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My last posting came in July. I've decided to post every day again (but just
the more interesting news). Microsoft is dying pretty fast, so now it's time
to cheer.
=======================================
LINUX
GNU/Linux
Gujarat set to follow Kerala's LDF in IT education
[quote]
The Gujarat government is all set to follow Kerala's Marxist-led Left-Democratic Front (LDF) in IT education in
schools. Following Kerala schools, it has decided to use only
Linux operating system, the open-source free software, in the computers installed in 3,650
schools.
Linux will also be installed in another state-run 2,750 schools, where computers will be installed this year.
Freely downloadable, Linux is internationally regarded as
alternative to Microsoft Windows.
[/quote]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ahmedabad/Gujarat-set-to-follow-Keralas-LDF-in-IT-
education/articleshow/6153110.cms
Russian state-OS based on Linux
[quote]
According to the publication âKommersantâ, the state enterprise âRussian Technologiesâ has almost completed the
acquisition of shares LLC Alt Linux. This Russian company is
developing software based on Linux. Interestingly, at the same time the Russian investment fund
NGI acquired stake in Mandriva, the initiative is approved by the adviser to the Russian president Leonid Reiman.
According to Kommersant, the result of both of these projects
could be the creation of an operating system focused on the Russian public sector.
In this case, the developers of each of these systems based on Linux can get the appropriate government funding,
and this can be quite a good amount. So, every year the
government allocates to the field of IT for government, government agencies and defense industry
about 12 billion dollars. How did you find the publication, âRussian Technologiesâ will be adapted by âAlt Linuxâ
for educational institutions and the future goals of the
project âElectronic Governmentâ.
[/quote]
http://www.funstuffz.com/russian-state-os-based-on-linux/
Farewell to Windows: The Ubuntu Option
[quote]
Picture this: you have just left Yongsan, having put down well over a million won for a new laptop: 15-inch screen,
RAM out the wazoo and enough space on your hard drive to
store every single K-Pop music video in existence. You turn it on, and despite the salesmanâs
assertions of âYes, Englishee, yes!â Windows is not only in Korean, but suspiciously already activated and
operating a âfreeâ version of office. This is the âserviceâ you get
for your patronage of Kimâs Wide World of Computer Goodness in the back streets of Yongsan.
[/quote]
http://10magazine.asia/5618/the-ubuntu-option/
PCI DSS from a Linux Sysadmin's Perspective
[quote]
This post only scratches the surface of what is required of Linux administrators responsible for systems which must
adhere to the PCI DSS. The standard is detailed and requires
good planning and a commitment to maintain the final achieved security posture.
[/quote]
http://tcs-security-blanket.blogspot.com/2010/07/pci-dss-from-linux-sysadmins.html
Linux Doesn't Cost Anything - But Maybe It Should
[quote]
Linux is easy to learn, highly capable of fulfilling a typical computer user's needs, and 100 percent free. So why
is it that Linux still has such a miniscule share of the
overall desktop market? Maybe its gratis nature has been keeping it down. It seems that when
consumers don't know enough about a product, they judge it by its cost -- and "free," at least on a subconscious
level, translates to "not as good."
[/quote]
http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Linux-Doesnt-Cost-Anything---But-Maybe-It-Should-70377.html?wlc=1278713191
New Linux OS REMnux Designed For Reverse Engineering Malware
[quote]
A security expert has released a stripped-down Ubuntu distribution designed specifically for reverse-engineering
malware. The OS, called REMnux, includes a slew of popular
malware-analysis, network monitoring and memory forensics tools the comprise a very powerful
environment for taking apart malicious code.
Many security professionals who find themselves needing to analyze a specific piece of malware end up in a
difficult situation. The classic approach to analyzing malware is to
set up a virtual machine on a PC specifically designed for that purpose and then let the
malware loose and see what it does. But that usually only shows you part of the picture; much of the malware's
behavior can remain hidden without the ability to do some deeper
analysis.
[/quote]
http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/new-linux-os-remnux-designed-reverse-engineering-malware-070910
Desktop
Desktop âPartnerâ of the Year
[quote]
Apparently, if you consider only that other OS you can make a proposal look good. Against MacOS and GNU/Linux the
costs are staggering. TDSB has 60K PCs and 256 support people,
240 machines per support person. RedHat and others can set up systems where one support
person can deal with thousands of machines. Could it be that the IT people did not believe CMSâ advice and lay
themselves off upon migrating to Vista? Chuckleâ The truth is
only M$ and its partners benefit when a school board migrates to a product from M$. On top of
that students are harmed by the exposure, instilling dependency on that other OS.
[/quote]
http://pogson.6k.ca/2010/07/09/desktop-partner-of-the-year/
Relationship Stress Test...Here Honey, Try This...
[quote]
We use Linux.
Now, Diane is well aware of the problems that Windows Users face. She's been one of them for as long as she's been
using a computer but once she sat in proximity to a Linux
computer and someone who knew how to use it, that all changed.
Diane is retired from the Airline Industry. She spent years in the Accounting and Purchasing Divisions of several
airlines and companies so she's no stranger to spreadsheets
and databases. In the last part of her career she also used many on line applications to do
her work.
[/quote]
http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2010/07/relationship-stress-testhere-honey-try.html
A New Era of Compiz
[quote]
By splitting the rendering framework into composite and opengl plugins, Compiz can be used as the known compositing
window manager or as a backend for other 3D desktop programs
such XRender or Clutter. Another significant change, decoration reparenting, will allow
Compiz to run with decorations as non-compositing when used with the revamped GNOME or KDE Window Decorators.
