Linux in the news

Wal-Mart and Sun share Linux desktop lust (Register)

The Register has stumbled into a marketing deal between Sun and Wal-Mart. "Sun appears to have convinced Wal-Mart to go along with the Java naming scheme. Sun likes to call its package of StarOffice, GAIM, Mozilla, Evolution and SuSE the Java Desktop System. And Wal-Mart has obliged Sun by creating a new OS category - the 'Java operating system' - instead of placing the OS with the herd in the Linux operating system category."

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Novell management tool going open source (News.com)

News.com reports that Novell will be open-sourcing the SUSE YAST administrative tool. "By putting YAST under the same open-source license that governs Linux itself, Novell hopes the program will gain widespread acceptance as a module used by management software powerhouses such as Computer Associates International, Hewlett-Packard and IBM, sources said." That may or may not happen, but this move will address a longstanding complaint against SUSE from parts of the community.

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Lessig: IP protection a business, not cultural, battleground (IT Manager's Journal)

IT Manager's Journal covers Lawrence Lessig's Open Source Business Conference keynote. "Stanford University law professor, author, and Creative Commons chairman Lawrence Lessig Tuesday sharpened the definition of the ongoing legal struggle to satisfy both proprietary and open source advocates through equitable intellectual property regulations. "Contrary to what many people see as a cultural war between conservative business types and liberal independents, this is not a 'commerce versus anything' conflict. It's about powerful (business) interests and if they can stop new innovators," Lessig said." Thanks to Don Waugaman.

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Letter from CeBIT - the world's largest IT trade show (NewsForge)

Here's a NewsForge report from CeBIT. "The CeBIT Linux area is crowded with little booths run by many companies. Most of them provide software and solutions. While in previous years CeBIT had two major Linux centers, this year there is only one, with other Linux solution providers scattered through the rest of the show, but the Linux area has a nice big stage and many events are taking place there. Each weekday has its own topic, for instance "Desktop Day.""

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More inside information from CeBIT 2004 (NewsForge)

NewsForge continues its CeBIT coverage. "Saturday was consumer day at CeBIT 2004, where more than 220,000 people visited in the first three days. Most visitors come with empty bags and go home with filled ones. After an interesting dinner with Evan Leibovich and the German LPI guys -- and too little sleep -- we were back in the booth with minutes to spare before the gates opened."

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LinuxUser & Developer Expo awards open source excellence (Register)

The LinuxUser & Developer Expo is coming in April. The Register reports that nominations for the LinuxUser & Developer Awards is open until March 26.

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Novell loves Linux (true) (Register)

The Register reports from Novell's "BrainShare" conference. "Both its SuSE Linux systems management tool, YaST, and Novell's iFolder, personal storage and filing technology, are to be released to the open source community. Novell also flagged up plans for a company-wide shift to Linux on the desktop. As if this wasn't enough, Novell surprised delegates with the surprise of Linux founder Linus Torvalds. He didn't say much - beyond criticising software patents and praising Novell's development efforts - but who cares, it's Linus Torvalds! In Utah!"

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Inside the Linux arcana (ZDNet)

ZDNet is running a lengthy column full of speculation on Sun's agreements with SCO (and its predecessors) and the implications on SCO's lawsuits. "Of course, a bigger question underlying my hypothesis is why hasn't Sun publicised more of the details from the 1994 agreement. If Sun really has a smoking gun, it would clearly have an adverse impact on SCO's legal manoeuvres. It could be said that, like Microsoft, Sun has an interest in seeing SCO win. After all, Windows isn't the only operating system that has suffered at the hand of Linux."

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IBM: Open Java Process isn't same as open code (IT Manager's Journal)

IT Manager's Journal looks at efforts by IBM to get Sun to open up Java. " "The JCP is inching toward something, little by little, by little by little," Dr. Bob Sutor, IBM's director of Websphere infrastructure told Open Enterprise Trends. "What we're trying to do is talk about the real fundamental end point here. Java is 8 or 9 years old now; it's mature. Now, we want to discuss with Sun about how we can move to a point where there is an official Open Source Java implementation [of Java]. IBM sent Sun a letter last month asking for a 1-on-1 meeting to discuss a roadmap for opening up Java code."

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Novell Updates GroupWise for Linux, Zenworks and Partner Program (eWeek)

eWeek covers several recent Novell announcements. "Novell announced an enhanced partner program as well. The first addition to the company's PartnerNet program will be 560 SuSE Linux partners. The partners will retain their current benefits and will be eligible to enroll in PartnerNet at no additional charge. Novell also is launching several initiatives to encourage its other partners to support SuSE Linux, including a software development kit, a program to ease hardware-certification requirements and the publishing of a SuSE Linux solution directory."

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Dell-Oracle alliance pushes Linux in China (News.com)

Dell and Oracle are working together to promote Linux-based database systems in China. "Dell and Oracle executives said the tie-up, which tacks Linux-based Oracle software onto Dell computer servers, would edge out competing platforms, but they declined to say how it would help them expand market share. Nonetheless, the alliance could threaten Microsoft and its Windows dominance because the Chinese government has been pushing for a national standard on open-source software to counter the reign of Windows in recent years."

