Linux in the news
Recommended Reading
Does the Linux Desktop Innovate Too Much? (Datamation)
Bruce Byfield wonders if the Linux desktop is evolving too quickly. "Is there a compelling argument for innovation? Or has the free desktop reached a point where it satisfies most users and any attempt to change its current state is going to be regarded as an unwarranted intrusion on the average person's activities?"
Why Parrot is Important (Linux Magazine)
Allison Randal describes the motivations behind Parrot in this Linux Magazine article. "Good tools lower the risk of trying out new ideas. Spending 10 years implementing a radical new concept in programming languages, alien to users of existing languages, is a daunting prospect. Spending a few weeks, on the other hand, is quite tolerable. Successful experiments can quickly go on to solve more problems, while the unsuccessful ones can be quickly set aside, applying the lessons learned to the next language."
Trade Shows and Conferences
KOffice Developers At The First ODF Plugfest (KDEDot)
KDE.News covers the First ODF Plugfest. "Dutch minister for Foreign Trade Frank Heemskerk held an opening speech, outlining why the Dutch government pushes the usage of the three Os: Open Standards, Open Content and Open Source Software. Interoperability brings a better market and thus leads to better quality, lower prices, more innovation and vendor independence. The Netherlands wants to join the Scandinavian countries in becoming one of the leading countries in adopting ODF and Open Source software. Unfortunately, as we learned later on, the adoption of ODF is progressing very slowly."
OpenSource World Unlocks the Word on Keynote Speakers (Linux Journal)
Linux Journal looks forward to the OpenSource World conference, previously known as LinuxWorld. "Keynote speakers are always a highlight of any conference, and OpenSource World is no exception. The expo's main speaker will be California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who is known to the Open Source community for understanding and advocating Open Source software. Additionally, there will be a keynote panel, "Assessing the Real Market Opportunities and Obstacles for Making Cloud Computing Mainstream," lead by CloudWorld conference chairman Jeffrey Kaplan and including discussion and debate by panelists Joe Weinman of AT&T Business Solutions, Sam Charrington of Appistry, and James Urquhart of Cisco."
Open Video Conference an Amazing Step Forward (J5's Blog)
J5's Blog has a review of the Open Video Conference. "I was mainly there looking to see what video producers wanted from FOSS application developers and to support the PiTiVi/GStreamer teams on behalf of the GNOME Foundation. It is amazing to see the PiTiVi non-linear video editing app at such a usable state. While Edward Hervey gave his mini presentation on PiTiVi I was busy hacking up a How To Make Chocolate Truffles video from pictures and clips I had laying around. Afterwards I showed him some of the bugs I encountered in the 0.13.1 release and he just rattled off, fixed in git, fixed in git, fixed in git etc." (Thanks to Paul Wise).
The SCO Problem
More on the Bankruptcy Hearing - Who Exactly Is The Proposed Buyer? (Groklaw)
Groklaw attempts to uncover the buyer of bankrupt SCO. "According to our update 5, Stephen Norris signed the agreement, but now the question is, for which entity? And when was the entity formed? Recently? Is that the sound of wings I hear? It makes one wonder who exactly is the final buyer, particularly because the Berger Singerman lawyer who worked out the deal, Mr. Kaplan, reportedly testified at the hearing that he wasn't clear what Mr. Norris' role was. According to update 5, he testified like this: "The principal businessman is in London. The principal is in London. I am not certain of Norris' role. I have not been aware of Mr. Norris." So, the only possible response to that is, what's up with that? He is referring to Eric LeBlan, presumably, or at least according to our eyewitnesses' reports, as the UK businessman. But you might want to mentally put a marker here, to make sure to watch this issue as more information arrives. At some point SCO will have to file with the SEC presumably. And as you know, Darl McBride testified under oath in a prior court hearing that he always tells the SEC the truth."
Companies
Red Hat profit rises, bucks tech industry trend (Reuters)
Reuters reports on Red Hat's latest financial results. "Software company Red Hat Inc (RHT.N) reported a 7 percent rise in quarterly profit onWednesday, bucking an industry trend of declining earnings, as margins widened under the scrutiny of its cost-conscious CEO. Operating margin rose to 23.4 percent from 21.8 percent a year earlier, after excluding stock compensation and amortization expenses. That was better than the 23 percent the company projected three months ago."