Integration with QT main loop and the creation of a KApplication
provides better integration with KDE. A new DBus plugin will now use the screen number to
identify the Compiz instance. A major redraw bug that caused ripping or skips in rendering was also fixed.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/new-era-compiz
Blacklisting drivers for some KWin effects
http://blog.martin-graesslin.com/blog/2010/07/blacklisting-drivers-for-some-kwin-effects/
Five and a Half Reasons I Prefer Linux (as a power user)
[quote]
Linux is growing in popularity for many reasons, and as an operating system it is many things to many people. While
we all have our own reasons for liking Linux and open
source, here are my top five (and a half!) reasons why, as a power user, I prefer to use Linux.
Youâll notice that these reasons are quite a bit different from why I think Ubuntu makes a great operating system
for Mom, which just goes to show how versatile Linux can be.
[/quote]
http://techthrob.com/2010/07/09/five-and-a-half-reasons-i-prefer-linux-as-a-power-user/
Windows vs. Linux
[quote]
Linux and the GNU projectâs software was developed to offer an alternative to proprietary software. It is a system
of open source and distributed under the GPL, i.e. anybody
can get it, make changes and redistribute it. Although there are paid versions of Linux, but
the vast majority of distributions is completely free. You can download the ISO images at no cost. Additionally,
you can make changes to adapt it to suit your needs. Above all,
you have the freedom to pass a free Linux distribution to your friends without committing
software piracy.
Windows is a closed source and proprietary software. The price for the acquisition of Windows operating system is
already something that one could consider prohibitively
expensive and complicated for a personal computer user.
[/quote]
http://www.software-latest.com/2010/07/09/windows-vs-linux.html
Server
Linux Servers: A Real Data Center Choice
[quote]
Linux provides the basis for much virtualization technology -- Xen, VMware, KVM and OpenVZ, for example. Cloud
vendors that use Linux exclusively, such as Amazon.com, attest to
the fact that Linux provides the perfect virtualization backdrop for their services.
[...]
Linux is no longer viewed as just an anomaly among "real" data center OSes. Its developers and converts have made
it a respectable and competitive choice for businesses that
seek to lower their IT overhead and regain some profit. Converting to Linux isn't difficult,
even for those who find themselves drowning in a sea of proprietary software and hardware. It's a real choice for
developers, cloud vendors, database vendors, virtualization
companies, hosting companies and you, the business owner. Linux is here to stay. Linux is a
real commercial offering. Linux has proven itself as a real data center OS. And, the developers keep it real for
everyone.
[/quote]
http://www.serverwatch.com/trends/article.php/3892081/Linux-Servers-A-Real-Data-Center-Choice.htm
Audiocasts
Podcast Season 2 Episode 12
[quote]
In this episode: The first Mozilla 4 beta is here while Nokia is moving rapidly forward with MeeGo for mobiles. We
report back on our You Dare Us challenge and hear Paul tackle
Python.
[/quote]
http://www.tuxradar.com/content/podcast-season-2-episode-12
The Linux Link Tech Show #361
http://tllts.org/mirror.php?fname=tllts_361-07-07-10.ogg
FLOSS Weekly 126: AskoziaPBX
[quote]
AskoziaPBX is a complete telephone system. It can speak to nearly any telephony technology in the world and is
configured via a highly intuitive WebGUI. Designed to run on low-
resource systems.
[/quote]
http://twit.tv/floss126
Linux Outlaws 157 - Horny, Horny, Horny
[quote]
On this episode of Linux Outlaws: A big announcement (kind of), ASCAP declares war on Creative Commons, Bilski
comes down, new Fedora project leader, Microsoft kills Kin and
Apple drops the ball on the iPhone 4.
[/quote]
http://linuxoutlaws.com/podcast/157
Google
The Chrome OS Spin Doctors Are Revving Their Engines
[quote]
In a matter of weeks, Google's very first operating system aimed squarely at computers will be upon us: Chrome OS.
As Dana Blankenhorn notes, Google has a FUD engine going
surrounding the operating system that rivals the very best FUD campaigns from Microsoft's past.
Google is spoon feeding us 100 Chrome experiments, and appears to be wooing powerful hardware makers such as Dell.
Like the iPad, the pent-up love for all things Google will
probably make Chrome OS a short-term success, but where does it really fit in?
[/quote]
http://ostatic.com/blog/the-chrome-os-spin-doctors-are-revving-their-engines
On GoogleCL, a 'Virtual RMS' and Highly Unusual Linux Distros
[quote]
Is a command line really what Google needs now? Opinions were mixed at the debut of GoogleCL, the search giant's
new and daringly named command line tool. Reactions ranged from
"I've had to write bits and pieces of it myself. Thanks!" all the way over to "The APIs
were already out there. Of course, the best APIs can already be used from the command line with curl, so I care
even less about this."
[/quote]
http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/70369.html
Ballnux
openSUSE Weekly News #131 is out!
http://news.opensuse.org/2010/07/10/opensuse-weekly-news-131-is-out/
Siga (System Information GAthering) Project forked
http://ldn.linuxfoundation.org/blog-entry/siga-system-information-gathering-project-forked
HTC Desire with North American 3G graces FCC with its presence
[quote]
Rumors of a June 8 launch of Telus' HTC Triumph -- a rebranded version of the Desire, seemingly -- came and went
without a trace, but now, we've got another reason to think
that the model's launch might be just around the corner.
