Announcements
Non-Commercial announcements
CodeWeavers launches Wine Installer Challenge
CodeWeavers has announced the Wine Installer Challenge "We are on a mission to improve Wine until it can run nearly every Windows program, and we would like your help. Over the past year we've completed support for a set of technologies key to making Windows applications install: the Component Object Model (COM aka OLE) DLLs and the Microsoft Installer service (MSI). That work is now largely done, and we would like to start taking advantage of it to showcase what Wine can do. The basic idea is that if you send us a piece of software, we will commit to making it install. In exchange, we need you to promise to run a regression test of that installation, thereby insuring that it continues to install into the future."
OSDL announces Patent Commons Project
Here is the announcement for OSDL's "patent commons" project. Details are scarce, but it looks like a way for individual developers to contribute patents to a pool where they would be licensed for use in free software - and, presumably, as a defensive weapon in the case of a patent-based attack on free software. The PR includes endorsements from Linus Torvalds and Eben Moglen.
Commercial announcements
Equilibrium announces dynamic MediaRich Server for Linux
Equilibrium has announced the availability of Equilibrium MediaRich(r) Server for Linux. Equilibrium MediaRich Server for Linux is server-based media templating software that automates image production and enables the dynamic delivery of visual assets to any Web server cache and multi-channel device.JasperSoft Unveils JasperReports DBA Dashboard for MySQL
JasperSoft has announced the release of JasperReports DBA Dashboard. "The open source JasperReports DBA Dashboard for MySQL is designed to give MySQL administrators the ability to monitor performance and use, plus identify problems across an unlimited number of MySQL database servers."
Indiana Schools test desktop Linux machines
Linspire, Inc. has announced a test of Linux-based desktop systems by the Indiana school system. "Linspire, Inc. and Wintergreen Systems announced today that Indiana high schools are currently testing desktop Linux machines in school systems across the state as part of a plan to provide every public high school student with a computer. If successful, the plan, called the Indiana Access Program, will provide each high school student in the state with an individual desktop Linux computer for instructional use in each classroom they visit during the day -- meaning a potential 300,000 Linux machines could be deployed over coming years."
Novell Appoints Susan Heystee as President, Novell North America
Novell, Inc. has announced the appointment of Susan Heystee as president of Novell North America. "Heystee joined Novell in March 2004, as vice president and area general manager for the Midwest. She is an accomplished leader in the enterprise software and services industry, having held senior positions with SSA Global and Baan, where she was executive vice president, worldwide sales and delivery, and also served as president, Baan Americas."
OSDL Claims Linux Making Major Gains in Global Retail Sector
Open Source Development Lab has announced that Linux is rapidly expanding in the $6 Trillion annual retail industry. ""We are seeing significant Linux adoption in the retail sector as companies look for flexibility, reliability and low cost as their legacy IT systems near end of life," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. "The increasing availability of Linux-based solutions from both major vendors and ISVs is accelerating the trend. In retail, it's all about lowering costs, streamlining supply chains, and improving margins.""
PathScale and Absoft release Software Development Kit for AMD Opteron Clusters
PathScale and Absoft have announced general availability of Absoft's new High Performance Computing Software Development Kit (HPC SDK) optimized for clusters based on AMD's 32- and 64-bit AMD Opteron processors running Linux and featuring Fortran and EKOPath C++ compilers from PathScale.REALbasic 2005 Release 2 Ships
A new release of REALbasic 2005, a cross-platform BASIC language IDE, has been announced. "REALbasic 2005 Release 2 is currently available for Windows and Macintosh. The REALbasic for Linux Public Beta has been also updated. REALbasic for Linux is scheduled for release later this month."
Red Hat VP to Oversee Open-Source Software Practice for Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
The law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. has announced that former Red Hat Vice President Bryan A. Sims has joined the firm to spearhead the firm's corporate and intellectual property law practice focused on the open-source computer software business.Trolltech Sponsors Major KDE Contributor (KDE.News)
Trolltech has announced their full-time sponsorship of KDE developer Aaron Seigo. "This arrangement will enable Aaron to devote his full time and attention to KDE software projects such as Plasma, which aims to reshape the desktop, as well as to engage in greater Open Source community participation and support."
Userful, Alacos and Win4Lin team on Desktop Linux effort
Userful, Alacos and Win4Lin, Inc. have sent out a combined LinuxWorld press release concerning their desktop Linux efforts. "A trio of desktop Linux companies have teamed up to provide a complete pathway to migrate enterprises to desktop Linux, a feat no single company has yet matched. These companies' solutions enable organizations large and small to cost-effectively leverage the Linux desktop and make it attractive and easy to move to the flexible and open desktop platform."
