Linux in the news

FTC complaint flags NFL, MLB, studios for overstating copyright claims (ars technica)

Here's an ars technica article about a complaint filed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association - a group which includes Google, Microsoft, and Red Hat, among others. "The CCIA's complaint fingers the NFL, Major League Baseball, NBC Universal, Morgan Creek, DreamWorks, Harcourt Inc., and Penguin Group (USA) for deceptive trade practices, accusing them of systematically misrepresenting the rights of consumers to use copyrighted material. 'These warnings that we have been seeing for decades are false,' CCIA spokesperson Jake Ward told Ars Technica in a Monday interview. 'They are a misrepresentation of the law and a violation of consumers' rights.'"

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Do we need an open hardware license? (Linux.com)

Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier wonders if we need an open hardware license. "Nokia researcher Jamey Hicks recently proposed a Open Source Hardware License (OSHL) for approval by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). Is there a need for a hardware-specific license? If so, what makes hardware different from software?"

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Linux companies that didn't deserve to die (Linux-Watch)

Linux-Watch looks at five Linux companies that aren't around anymore. "A recent story entitled, "Dearly Departed: Companies and Products That Didn't Deserve to Die" didn't cover Linux or open-source companies. That got me to thinking. So here, without further adieu, is my list of five Linux companies that died before their time."

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Linux: It's Not Just for Servers Anymore (Wired)

Wired covers the O'Reilly Open Source Convention. "After years of being relegated to server racks and the desktops of ultrageeks, Linux is finally making some headway as a viable alternative to Windows on the consumer desktop. That's the optimistic message delivered by a newly energized contingent of Linux proponents. By employing the same consumer-friendly marketing techniques practiced by Microsoft, and by taking advantage of the rising popularity of web-based applications, Linux vendors are getting ready for what they say will be a wave of consumer interest in the free operating system. "This is the next great battle, and this is where Linux has never really been before -- Linux as a consumer product," says Gerry Carr, marketing manager of Canonical, one of many Linux distribution makers attending the ninth annual O'Reilly Open Source Convention taking place here this week."

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Microsoft trying to get code open-source certification (LinuxWorld)

LinuxWorld covers an announcement by Microsoft at OSCON regarding their shared source license being submitted to the OSI for approval. "'I welcome this move by Microsoft,' Asay wrote. 'It continues to impress me as being one of the few big companies that truly understands open source, even if I don't always like how it works with the open-source community.'"

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Microsoft’s big win in China (TechRepublic)

TechRepublic has declared Microsoft the victor over Linux in China and looks at how that came to be. "However, Red Flag Linux has turned out to be little more than a key bargaining chip in a high stakes game of commerce between the Chinese government and the world’s largest software maker. Thanks to some major concessions on source code and a precipitous price drop, the Chinese government has now thoroughly embraced Windows and Office. And thanks to a major about-face in the way that it deals with piracy, Microsoft has also won over the Chinese people."

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Vancouver law firm trades in MS for desktop Linux (IT Business)

ITBusiness.ca profiles a law office which switched to Linux in Vancouver. "Whitelaw's rollout took one weekend and users were able to adapt to Linux using only a one-page instructional handout, says [IT manager Richard] Giroux. He adds that the change to Linux has reduced desktop maintenance by 20 per cent, 'and that's a conservative number'"

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CPAL Approved By OSI (Groklaw)

Groklaw looks into the creation of the Common Public Attribution License. "Ross Mayfield of SocialText submitted a license, the Common Public Attribution License (CPAL), which was just approved by OSI as an Open Source license. It is being spun by some as a "victory" for the logo-on-every-page crowd, but it's not that simple. I'd describe it as a compromise in that the license is a very limited arrangement to make sure authors do get some acknowledgement if others do, and the language comes from an OSI-approved attribution license already in existence."

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Fedora stats offer insight into Linux usage (Linux.com)

Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier talks with Fedora's Max Spevack about some recently released statistics. "The Fedora Project offered a peek under its kimono recently with details about Fedora 7 adoption and other statistics. Fedora 7 has snagged more than 300,000 users since its release at the end of May. While that sounds pretty good, Fedora Core 6 managed to attract more than 400,000 in roughly the same amount of time after its release. We asked Max Spevack, the Fedora project leader, whether the numbers are telling the full story."