[/quote]
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/07/htc-desire-with-north-american-3g-graces-fcc-with-its-presence/
Samsung spins $100 Android 2.1 phone for Sprint
[quote]
Sprint announced a Samsung handset running Android 2.1 that sells for $100 with a two-year contract. The Samsung
Intercept is equipped with a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, a
3.2-megapixel camera, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and an optical joystick, says the company.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Samsung-Intercept/?kc=rss
Graphics Stack
xf86-video-ati 6.13.1 Driver Released
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODM5OQ
A New Release Of The AMD XvBA Back-End To VA-API
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODQwMw
Applications
TeamViewer 5.0 review
[quote]
Now a Linux version is available. TeamViewer offers a bit more than just remote desktop sharing. It comes bundled
with a host of other features such as the ability to manage
share lists, record sessions and have voice conversations using VoIP.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/reviews/teamviewer-5-0-review/
Review of rekonq 0.5
[quote]
rekonq has a clean minimalistic interface â the type of interface most web browsers prefer nowadays. It has a
Chrome type wrench icon from where you get the various browser
options. There is also the bookmark next to it. Like Google Chrome, it has an integrated URL
bar from where you can search the web, your history or simply enter the URL. It also serves as an indicator when a
page is being loaded.
[/quote]
http://digitizor.com/2010/07/08/review-of-rekonq-0-5/
Free software at your fingertips
[quote]
One of the common misconceptions about GNU/Linux is that it "doesn't have any applications". Every time I hear
this, I immediately respond with "how far did you look?". Truth
is, Linux has thousands upon thousands of applications. Some are installed by default in
Linux distributions, and some are purposely not installed, but available and can be installed with a couple of
clicks. Depending on which distribution you use, and how you
install it, your list of installed applications when you are finished installing the operating
system itself will vary.
[/quote]
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/the-open-source-revolution-10014902/free-software-at-your-fingertips-10017945/
Three video transcoding applications for Linux worth knowing
[quote]
If you are a movie junkie like me, chances are you have quite a number of movies on your computer that would be
nice watching on your DVD player or home theater system, mobile
phone or portable multimedia device.
[/quote]
http://www.ghabuntu.com/2010/07/three-video-transcoding-applications.html
Top 10 Totally Amazing Wallpapers Made Using Inkscape
http://www.techdrivein.com/2010/07/top-10-totally-amazing-wallpapers-made.html
Microblogging
Identi.ca's official desktop app ainât âalf bad
[quote]
Identi.ca is the open source equivalent to Twitter based on the StausNet (formerly Laconica) micro-blogging server.
[/quote]
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/07/identica-official-desktop-app-aint-alf.html
gtweety - Yet another desktop twitter app for GNOME
[quote]
Like Turpial was when we first featured it, the application isnât available in English. gTweetyâs interface is 100%
Czech but, as with Turpial, this doesnât impact on usage as
much as you might imagine - the UI is laid out in a logical fashion.
On the surface it may seem more than a smidge similar to other gnome-specific twitter clients. If offers separate
views for Timeline, Replies & Direct Messages, quick access to
updating and the usual notify-osd alerts.
[/quote]
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/07/gtweety-yet-another-desktop-twitter-app.html
Multimedia
Make Music For Free
[quote]
Free Linux music packages Ardour, Hydrogen and Jack will help you fall in love with a whole new world of creative
possibilities
[/quote]
http://pcplus.techradar.com/feature/make-music-free-09-07-10
Clementine 0.4: Amarok 1.4 reborn!
[quote]
A few things Iâd like to see implemented include some of the more helpful items that were in Amarok 1.4 such as
being able to add a âplay countâ column in the queue display
list, and some of the playlist builder functions (ârandom 50â and ârandom 100â were two that I
used a lot in Amarok 1.4).
That said, Iâm extremely happy with what it can do as it currently stands, and those wants are pretty minor
compared to what theyâve already done with it. Iâm really kind of
amazed that there isnât much buzz surrounding this great application. So hereâs to hoping that
this quiet little project gets the attention it deserves!
[/quote]
http://linuxcritic.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/clementine-0-4-amarok-1-4-reborn/
Virtual DJ Software for Linux: Mixxx
[quote]
When I was still using Windows, I remembered playing or should I say scratching with the popular audio/video mixing
software made by Atomix Productions called VirtualDJ. Though
I didn't really enjoyed DJing that much, I missed those days when I finally get to somehow
experience what it's like to be a DJ. So I started looking for DJ software program that I could install on my Linux
box. Unfortunately, I only found a few and most of them are
really old or are poor in quality if compared to VirtualDJ. But there is one Linux-
compatible, free and open source DJ software program that is quiet promising, and its name is Mixxx.
[/quote]
http://www.junauza.com/2010/07/virtual-dj-software-for-linux-mixxx.html
Proprietary
Google SketchUp in Linux - A reality!
[quote]
Google SketchUp is one of my favorite applications. It's a free 3D software that I use to create my fabulous 3D
models. It works well and lets my imagination and fingers do
their magic. It's an excellent therapy for mind and soul. There's only one problem, so to
speak. It has been designed to work on Windows and Mac only, with no Linux version in the offing.
All in all, it's not a tragedy, since I believe in using any software and/or operating system that meets the
requirements. If you need to draw a bit, you power Windows and do
what needs to be done. But some people may not have the privilege to make the cross-platform
choice. For them, Google SketchUp is on the wish-list. Or is it?
[...]
There you go. If SketchUp was a showstopper keeping you from migrating to Linux, that roadblock has just been
removed. Even if you're more of a polygamist when it comes to
operating systems, you now have an extra choice of enjoying a great program on yet another
platform. Either way, it's a win-win situation.