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The Microsoft killers (Prospect Magazine)

This article on Prospect Magazine looks at the origins of open source and at Linux adoption around the world. "The recipe for Coca-Cola is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world. Yet a small Canadian software firm has sold 150,000 cans of a rival fizzy cola, which tastes very like Coke, and has made the recipe public. The firm behind the drink, Opencola, makes software, not drinks. It used the drink (and its open recipe) as a metaphor for the most important trend in software today." (Thanks to Stuart Ritchie)

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Driving to Laptopia (Linux Journal)

Doc Searls looks at Linux laptops in this Linux Journal article. "From the laptop perspective, however, I'm an Xtreme road warrior as well as a sub-technical Linux user, which makes me an ideal torture tester for Linux on the laptop (LOTL). Because I don't use a desktop most of the time (I don't want to switch boxes when I come home), LOTL is a better match for me than LOTD (Linux on the desktop). Which is why Don Marti, our Editor-in-Chief here at Linux Journal, wants me to torture-test the best LOTD we can put in my dangerous hands."

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The People Behind KDE: Fabrice Mous (KDE.News)

The People Behind KDE series heads to the Netherlands for a talk with Fabrice Mous. "I'm a sort of PR guy for the Dutch KDE group who is visiting events together with those strange KDE devs :) I also help to (re)write some howtos for www.kde.nl and lately I also write some articles/interviews for the newssite dot.kde.org." (Found on KDE.News)

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An Interview with OpenBSD's Marc Espie (O'ReillyNet)

O'ReillyNet talks with Marc Espie, an OpenBSD hacker. "Marc Espie: Like most OpenBSD developers, I am very interested in the stability and robustness and security of the whole system. Which means that I do a lot of development outside of my own area: see bug, fix bug. It's as simple as that."

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KDE 3.2 Full sKale Release (linmagau.org)

The Australian Linux/Open Source Magazine, linmagau.org, has an interview with George Staikos on the KDE 3.2 release. "I think Konqueror is already a 'killer-app'. The difference is that our HTML rendering capabilities are improving at a faster rate now. This doesn't just apply to Konqueror, but any application that uses KHTML or KPart embedding. Remember that Konqueror is a generic browsing application for the web, the local filesystem, and anything else that you might want to browse." (Found on KDE.News)

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Tom Chance: C.T. Leung on LTSP and KDE at Sisler High School

Tom Chance talks with C.T. Leung on the ups and downs of the deployment of LTSP and KDE in a Manitoba high school. "C.T. Leung: I am a full time high school teacher and a part time instructor for Universities. At Sisler High School, I teach many different computer courses from Programming in Java, Troubleshooting personal computers, networking, operating systems, and some physics including AP Physics. At the University of Winnipeg, I teach one evening per week on Telecommunications, Intro to Linux (System Admin and Networking)." (Found on KDE.News)

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Can a Red Hat Guru Survive on a Lindows Laptop? (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal reviews the process of installing Lindows on a laptop. "Booting into the installed Lindows Laptop Edition for the first time is very clean, but it might be somewhat frustrating for expert Linux users. None of the boot time messages we are used to fly by, but considering the target audience, this is probably a good thing. I know too many people who would panic over all those messages."

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Application of the Month: Konsole (KDE.News)

KDE.News points to the "Application of the month" series on KDE.de which includes an interview for Konsole author Lars Doele. The above link also points to the Dutch KDE website which is offering an English translation of the interview and an overview of this issue.

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CBTracker: a checkbook manager for the rest of us (NewsForge)

NewsForge takes a look at CBTracker. " Do you want to balance your checking account on your Linux desktop, but don't want to have to learn double-entry accounting in order to do it? Join the crowd. GnuCash is the best known personal finance manager for Linux. It's a dandy, but many shy away from it because they can't (or won't) cope with the complexity of real accounting just to balance their checkbook. If that's you, check out Tony Maro's GPL'd CheckBook Tracker. It might just be the answer to your reconciliation blues."

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Sneak Preview: Multitasking Talin Laptop Is Linux-Ready (TechWeb)

TechWeb looks at Tadpole Computer's Talin laptop. "Installing Linux on the desktop can be frustrating, especially if you have a wireless setup: Newer chipsets and standards for wireless networking often aren't included in the latest distribution, and using the open-source drivers available is no stroll in the park. But Tadpole Computer's Talin line of corporate laptops should get you whistling a happier tune. The notebooks come preinstalled with the Linux OS--a customized SuSE Desktop 1.0 distribution--and Sun Microsystems' Java Desktop System, which includes the latest version of Sun's StarOffice 7 productivity software. And they are ready for wireless."

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Switching from PHP to Zope/Python

Kuro5hin is carrying a lengthy article about one developer's switch from PHP to Zope for web application development. "Zope is a beautifully integrated set of solutions to common web development problems. It works in a substantially different way to traditionally scripted web-applications. Think of it as a collection of objects help with web publishing rather than a set of scripts to do a job."

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Analysts cheer AMD, Dell and Microsoft as x86-64-bit winners (Register)

The Register looks at competing developments in the 64 bit processor field. "However, IBM is also starting to push its own POWER processor family for 64-bit Linux," Haff wrote. "The upcoming broad-based shift to 64-bits will be a disruptive event that - in the absence of a single dominant architecture as x86 became for 32-bit computing - creates a breakout opportunity for POWER. But x86 extensions provide an alternative path-of-least-resistance for potential Linux-on-POWER buyers, just as they do for Itanium customers. That makes Linux-on-POWER as a mainstream option - never an easy strategy to realize - even more challenging."

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