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How To Manage An iPod From A Linux Desktop With Amarok (Howto forge)

Howto forge describes how to make Linux and an iPod play nicely together. "It covers how you can upload MP3 files from your desktop to your iPod, download MP3 files from your iPod to your desktop, and how you can delete files on the iPod. Normally, Apple's iTunes software is needed to manage an iPod, but iTunes is not available for Linux. Fortunately, there are Linux alternatives such as Amarok that can handle the task." HowtoForge also covers this using Rythmbox.

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Troubleshooting Linux Audio, Part 2 (Linux Journal)

Here is part 2 of Dave Phillips' Linux Journal series on troubleshooting Linux audio. "In my last installment of this series I introduced a variety of GUI-based tools that can help you discover more about your system to help identify potentially troublesome components. This week we'll look at some of the command-line utilities that do similar work. In fact, some of these utilities are the engines underneath the more attractive GUI tools, and there may be good reasons to employ the engines directly instead of relying upon their graphic incarnations."

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Startup Locks Down Mobile Linux (Dark Reading)

Dark Reading takes a peek at a la Mobile, a Linux startup with a locked-down version of the OS for mobile phones. "Among the security features in the Linux mobile phone OS are a secure boot loader, which uses a digital signature to verify the kernel at startup; data encryption on all data on the device; application sandboxing, which puts unsigned apps in a separate sandbox; and a secure firmware update, which digitally signs and verifies the 'bootloader' before firmware gets updated."

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Ingimp's tools may improve FOSS usability (Linux.com)

Bruce Byfield takes a look at ingimp. "Since May, ingimp, a modified version of the GIMP, has collected daily logs on what users do with the program in the hope of improving its usability. The richness of this data is unprecedented, yet improving the GIMP is only a sideshow for the project. What ingimp is really designed to do, according to the project's leader, is develop the software and practices to put free and open source software (FOSS) usability testing on a professional footing "without placing an undue burden on either the developers or users.""

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Linux tool points out power-wasting applications (LinuxWorld)

LinuxWorld's Don Marti takes a look at powertop. "In other words, some of the software on a Linux system is like the person who turns the lights on when he comes in the room, then leaves them on when leaving a minute later. PowerTOP points the finger at programs that wake up the system."

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In-vehicle Linux system assists first responders (LinuxDevices)

LinuxDevices looks at a Debian Linux-based, in-vehicle computer intended for emergency first responders. "The device's embedded operating system is based on a customized Debian ARM version 2.6 Linux kernel, according to Thorcom. Production units run with a minimal set of OS packages, as required for system operation. "Special versions of the VR2000 are available with integral hard disk drives and full Debian Linux installation for software developers.""

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Grandpa Gets a Dell with Ubuntu Linux Preinstalled (Groklaw)

Groklaw has a review of a reader's experience getting a Dell with Ubuntu installed. "First, sound. The sound card was automatically found by the operating system, and ready to go for basic things, like mpegs and pre-recorded CD's. I know it can do CD audio, because I put on 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' on Monday night, and it rained in the Valley of the Sun on Tuesday Night (for reference, see Walt Disney's 'Fantasia', the Mickey Mouse sequence). Midi (which is electronically produced sound, with no actual basis in reality) was a different story. There are a number of ways to get Midi to work, and some of them require a great deal of effort and knowledge. I cheated. I downloaded a program called Automatix which, in turn, downloaded the programs and codecs that I would need for a great deal of multi-media experience. "

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Fuzz testing with zzuf (Linux.com)

Joe Barr looks at zzuf in a Linux.com article. "Fuzz testing, which uses random input to test software for bugs, has been the biggest thing to happen in IT security in quite awhile. Now you can quickly and easily direct your own fuzz testing ops, thanks to a cool little program called zzuf. We can thank stupid users for the fuzz testing craze -- users who enter dates where dollar amounts are supposed to go, or digits where their names belong, or a ZIP code where a Social Security number is expected"

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SPI election results announced (Linux.com)

Linux.com reports on the Software in the Public Interest elections. "Bdale Garbee was re-elected as president of the board, while Joerg Jaspert was elected vice president and Luk Claes secretary. These positions will be officially voted on by the board on August 1. However, since only one board member has stood for the offices of president and vice president, the only actual vote should be for secretary, with a runoff between Claes and Neil McGovern, the current secretary (who did not have to stand for re-election this year)."

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