[/quote]
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/google-sketchup.html
Instructionals/Technical
HOWTO: Ubuntu Linux on T101MT
http://jeffhoogland.blogspot.com/2010/07/howto-ubuntu-linux-on-t101mt.html
8 PostgreSQL Date and Time Function Examples
http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2010/07/8-postgresql-date-and-time-function-examples/
Converting OpenOffice documents to PDF or HTML, as a batch
http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2010/07/converting-openoffice-documents-to-pdf-or-html-as-a-batch.html
Linux: Howto download ISO files directly to a CD/DVD/BLU-RAY
http://www.petur.eu/blog/?p=157
What Font To Use For Your Ubuntu Desktop? Try These!
http://www.webupd8.org/2010/07/what-font-to-use-for-your-ubuntu.html
Tile Active Windows On Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Using X Tile Applet
[quote]
You wonât need to tile windows location by yourself any more, with this simple applet you can simply Tile windows
in many ways to get best view for active windows. I usually
use tile mode to easily compare between to windows and included content inside both, also you
can use it to simply drag and drop element from window to another.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxnov.com/tile-active-windows-on-ubuntu-10-04-lts-using-x-tile-applet/
Why GLEP 55 is a Good Idea and thus a Bad Thing
http://ciaranm.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/why-glep-55-is-a-good-idea-and-thus-a-bad-thing/
Emacs Auto-complete Mode
http://trashbird1240.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/emacs-auto-complete-mode/
Installing Maia Mailguard On Debian Lenny (Virtual Users/Domains With Postfix/MySQL)
http://www.howtoforge.com/installing-maia-mailguard-on-debian-lenny
Games
The Flying Penguin 0.1
[quote]
The Flying Penguin is a game where you try to fly the penguin as far as possible with limited fuel. While in the
air, you have to collect floating fish to gain extra fuel. This
is a native OpenGL game inspired by the flash game Hedgehog Launch.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxgames.com/archives/15464
Five best non-free Linux games of 2010
[quote]
All of these games are cross-platform, so you can enjoy them on other operating system as well. Theres' variety to
be had, too. Single player, multiplayer, at home or online,
role playing, classic strategy, puzzle solving. I have not intended to have balance in this
list, but the games kind of naturally filled the right spots.
I recommend you start with demos and trials and see what gives. I believe you will have found a new collection of
great items to play and explore. Along with the freeware
collection, you have the rest of 2010 to get convinced in my choices. You won't be disappointed.
[/quote]
http://www.dedoimedo.com/games/linux-games-best-money.html
Stuff to Play!
[quote]
While I was on sabbatical, Protektor sent in a whole mess of Linux games weâve yet to mention:
* Summoning Wars, a dungeon hack game
* Super Tux Kart, an enhanced version of Tux Kart
* Dragon History â a Czech adventure game that runs under ScummVM
* Shotgun Debugger â a 2D top-down shooter
[...]
[/quote]
http://www.linuxgames.com/archives/15361
Desktop Environments
K Desktop Environment (KDE SC)
Georg Greve on KDE and the Supporting Membership Program
[quote]
At LinuxTag 2010, the KDE community announced the "Join the Game" campaign to support KDE e.V.'s Supporting
Membership Program. The first new member was Georg Greve, founder of
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). We caught up with him for a 'short' interview that
turned into a two hour conversation about life, the universe and everything. The pertinent bits are excerpted
below.
[/quote]
http://www.kdenews.org/2010/07/07/georg-greve-kde-and-supporting-membership-program
Planet KDE Goes International
http://www.kdenews.org/2010/07/09/planet-kde-goes-international
Xfce
Xfce Window Manager Tweaks
[quote]
But there are certain advanced configurations that I want to illustrate that might not be as obvious to the new-to-
Xfce user. This time around weâre talking about the Window
Manager Tweaks tool.
[/quote]
http://www.ghacks.net/2010/07/10/xfce-window-manager-tweaks/
Orage: Xfce calendar application
[quote]
As we continue on with our travels down the Xfce path, I thought it would be smart to highlight the Xfce
calendaring application Orage. This tool is not an âall in oneâ tool
like Evolution, nor does it have all of the bells and whistles of the Mozilla Sunbird
calendar. But what it does, it does well and does so without taking up tons of your resources or your desktop real
estate.
[/quote]
http://www.ghacks.net/2010/07/09/orage-xfce-calendar-application/
Distributions
The Path to Sabayon 5.4
[quote]
The next Sabayon Linux release will be 5.4 as usual it will have the usual skew of package updates and bug fixes.
We are tracking the bugs earmarked for fixing before 5.4 using
the Sabayon 5.4 Tracking Bug. This means that you can see which bugs will be fixed for 5.4
and the status of each issue individually; it also means you can report bugs and we can easily target those before
each release. This is a new public approach for to nailing
down issues before release and is due in part to structural changes within the Sabayon testers
group.
[/quote]
http://v00d00.net/path-to-sabayon-5-4
The Job of the Linux Distribution
[quote]
The Gnome project creates the desktop environment used in Ubuntu, Red Hat, and many other operating systems. Each
distribution tweaks Gnome a bit by adding or removing
applications, but most of it is the same between the different systems. For all practical purposes,
to the non-techie, non-geek, Gnome is the operating system, because it's what they see and interact with. In
Ubuntu, the default Gnome browser, Epiphany is removed and replaced
with Firefox. The Gnome office suite is not used, favoring the more popular OpenOffice.org
suite instead. Each distribution picks what it feels are the best parts available from the open source community.
[/quote]
http://ostatic.com/blog/the-job-of-the-linux-distribution
BlankOn is an Ubuntu-based distribution developed by the Indonesian Linux Mover Foundation and BlankOn developer
team.