Linux Adoption
Linux on Netbooks: The Smoking Gun (Groklaw)
Groklaw covers reports from Computex in Taiwan, regarding the death of Linux netbooks. "Is there no regulatory body that can get Microsoft's fat fanny off of Linux so it can get some air? Instead the DOJ are investigating *Google*? What Microsoft is reportedly doing is a pimple on the antitrust regulators' noses. We see it. Why can't you? Where are you? Please don't wait until Linux is totally crushed."
Linux at Work
The triumph of Linux as a supercomputer OS (Royal Pingdom)
Royal Pingdom analyzes the results of a recent supercomputer survey. "Operating systems on supercomputers used to be custom-made affairs, but this has changed. These days, Linux has become a popular choice for supercomputers. But how popular? You may be surprised. Top500.org maintains a list of the fastest supercomputers in the world. A new list was published yesterday (it happens twice a year), so we took the opportunity to go through the list and find out what OS the top 20 supercomputers are using."
Legal
ScummVM GPL conflict with Atari
The ScummVM project announced a GPL conflict involving Atari and Mistic Software Inc. The issue has been settled. "In December 2008, members of the ScummVM team discovered that three games for the Nintendo Wii console ("Freddi Fish: The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds", published in Germany under the name "Fritzi Fisch und der verschwundene Schatz"; "Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside", published in Germany under the name "Pyjama Pit: Keine Angst im Dunkeln"; and "Spy Fox: Dry Cereal", published in Germany under the name "Spy Fox in: Das Milchkartell") made use of ScummVM, without complying with the terms of the GPL license. They sent a warning letter to the German distributor of these games, Atari Deutschland GmbH, who was not aware that ScummVM was used in the creation of the games. Atari Deutschland GmbH established contact with Mistic Software Inc., the developers of the games." (Thanks to Armijn Hemel).
Resources
Benchmarks Of Fedora 9 Through 11 (Phoronix)
Phoronix performs a series of benchmark tests on Fedora 9, 10, 11 and Fedora Rawhide. "When testing out each of the Fedora releases (except for Rawhide where we had upgraded on top of a Fedora 11 installation), we had performed a clean installation of the given Fedora release using the x86_64 DVD and used the default file-system layout that occupied the entire SATA HDD. When each Fedora release was installed, the system was left with its stock configuration/settings, which does include the use of SELinux, etc."
Reviews
T-Mobile Phones Home, Again (Linux Journal)
Linux Journal takes a look at the next generation of the Android phone. "The T-Mobile myTouch 3G with Google is lighter than its predecessor, a reported six hours of battery life, and will come in a designer "Merlot" color as well as the less chic black and white. The feature — or rather, lack thereof — drawing the most attention, however, is the departure from the physical keyboard considered a strong selling feature of the G1."
IDE rev'd for improved multi-core debugging (LinuxDevices)
LinuxDevices reviews the latest version of Enea's IDE. "Swedish telecom software firm Enea announced a new version of its Linux-compatible Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE). Optima 2.1 adds enhanced system level debugging functionality via upgraded versions of the Enea BlackBox Recorder and Optima Log Analyzer, with a special focus on debugging multi-core and multi-processor applications, the company says."
Teaching Math with the KDE Interactive Geometry Program (Linux Journal)
Linux Journal takes a look at the KDE Interactive Geometry (Kig) program to teach mathematics. "Kig allows you to use various tools to diagram and demonstrate different mathematical concepts. With Kig, you can draw points, lines, line segments, half lines, vectors, circles and various other conic sections. When Kig refers to a "half line", it means what I was taught was a ray—essentially a line with one endpoint. Drawing hyperbolic curves on the computer sure beats getting dry-erase marker all over yourself or sneezing because of chalk dust. Even more important though, Kig diagrams are interactive, which means that once you create a diagram, you can move various elements around and see how they behave."
Miscellaneous
Software as an abstract gamespace that is not about Software (michaeldehaan.net)
Michael Dehaan muses about the future of open source software. "In the future 1000 years from now, was it more important to have worked on Web App X or Database Engine Y? Neither. Because that can't be what matters. Theory: The power of OSS tech is not in technology, it is that it crosses boundaries. It is a system, an ideal. The tech does not matter. OSS is not about software. Software is an abstract playing field in which we teach ourselves how to collaborate. One of many such fields. Maybe not even the most efficient. Computer Science is just about logic anyway. It was never about computers." (Thanks to Paul Wise).
Page editor: Forrest Cook
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