Announcements
Non-Commercial announcements
EFF: Google Copies Your Hard Drive - Government Smiles in Anticipation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has sent out a press release that recommends avoiding the latest version of Google Desktop. "San Francisco - Google today announced a new "feature" of its Google Desktop software that greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy. If a consumer chooses to use it, the new "Search Across Computers" feature will store copies of the user's Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and other text-based documents on Google's own servers, to enable searching from any one of the user's computers. EFF urges consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password."
EFF Challenges Clear Channel Recording Patent
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has announced a challenge to a Clear Channel Communications patent. "The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a challenge Monday to an illegitimate patent from Clear Channel Communications. The patent -- for a system and method of creating digital recordings of live performances -- locks musical acts into using Clear Channel technology and blocks innovations by others."
FSF: GPLv3 Update #2
The Free Software Foundation has sent out an update on the GPLv3 process. High points include the availability of a video stream from the opening session of the GPLv3 conference (where Eben Moglen walked attendees through the new text) and a defense of the anti-DRM provisions.FKF and FSFE teaming up
The FSFE and FRK have announced a partnership. "The Free Knowledge Foundation / Fundación Conocimiento Libre (FKF) and Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) are proud to announce their new official associate status, working together for the promotion and protection of Free Software in Spain."
Another successful GPL enforcement
The gpl-violations.org project has sent out a press release on a successful effort to bring an Austrian company (which provides systems for the Austrian health system) into GPL compliance. "According to gpl-violations.org, SVC B.u.E. GmbH used GPL licensed software, including Linux, in the Software running on the "GINA" (Gesundsheits Informations Netzwerk Adapter). 'GINA' is installed at every doctor's clinic and acts as a gateway between the Health Information Network and the clinic."
KDE e.V. Quarterly Report Released (KDE.News)
KDE.News mentions the release of the latest KDE e.V. quarterly report. "KDE e.V. has released its second quarterly report covering the activities of KDE's legal body for the last three months. This quarter saw the first meeting of the new KDE e.V. board and of course the creation of the Technical Working Group."
Commercial announcements
ACCESS and PalmSource Announce the ACCESS Linux Platform
ACCESS Co., Ltd., and its wholly owned subsidiary, PalmSource, Inc. have announced the latest evolution of Palm OS for Linux, the ACCESS Linux Platform, tailored for smartphones and mobile devices.BEA donates code to open source Java community
BEA Systems, Inc. has announced that it will open source a significant portion of BEA Kodo, its persistence engine, under the name Open JPA. "Today's announcement will benefit all Java users, particularly those who prefer to develop using a blended model of commercial software and open source frameworks."
BitRock Releases LAMPStack 2.0
BitRock has announced the release of a new version of LAMPStack. "BitRock LAMPStack 2.0 is an update to BitRock's integrated, easy to install LAMP distribution. The new, freely available LAMPStack includes Apache, PHP, MySQL, Python, phpmyadmin and supporting libraries."
E28 Limited to Add Boingo to Linux Smartphones
Boingo Wireless Inc. has announced that the Boingo's Wi-Fi toolkit will be used in E28 Limited smartphones. "E28 Limited, a pioneer in Linux-based smartphones, and Boingo Wireless Inc., a leading Wi-Fi service provider for business travelers, today announced plans to incorporate Boingo's Wi-Fi toolkit for handsets into E28's line of dual-mode smartphones. The dual-mode smartphones will include roaming authentication to Boingo's 25,000 Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide to enhance Internet access options and provide high-bandwidth, low-cost alternative networks for broadband applications such as VoIP and streaming media."
A new Linux/Windows TCO study
Levanta and OSDL have put out a press release announcing the results of a Linux v. Windows study. Surprisingly, this one comes out in favor of Linux. "'Get the Truth on Linux Management' concludes that in many cases, Linux is likely to be a significantly less expensive platform to acquire and manage than Windows. Respondents indicated that the average resource costs (salaries, training, and support) are no longer significantly higher than Windows and that the management of Linux is of minimal concern when considering the overall TCO." Those wanting to skip the release can go straight to the executive summary or the full report [PDF].
Linux Networx Announces Largest Supercomputing Order
Linux Networx has announced its largest supercomputer order. "Linux Networx, the Linux Supercomputing Company, announced today that the Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP), has placed the largest single order for Linux Supercomputers in the company's history. The DoD purchased five supercomputers from Linux Networx including three Advanced Technology Clusters (ATC's) and one LS-1 for the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Major Shared Resource Center (MSRC), and an additional LS-1 for Dugway Proving Ground."
LPI Certifications Exceed 30,000 Worldwide
The Linux Professional Institute has issued over 30,000 LPI Certifications. "This milestone clearly demonstrates the growing demand for a solid base of highly skilled and certified Linux professionals. It is also further evidence of the value of a vendor-neutral Linux certification to the enterprise environment where such a concrete demonstration of skills and knowledge is a necessity," said Jim Lacey, President and CEO of the Linux Professional Institute."