[quote]
Indonesians are known to have spirit to share, and eager to help each other. Hence, BlankOn Developers believe,
that it is their part of identity, to be more active and
involved in Free/Open Source Software activities.
[/quote]
http://ubuntulandforever.blogspot.com/2010/07/blankon-is-ubuntu-based-distribution.html
Reviews
And they call it Puppy Loveâ
[quote]
Puppy will run upon pretty much anything out there.
It gives you a blisteringly fast machine with a sensible selection of pre-installed applications.
[/quote]
http://www.kmeckstein.com/linux/and-they-call-it-puppy-love/
New Releases
Guadalinex 7
http://www.guadalinex.org/
NuTyX 06072010 (Live)
http://www.nutyx.org/
Clonezilla 1.2.5-32
http://www.clonezilla.org/
MoLinux 6.0 (Educativa)
http://www.molinux.info/
SystemRescueCd 1.5.8
http://www.sysresccd.org/
Tuquito 4
http://www.tuquito.org.ar/
Salix LXDE 13.1 Released
[quote]
Salix LXDE edition 13.1 has been released! Based on Slackware 13.1, it features the Lightweight X11 Desktop
Environment, "an extremely fast-performing and energy-saving desktop
environment", with a clean look and feel. The main applications that complete the LXDE
experience are the lightweight and fast PCManFM file manager and the popular Openbox window manager.
[/quote]
http://www.muktware.com/distromatch/09/2010/229
PCLinuxOS/Mandrake/Mandriva Family
PCLinuxOS quarterly ISO updates released
[quote]
The PCLinuxOS developers have released the quarterly ISO updates for the GNOME, KDE and LXDE editions of their
Linux distribution. The 2010.07 releases include a number of
desktop and package updates, but don't add any new features to the operating system.
[/quote]
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/PCLinuxOS-quarterly-ISO-updates-released-1035183.html
PCLinuxOS
http://www.muktware.com/distromatch/09/2010/228
Mandriva 2010 Spring Is Released
http://www.muktware.com/distromatch/09/2010/226
The Long Awaited Release of Mandriva 2010 Spring
http://mandrivachronicles.blogspot.com/2010/07/long-awaited-release-of-mandriva-2010.html
Mandriva 2010 Spring: A Review for Newbies
[quote]
There was a time in which Mandriva was considered a somewhat "intermediate" Linux distribution. In 2009, when I
started using it, I found it slightly "difficult". However, with
the 2010 release, I have noticed how the distro has been oriented to the ease of use. I'm
not saying that it is easy, as no OS is, but I must confess that I perceive less entanglement now. So, today I can
confidently recommend beginners to install it as their debut
distro in the fascinating world of Linux.
[/quote]
http://mandrivachronicles.blogspot.com/2010/07/mandriva-2010-spring-review-for-newbies.html
Mandriva fights through money woes, releases 2010 Spring distro
[quote]
Reprieved from its financial troubles with fresh investments, Mandriva released the final version of Mandriva Linux
2010 Spring. The latest stable release is touted for
offering faster boot times, enhanced "Smart Desktop" file-organization technology, easier printer
and wireless configuration, new scientific apps, plus updates including GNOME 2.30.1, KDE 4.4.3, and the new Go-OO
branch of OpenOffice.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Mandriva-Linux-2010-Spring/?kc=rss
Mandriva Preparing For Organizational Reboot
[quote]
"Mandriva possesses in its DNA all the requisites of an Open Source world leader. A community of 3.5 million users,
a leading position in the BRIC zone, and prestigious clients
in both the public sector and major business," stressed Jean-NoÃl de Galzain, President of
IF Research. "We are going to focus on the company management and promoting a new, dynamic commercial activity
based on innovative products offered on a new distribution
network."
[/quote]
http://www.muktware.com/news/09/2010/227
Red Hat Family
Expect to be a billion dollar co by next fiscal: Red Hat
[quote]
A: We are involved in developing free software as well. I am often asked, how can a company make money selling free
software? Whatâs important to recognize is that the recent
Red Hats has been successful because we donât actually sell software. The software itself is
functionally free. The source code is available. But an enterprise is not just implementing features and
functionality, they need to implement a solution which needs to last
for years. When the New York stock exchange which runs on Red Hat enterprise Linux spent
millions of dollars to develop their exchange, they want to make sure that it works for the next 5-10 years.
[/quote]
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/forbes_469205.html
Red Hat Close to 50 and 200 Day Moving Averages
http://www.tradershuddle.com/Trading-Ideas/4610407092010-redhat-close-to-50-and-200-day-moving-averages.html
KVM Adoption Isn't All About Commercial Support
[quote]
The open source KVM virtualization technology is being promoted by many different vendors, often as a mechanism to
help enable cloud deployments. Among the biggest backers of
KVM are Linux vendors Red Hat and Ubuntu, though in at least one use case the solutions
they're marketing aren't necessarily the solutions that cloud deployments are using.
Hosting provider The Planet recently launched a new cloud service offering built on KVM technology without the
benefit of the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) or Red Hat's
Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV). Instead The Planet has chosen to take its own path, leveraging
the freely available Ubuntu Lucid LTS release and without engaging in a commercial contract with Canonical, the
lead commercial sponsor behind Ubuntu.