LinuxWorld, San Francisco - the press releases
LinuxWorld Conference & Expo started today in San Francisco. As always many companies use the event as an opportunity to make announcements about their latest and greatest products. Here are a few of today's announcements:- Open Country adds support for Progeny Componentized Linux (CL) 3.0 with the latest version of OC-Manager, a systems management solutions for Linux servers, blades, desktops and appliances.
- Linux Professional Institute (LPI) announced improvements to its certification program.
- OpenLogic announced partnerships with Advent Consulting, Black Duck and Virtuas to enhance enterprise open source offerings.
- VMware teams with AMD, BEA Systems, BMC Software, Broadcom, Cisco, Computer Associates International, Dell, Emulex, HP, IBM, Intel, Mellanox, Novell, QLogic and Red Hat to advance open virtualization standards.
LinuxWorld, San Francisco - more press releases
LinuxWorld Conference & Expo started on Monday in San Francisco. As always many companies use the event as an opportunity to make announcements about their latest and greatest products. Here are some of Monday's announcements:- LSI Logic Corporation is demonstrating the iMegaRAID family.
- Bivio Networks launched the Bivio 500, a network appliance designed from the ground up to enable wire-speed execution of Linux network applications at multi-Gigabit speeds.
- Emu Software makes it easier for enterprises to migrate to Linux with its NetDirector Linux Application Management Suite.
- Dell introduces new PowerEdge servers and new support offerings from Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating systems, MySQL database application, MySQL Network, JBoss application server software and JBoss Network.
- Genuitec LLC released v4.0 of the MyEclipse Enterprise Workbench, a platform and tool suite for J2EE.
Tuesday announcements from LinuxWorld
The LinuxWorld announcements continue to pour in. Here's subset of Tuesday's press releases:- Open Country announced that it is sponsoring Webmin.
- IBM announced support services for Apache Software Foundation (ASF) Geronimo application server software.
- Wyse Technology is showing off its newest Linux-based thin-client, the V50.
- The FreeNX development project announced the upcoming release of FreeNX-0.5.0, "The LWE San Francisco Release -- 'Seamless Printing' Edition", with demonstrations at the Linuxprinting.org booth.
- LPI announced that its LPIC-1 Program has been accredited by the National Commission For Certifying Agencies.
- Opengear has a working prototype of its OKVM software and hardware developer kit.
Novell's LinuxWorld announcements
Novell has made several announcements, timed to coincide with LinuxWorld. Here is a subset:- Novell partners with MySQL to provide enterprise support to its customers.
- Here's the official OpenSUSE announcement.
- Novell announced the availability of an enhanced Novell(R) Open Enterprise Server featuring performance advances and improved migration capabilities.
- Novell announced the selection of key open source application partners as part of its growing Market Start program. The first partners in the program include Astaro, GroundWork, InsynQ, Lumen Software, Pentaho and SugarCRM.
- Ritz Camera has selected Novell(R) Linux Desktop for its in-store systems.
Darl sends a letter
Admit it: you've been wondering what happened to Darl McBride. Well, he's back; the SCO group has sent out an extended Darlgram (an "open letter") as a press release. "Conversely, when Linux customers run into problems and need professional technical support they really have only two choices. First, they can turn to the Linux distributor who played a big role in packaging the product but had nothing to do with its core development. Or second, they can turn to the Linux volunteer community. These volunteers were not paid to develop the product; and they received nothing from the Linux distributor, there's no obligation for that volunteer to support the product. Would you really want to trust the backbone of your business to the likely unpredictable response times of this Linux 'volunteer fire department' support model?" Somebody evidently forgot to tell Darl that the "no support" FUD line died out in the late 1990's.
New Books
Open Source for the Enterprise
O'Reilly has published the book Open Source for the Enterprise by Woods and Gautam Guliani.Protect Your Privacy Online, at Home and at Work
O'Reilly has published the book Protect Your Privacy Online, at Home and at Work by Dan Tynan.
Resources
CodeZoo Adds Python and Ruby Components
New Python and Ruby sections have been added to the O'Reilly CodeZoo repository site. "Guido von Rossum, creator of Python, said, "Python developers have a well-deserved reputation for creating and using code efficiently. The new CodeZoo Python repository gives them a powerful new tool to speed up their development process." David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails, said, "Ruby's wealth of libraries and frameworks can't help the influx of programmers coming to the language of late if they don't know what's out there. CodeZoo helps shine light of all these great components and helps programmers reuse more and recode less.""
Felten: Hollywood designing our computers
Ed Felten has posted some excerpts from a Microsoft white paper (available as a 2MB Word-format document) on "content protection" for Windows systems. It shows that the entertainment industry is now truly driving the design of our hardware and Microsoft's software. For example, before a new cipher for content encryption will be implemented: "The evidence must be presented to Hollywood and other content owners, and they must agree that it provides the required level of security. Written proof from at least three of the major Hollywood studios is required." The document as a whole is a worthwhile read - it shows the extent to which the industry is willing to go to protect our computers from their owners.