MySQL AB Secures $18.5 Million in Series C Funding
MySQL AB has announced the receipt of new funding. " MySQL AB, developer of the world's most popular open source database, today announced the completion of an $18.5 million Series C round of financing led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), the Menlo Park, California-based venture capital firm. Corporate investors in the round were Intel Capital; Red Hat; SAP Ventures, a division of SAP AG; and Presidio STX, the U.S.-based venture investment subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation. MySQL AB will use the proceeds to fund continued growth into the enterprise database market, including new product development as well as expansion of business development, sales and marketing activities."
Oracle buys Sleepycat Software
Oracle has announced the acquisition of long-time open source database supplier Sleepycat Software. "Sleepycat Software's Berkeley DB is the most widely used open source database in the world with deployments estimated at more than 200 million. Berkeley DB is distributed under a dual license model, i.e. available under a public license and also available under a commercial license. Well-known open source projects such as the Linux and BSD UNIX operating systems, Apache web server, OpenLDAP directory, OpenOffice productivity software, and many others embed Berkeley DB technology." Terms not disclosed. Also not disclosed is whether there will be any changes in the Berkeley DB licensing terms.
rPath launches rBuilder
rPath has announced the general availability of its flagship product, rBuilder. rBuilder is a platform for creating and maintaining Linux software appliances. "rBuilder transforms Linux from being just another port for application developers to being a strategic element of a subscription business model."
SGI and GTSI Form Government Channels Alliance
SGI has announced an alliance with GTSI Corp. to grow Linux System Sales in the US government sector. "In a joint effort to grow revenues from the sale of 64-bit Linux(R) solutions to government agencies at all levels, Silicon Graphics (OTC: SGID) and GTSI Corp. (Nasdaq: GTSI) today announced an agreement establishing GTSI as a front line government channels supplier providing SGI(R) solutions to federal, state and local government customers."
STMicroelectronics Announces Wireless LAN Chip for Mobile Phones
STMicroelectronics has announced a new 802.11g IC for use in cellular phones, Linux drivers are available. "Suitable for enterprise smart phones and consumer multimedia handsets, this complete WLAN solution provides high-speed power efficient IEEE802.11g performance without compromising battery life. The compact nature of the STLC4370 reference design has enabled its design into multiple form-factor mobile phones including candy bar, compact PDA, and innovative fold-open keyboard designs."
Sun Microsystems Opens Door for Open Sourcing SPARC Technology
Sun Microsystems has announced that its OpenSPARC initiative has released the UltraSPARC Architecture 2005 and HyperVisor API specifications to help jumpstart the porting of Linux, BSD and other operating systems, middleware and applications to the UltraSPARC T1 processor.Tecnick.com releases all products under an open-source license
Web Software distributor Tecnick.com is switching to an open-source distribution model. "After 5 years of commercial distribution, Tecnick.com has made all its products Open Source Software by adopting the licensing policy of the Free Software Foundation. The new business model is simple, the software is essentially free, customers pay only for enhancements, services and support."
TimeSys Introduces LinuxLink Subscription for MPC8548E
TimeSys has announced the availability of a LinuxLink Subscription for the Freescale's MPC8548E Communications Processor. "LinuxLink by TimeSys(TM) is the first commercial offering to support the majority of embedded developers who build and assemble their own commercial-grade custom Linux platform by delivering on-demand access to continuously-updated processor-optimized Linux and components, a rich development environment and community support. This is a significant departure from commercial Linux vendors that dictate feature sets and release schedules, resulting in platforms that diverge significantly from the Open Source community."
New Books
Penetration Tester's Open Source Toolkit--latest from Syngress
Syngress has published the book Penetration Tester's Open Source Toolkit by Johnny Long.
Resources
Delivering free software at 2Gbit/s
Mattias Wadenstein mentioned this overview on how to distribute large projects over the Internet. "This is a brief overview on how the Academic Computer Club at Umeå University managed to setup a system that could sustain 2Gbit/s of downloads to the general public for the latest Debian and Ubuntu releases."
The Globus Consortium Journal
The February 2006 edition of the The Globus Consortium Journal is out. This issue covers Grid and Enterprise Data Management.Paper: Lessons from the Sony DRM episode
Alex Halderman and Edward Felten have published a retrospective on the SonyBMG rootkit episode [PDF]. "This paper is a case study of the design, implementation, and deployment of anti-copying technologies. We present a detailed technical analysis of the security and privacy implications of two systems, XCP and MediaMax, which were developed by separate companies (First4Internet and SunnComm, respectively) and shipped on millions of music compact discs by Sony-BMG, the world's second largest record company. We consider the design choices the companies faced, examine the choices they made, and weigh the consequences of those choices. The lessons that emerge are valuable not only for compact disc copy protection, but for copy protection systems in general."