[/quote]
http://www.serverwatch.com/news/article.php/3891911/KVM-Adoption-Isnt-All-About-Commercial-Support.htm
Red Hat grows partner ecosystem
http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34688:red-hat-grows-partner-
ecosystem&catid=69&Itemid=58
Fedora
Fedora Design Bounty: Fedora slide deck template
[quote]
Fedora project members, from pretty much every part of our project (especially Ambassadors), give presentations all
over the world: from FUDcons (Fedora Usersâ and Developersâ
Conference) all over the world, to FOSS.in in India, to the Linux Symposium in Canada,
LinuxTag in Germany, to FISL in Brazil, to SCALE in Calfornia â and many, many more.
[/quote]
http://mairin.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/fedora-design-bounty-fedora-slide-deck-template/
OLPC to add multitouch screen to future XO-1.75 laptop
[quote]
Nonprofit organization One Laptop Per Child on Thursday said it is adding a multitouch screen to the upcoming
XO-1.75 laptop and is modifying software to take advantage of the
new hardware.
The XO-1.75 with a touch-sensitive 8.9-inch screen will start shipping next year. The laptop will run on an Arm
processor and is the successor to the current XO-1.5 laptop,
which runs on a Via x86 processor. OLPC will also add a multitouch screen on the next-
generation XO-3 tablet, which is due to ship in 2012.
Customers could be interested in buying XO-1.75 laptops as low-power replacements to existing XO-1 machines, which
don't have touch capabilities, said Chris Ball, lead software
engineer for OLPC, in an e-mail.
[/quote]
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/352605/olpc_add_multitouch_screen_future_xo-1_75_laptop/
OLPC: Upgrading X0-1 to new SugarLabs Release
[quote]
I saw an announcement the other day about a development OS release (os16) for the OLPC XO-1 laptop that basically
brings it into parity with the release on the XO-1.5. I
downloaded it, got a developer key, unlocked an OLPC, and figured out how to install it. Once you
become familiar with the process, it is actually easy and straight forward. I even played with the FORTH-based
firmware for the first time.
[/quote]
http://www.montanalinux.org/olpc-xo-1-os16-devel-review.html
10 things that will make you want to use Fedora again
[quote]
Jack Wallen itemizes the improvements that have made him a Fedora fan again.
[/quote]
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=1659
Debian Family
Firefox returns to Debian?
[quote]
Debian comes with a rebranded version of Firefox called Iceweasle. The reasons for this are that the Firefox logo
was copyright, and everything in Debian must be strictly free
software- thus free to modify- and Debian maintains its own Firefox/Iceweasle package after
Mozilla itself has stopped providing security updates for them. (Debian Lenny comes with Iceweasle 3.0- perfectly
stable- which is the aim of Debian stable releases by
definition- but old.
[/quote]
http://dontsurfinthenude.blogspot.com/2010/07/firefox-returns-to-debian.html
Debian on desktop systems
[quote]
What I expected to happen some time ago, is finally becoming reality: Debian is now my favourite distribution for
desktop systems.
[/quote]
http://artipc10.vub.ac.be/wordpress/2010/07/08/debian-on-desktop-systems/
Canonical/Ubuntu
An OS is only as good as its package manager
[quote]
Ubuntu is based on Debian, so it uses a package manager called aptitude. This system allows users to easily add and
remove software. Without a package manager, Ubuntu users
would have to compile and install software from source code.
[/quote]
http://speely.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/an-os-is-only-as-good-as-its-package-manager/
Something is wrong with the software publishing plan for Ubuntu
[quote]
Lately I have been watching a couple of threads related to Ubuntu packaging and publishing whichs makes me feel
something is wrong.
With all respect, I believe Matt was probably dreaming when he came up with the "Weâve packaged all of the free
software" title. There are plenty of applications not properly
archive maintained or even packaged due to the lack of human resources.
[/quote]
http://handypenguin.blogspot.com/2010/07/something-is-wrong-with-software.html
Time to consider Ubuntu for your cloud needs?
[quote]
Stemming from Canonical's relatively modest customer base, especially outside of cloud deployments, the vendor
behind Ubuntu doesn't have to worry about existing customers
doing a similar price comparison between the pay-per-usage cloud approach and traditional
support subscriptions. This is definitely an advantage for Canonical over Red Hat.
[/quote]
http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source/time-consider-ubuntu-your-cloud-needs-712
Oh where oh where could our CDs be
[quote]
Lucid, 10.04, was released nearly 3 months ago and still to this date the Ubuntu Chicago LoCo Team has not received
our shipment. Not only has our shipment not been received
but nobody seems to be answering my emails. Getting a bit tired of telling everyone, nope you
canât have any CDs because I donât have any CDs, and not being able to have a decent gathering to promote Ubuntu
because we have zero materials. Maybe this blog post will make
its way to someoneâs desk that can help or who possibly cares.
[/quote]
http://blog.nixternal.com/2010.07.09/oh-where-oh-where-could-our-cds-be/
Freezing Maverick â behind the scenes on Ubuntu 10.10
[quote]
Ubuntu 10.10 (codename Maverick Meerkat) is well into the development cycle, with the planned celebrity release
date of 10 October 2010 (10/10/10). The development time frame
of Ubuntu is quite condensed, and this is managed with a number of stages. These stages tend
to symbolise milestones of the schedule, and usually refer to a restriction on what activity can happen during this
time.
We have long passed the Alpha 1 CD image stage and I anticipate the release of Alpha 2 by the time you read this.
You will no doubt be eager to test Alpha 3, which is currently
scheduled for 5 August. Alpha 3 will be the last CD image created before the development of
Maverick starts entering the second half of the âfreezeâ stages.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/opinion/freezing-maverick-behind-the-scenes-on-ubuntu-10-10/
Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase
[quote]
Today, July 7th, Canonical proudly announced that it will support the Ubuntu Free Culture showcase, which will
offer photographers, artists and musicians from all over the
world and with any background, the opportunity to see their work in the next release of the
Ubuntu operating system, Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat), due for release in October 10th, 2010.