FSF Europe Newsletter
The August 6, 2005 edition of the FSF Europe Newsletter is online with the latest news from the Free Software Foundation Europe.Open Source Press Release Database
opensourcexperts.com has launched a new Open Source Press Release Database site. "This system is specifically designed for organizations and companies who wish to promote their Open Source related products, services, and case studies in a journalist friendly form. Commercial announcements are welcome as long as they relate or are based "on-top-of" Open Source software."
O'Reilly and Greenplum Launch Beta of O'Reilly Connection
O'Reilly and Greenplum have launched the O'Reilly Connection, a job-oriented social network site. "With the aim of "uniting the global geekforce," O'Reilly Connection is a tech-centric jobs and networking site for developers and those who want to hire them. The service was conceived and created by Greenplum, a company commercializing the open-source database PostgreSQL for Business Intelligence (BI)."
Contests and Awards
Winners of the TuxMobil GNU/Linux Award 2005 Nominated
The winners of the first TuxMobil GNU/Linux Award 2005 have been nominated. "This year the award honors five Free Software projects, which are improving Linux for mobile computers."
Upcoming Events
Blender Conference 2005 CFP
A call for proposals has gone out for the Blender Conference 2005. The event will be held on October 14-16, 2005 at De Waag in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Presentations are due by August 15.goto10 at V2_ in September 2005
A reminder has gone out for the goto10 Audio Signal Processing workshop. The event will take place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on September 4, 2005.Reminder: linux.conf.au 2006 - Call For Papers
Those interested in speaking at the 2006 linux.conf.au need to have their abstracts in by September 5, 2005. See this announcement (click below) for other important lca dates.Call for Papers -- OSS Database Conference
The Open Source Database Conference 2005 has issued a call for papers. Proposals are due by August 19. The conference takes place in Frankfurt, Germany November 7 - 9, 2005.UK Free Software conference, 13 AUG 2005
The UK Free Software conference will be held on August 13, 2005 in London, UK: "Conference to include talks on free software, topical issues and an all-day exhibition."
Events: August 11 - October 6, 2005
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| August 11, 2005 | LinuxWorld Conference and Expo | (Moscone Center)San Francisco, CA |
| August 13, 2005 | AFFS Annual Conference | (The Resource Centre)London, UK |
| August 20, 2005 | Free Audio and Video Event(FAVE) | (Trinity Community and Arts Centre)Bristol, UK |
| August 27 - September 4, 2005 | aKademy 2005 | (University of Málaga)Málaga Spain |
| August 31 - September 2, 2005 | YAPC::EU::2005 | (University of Minho)Braga, Portugal |
| September 1 - 2, 2005 | Symposium on Security for Asia Network(SyScAN'05) | (The Dusit Thani Hotel)Bangkok, Thailand |
| September 1 - 4, 2005 | GOTO10 ASP digital sound workshop | Rotterdam, the Netherlands |
| September 5 - 9, 2005 | International Computer Music Conference(ICMC 2005) | Barcelona, Spain |
| September 14 - 16, 2005 | php|works | (Holiday Inn Yorkdale)Toronto, Canada |
| September 16 - 18, 2005 | ToorCon 7 | (San Diego Convention Center)San Diego, CA |
| September 19 - 21, 2005 | Plone Conference 2005 | (Semper Depot, Lehargasse)Vienna, Austria |
| September 20 - 23, 2005 | New Security Paradigms Workshop(NSPW) | (UCLA Conference Center)Lake Arrowhead, California |
| September 23 - 24, 2005 | Sixth Symposium on Trends in Functional Programming(TFP 2005) | Tallinn, Estonia |
| September 26 - 29, 2005 | Hack in the Box Security Conference(HITBSecConf2005) | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| September 28 - 30, 2005 | OpenOffice.org Conference 2005(OO.oCon) | Koper (Capodistria), Slovenia |
| October 1, 2005 | Ohio LinuxFest 2005 | Columbus, OH |
| October 5 - 6, 2005 | LinuxWorld London | Olympia, London, UK |
| October 6, 2005 | Fedora Users and Developers Conference(FUDCon London) | (LinuxWorld Conference and Expo UK)London, UK |
Web sites
Qt Developer Blogs Launched (KDE.News)
KDE.News has announced the launch of the QDevBlog site. "QDevBlog has launched featuring the thoughts of all your favourite Trolltech engineers. Currently "the ramblings of engineers" has a lead entry from KDE founder and Qt lead developer Matthias Ettrich on some basic thoughts about KDE 4."
Page editor: Forrest Cook
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