Contests and Awards
EFF: Nominate a Pioneer for EFF's Pioneer Awards
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is calling for nominations for its 2006 Pioneer Awards. "Pioneer Awards nominations are open to individuals or organizations from any country. Nominations are reviewed by a panel of judges chosen for their knowledge of the technical, legal, and social issues associated with information technology."
Upcoming Events
aKademy-es 2006 in Barcelona (KDE.News)
KDE.News has announced the 2006 aKademy-es event. "aKademy-es 2006 is scheduled to be a small event for all KDE users and developers from Spain to attend talks, share experiences, etc. It will take place in Barcelona from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th of March."
European Common Lisp Meeting 2006
The European Common Lisp Meeting 2006 will be held in Hamburg, Germany on April 29-30 2006.Freedom-to-Connect to Promote Internet Freedom
pulvermedia and Isen.com LLC has announced the Freedom-to-Connect summit. The event will be held in Washington, DC on April 3 and 4, 2006. "This two-day summit will bring business, policy and technology thought leaders to the nation's capital to share their perspectives, insights and wisdom, thus helping to build a better, more complete understanding of how policy and technology might evolve together to create and advance the future of communications and the Internet."
FUDCon Boston 2006 Call for Papers
A call for papers has gone out for the Fedora FUDCon Boston 2006 The event takes place in Boston, MA on April 7 after the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo, submissions are due by February 23.Registration Open for Gelato ICE Conference
Registration is open for the Gelato ICE: Itanium® Conference & Expo. The event will take place in San Jose, CA on April 23-26, 2006.LUGOD Installfest
The Linux Users Group of Davis, CA will hold a Linux installfest on February 18 from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM.Vote for the next location of the OpenOffice.org Conference (OOoCon)
The OpenOffice.org Conference Team is looking for a location for the 2006 OOoCon. "Vienna, Austria and Lyon, France have been proposed as locations for the OpenOffice.org Conference 2006 (OOoCon 2006). We invite you to go to the following web page to submit a vote for your favourite location." Vote here.
Xara sponsors first Open Source Graphics conference
Xara is sponsoring the Libre Graphics Meeting, the event takes place in Lyon, France on March 17-19, 2006.Events: February 16 - April 13, 2006
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| February 16, 2006 | Open Source Business Conference(OSBCWest 06) | (The Argent Hotel)San Francisco, CA |
| February 20 - 21, 2006 | EuSecWest/core06 conference | London, England |
| February 24 - 26, 2006 | PyCon 2006 | (Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum hotel)Addison, TX |
| February 25 - 26, 2006 | FOSDEM 2006 | (ULB Campus)Brussels, Belgium |
| February 26 - 28, 2006 | OSDC::Israel::2006 | (Netanya Academic College)Netanya, Israel |
| February 27 - March 3, 2006 | SELinux Symposium and Developer Summit | (Wyndham Hotel)Baltimore, MD |
| February 28 - March 3, 2006 | Black Hat Europe Briefings and Training 2006 | (Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky)Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
| March 3 - 4, 2006 | LinuxForum 2006 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| March 3 - 5, 2006 | Akademy-es 2006 | Barcelona, Spain |
| March 6 - 9, 2006 | O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference(ETech) | (Manchester Grand Hyatt)San Diego, CA |
| March 8 - 10, 2006 | New Orleans Plone Symposium | (Astor Crowne Plaza)New Orleans, LA |
| March 17 - 19, 2006 | Libre Graphics Meeting 2006 | (Ecole d'Ingénieurs CPE)Lyon, France |
| March 18 - 19, 2006 | Rockbox International Developers Conference 2006 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| March 19 - 24, 2006 | Novell BrainShare 2006 | (Salt Palace Convention Center)Salt Lake City, UT |
| March 21 - 23, 2006 | UKUUG Spring Conference 2006 | Durham, UK |
| March 25, 2006 | Penguin Day | Seattle, WA |
| March 29 - 31, 2006 | PHP Quebec 2006 | (Plaza Montreal Hotel)Montreal, Canada |
| April 3 - 6, 2006 | Embedded Systems Conference(ESC) | (McEnery Convention Center)San Jose, CA |
| April 3 - 7, 2006 | CanSecWest/core06 | (Marriott Renaissance Harbourside hotel)Vancouver, Canada |
| April 3 - 4, 2006 | Freedom To Connect 2006(FTC) | (AFI Silver Theater)Washington, DC |
| April 3 - 6, 2006 | LinuxWorld Conference and Expo | (Boston Convention and Exposition Center)Boston, MA |
| April 7 - 9, 2006 | Notocaon 3 | (Holiday Inn Select Cleveland)Cleveland, OH |
| April 11 - 12, 2006 | CELF Embedded Linux Conference | San Jose, California |
Page editor: Forrest Cook