[/quote]
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-Free-Culture-Showcase-146653.shtml
Catching up with Canonicalâs CEO, Jane Silber â exclusive interview
[quote]
The most exciting thing is seeing the traction Ubuntu has as a mainstream choice for consumers. The alignment
between Ubuntu, the community, developers and the hardware
ecosystem is really coming into its own at this point. In my new role I am involved in more
strategic discussions with our partners and customers, and the road ahead is looking very exciting.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/interviews/catching-up-with-canonical/
Flavours and Variants
Kubuntu Netbook Remix Is Now Dead â But Not Really!
[quote]
Kubuntu Netbook Remix is basically Kubuntu with the KDE Plasma Netbook interface instead of the KDE Plasma Desktop
used in the desktop versions. Till Lucid Lynx, Kubuntu
Desktop and Kubuntu Netbook Remix were available for download as separate ISOs.
However, from the next release of Kubuntu, i.e. Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat, the Kubuntu Netbook Remix will not
be released along with it. Rather, the Plasma Netbook package
will be included in the Kubuntu Desktop ISO. At the time installation, using some screen
resolution detection algorithm, it will be automatically decided if Plasma Desktop or Plasma Netbook is to be
turned on by default. There will also be an option to change it
manually in the System Settings.
[/quote]
http://digitizor.com/2010/07/09/kubuntu-netbook-remix-is-now-dead/
Early Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Benchmarks
[quote]
There is still three months left until Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" will be officially released along with the
Ubuntu Netbook spin and the various other incarnations of this
popular Linux distribution, but today we have some initial netbook tests of this next
version of Ubuntu Linux. While Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook may boast a new user-interface now that it is using the Unity
Desktop, the changes that have taken place "under the hood"
have led to some performance differences compared to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Netbook.
[/quote]
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=ubuntu_maverick_netbook&num=1
<a name="devices">Devices/Embedded</a>
The Fragmentation of Linux: Two Points of View
[quote]
The fragmentation of Linux has become a hot topic in recent weeks as industry leaders debate how the community can
collaborate to compete against single, vertical operating
systems without creating an ecosystem that pulls the community in too many directions at once
to be truly effective. As FOSS developers work at a fever pitch to create Linux-based OSes, handheld devices,
enterprise-level servers, and mobile phones, the point at which
they join forces can make the difference between getting a leg up on other operating systems
and lagging behind.
[/quote]
http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2010/07/08/the-fragmentation-of-linux-two-points-of-view/
MIPS64-based module supports 40Gbps network processing
[quote]
NetLogic Microsystems announced a Linux-based hardware/software development kit it says is the first fully
deterministic networking solution that concurrently processes Layers
2-7 at 40Gbps wire-speed. The NLX321103A solution combines the MIPS-based XLP832 eight-core,
32-threaded system-on-chip with the NL11k and NETL7 Layer 7 "knowledge-based" processors, the company says.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/NetLogic-Microsystems-NLX321103A/
ARM muscling in on desktop space
[quote]
Until now Brit chip shop ARM's processor designs have been restricted to smart phones and other embedded devices,
but new developments in a partnership between ARM and
Canonical, the company which develops Ubuntu Linux, could see a new push into the traditional
computing market.
[/quote]
http://www.thinq.co.uk/2010/7/6/arm-muscling-desktop-space/
Phones
Flash Player 10.1 Ported To MeeGo, Android
[quote]
Movial has announced enablement and certification services for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 on both systems-on-chip and
mobile platforms for MeeGo and Android.
[/quote]
http://www.muktware.com/news/08/2010/225
Open source software battle heats up
[quote]
In parallel with the rapid development of mobile computing, various Linux-based OS pop up one after anotherâfrom
Android, LiMo, MeeGo, Ubuntu to webOS.
[/quote]
http://www.eetasia.com/login.do?fromWhere=/ART_8800611994_499495_NT_885dc6d0.HTM
Nokia/MeeGo
Fennec 1.1 ships on Maemo as MeeGo heats up
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Firefox-for-Mobile-11/?kc=rss
What Nokia must do to stay relevant in mobile
[quote]
MeeGo will be used on everything from advanced smartphones to netbooks, connected TVs, and tablet computers, the
two companies say. Nokia still hasn't announced its first
MeeGo-based product, but it will be delivered this year, says Vanjoki.
[/quote]
http://infoworld.com/d/mobilize/what-nokia-must-do-stay-relevant-in-mobile-176
Meego flies in benchmark test
[quote]
Tests run by independent benching site Carrypad confirmed that Google's open source OS took a licking. The
benchmark was the Sunspider Javascript test. This is a processer
intensive test that measures how quickly applications get displayed in a web browser.
[/quote]
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1721739/meego-flies-benchmark-test
MeeGo Demolishes Android 2.2 in Javascript Test
[quote]
As I begin a series of tests on the Aava prototype phone today, the first thing I wanted to get out of the way was
a Sunspider javascript test. Itâs CPU-intensive and forms an
important part of the chain of events that take place to get a web application displayed on
your browser. Yes, itâs one of many variables but itâs a good indicator of CPU performance.
[/quote]
http://carrypad.com/2010/07/08/meego-demolishes-android-2-2-in-javascript-test/
Android
sensorMote for Android
[quote]
sensorMote for Android, is an Android application that allows you to control your media from your phone with simple
hand gestures!!
