-out (spammer or e-marketer) mail and the related issue of privacy. From the court's perspective, opt-out is good enough for ISP customers, and the disturbance from spammers is relatively low. Additionally, the court states that if the spam becomes too high in volume, you simply can obtain a new e-mail address."