[/quote]
http://sensormote.weebly.com/
Android Market on the Verge of Hitting 100K
[quote]
This really is amazing news, and a testament to just how popular Android has become. In September 2009, the Android
Market had only 10,000 apps. Now, just 10 months later the
Market has over 90,000 apps and is on track to surpass 100,000 before the month is over. If
Android Market continues to grow at its current pace, we could very well see it catching up to the iTunes market
within a year.
[/quote]
http://androidspin.com/2010/07/10/android-market-on-the-verge-of-hitting-100k/
Why I Turned In My iPhone and Went Android
[quote]
For me, more than the over-used phrase of "open", the promise of true multitasking, and the platform's integration
with Google Apps, was one word - "Choice". Choice of
handsets. Choice of carriers. Choice of manufacturers. Second behind the word choice has to be
"Momentum". I can see that Android has momentum in terms of improved quality, in terms of the number of devices
sold and users, and yes, applications, which are growing in
quantity, soon to be followed by quality. I really do believe that if Android does not already
have a market share lead over Apple yet in this discussion, they soon will. It is inevitable. The growth in the
number of handsets, carriers and users will drive more
developers to the platform, and the holdouts who are not there will eventually make the move. And
yes, third is "Cloud" - the idea that I don't need to be tied to my desktop computer to manage data on the phone,
but instead, the phone is built to tap into data stored on the
Web. Fourth is "Capability". The Android platform, as the Droid commercials offer, simply
does more. The power of the mobile hotspot cannot be understated, and the iPhone is a zero there.
[/quote]
http://blog.louisgray.com/2010/07/why-i-turned-in-my-iphone-and-went.html
Smartphone as ThinClients
[quote]
Trend of computing show that we are looking for a lightweight device.
Future is all about a single device (a smartphone) which will do following task
* Office & Internet Computing
* Communication (audio, video)
[/quote]
http://lug-iitd.posterous.com/smartphone-as-thinclients
New CEIVA Snap for Android App
[quote]
CEIVA Logic, Inc announced earlier this week that they have released an application to the Android Market that will
allow users to send photos over-the-air from their mobile
device to any CEIVA-connected photo frame. The application is called CEIVA Snap and since
CEIVA invented connected digital photo frames, we're sure this app will be a winner. Additional features allow
users to view and store their photos on their devices all while
on the go from anywhere.
[/quote]
http://www.androidguys.com/2010/07/10/ceiva-snap-android-app/
Marvin v1.3.0 â Android app of the week!
[quote]
Marvin is a free ZX Spectrum emulator for phones running Android. Currently in v1.3, the package can be found in
the market place and better still, its free! Marvin offers
emulation of both the 48k and the 128k Spectrum, so lets look at how well it performs that
task.
[quote]
http://openbytes.wordpress.com/2010/07/11/marvin-v1-3-0-android-app-of-the-week/
OpenFeint Gaming Comes To Andoid
[quote]
iOS game developer OpenFeint has announced that the company will be bringing its open-source gaming platform to
Google's Android OS.
[/quote]
http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/7/9/openfeint-gaming-comes-andoid/
Android Grows at a Blistering Pace
[quote]
Apple ranked number two with 24.4 percent share and Microsoft third with 13.2 percent, while Palm rounded out the
top five with 4.8 percent.
Androidâs growth should come as no surprise to mobile enthusiasts. More than 20 Android phones are available in the
U.S. currently. Handset makers such as LG and Samsung that
have been slower than rivals Motorola and HTC in adopting Android are now planning to launch
new Android devices.
Earlier this week, LG said it will have two Android smartphones and an Android-based tablet available by the end of
the year. Samsung has already announced that its first 4G
Android phone on Sprint will be available this summer.
[/quote]
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/07/android-grows-at-a-blistering-pace/
Google updates its Android development kit
[quote]
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE HOUSE Google has updated its Android software development kit (SDK) to match the latest
version of Android 2.2.
[/quote]
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1721747/google-updates-android-development-kit
Rover unveils five tablets based on Android, Windows CE
[quote]
Russian Rover Computers has revealed five new tablets, ranging from 5- to 7-inch models. The processors are also
varied and include Samsung ARM chips, while the range-topping
RoverPad TegA W70 gets NVIDIA's Tegra CPU. All five are likely rebadged OEM offerings, with
the TegA W70 based on the Compal Tegra tablet.
[/quote]
http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/07/06/rover.shows.five.tablets.wtih.android.windows.ce/
Android Gains Marketshare While All Others Lose It
[quote]
With the market moving so quickly, things are bound to change. The survey was conducted before Appleâs latest
iPhone 4 was released in June. Also, look for Google to exceed
Microsoftâs share in the next period since it is trailing by a minuscule .2 percent.
[/quote]
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-android-gains-marketshare-while-all-others-lose-it/
Android 2.2 SDK refresh
[quote]
The Android 2.2 SDK that was released at Google I/O contained a preview of the Froyo system image and today, we are
releasing an update to bring it into sync with the system
image pushed to Nexus One devices.
[/quote]
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/07/android-22-sdk-refresh.html
Report: Fujitsu develops its first Android phone
[quote]
And we have yet another cell phone maker joining the Android bandwagon. Various Japanese media, for example Sankei
Digital [JP], are reporting that Fujitsu is currently working
on an Android-based smartphone.
[/quote]
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07/09/report-fujitsu-develops-its-first-android-phone/
Ubuntu on Nexus One, Froyo on Sprintâs Hero
[quote]
One of the most popular sides of Google's Android operating system is the openness to hacks and modifications it
enables. We've already had the chance to take a look at a wide
range of custom made Android ROMs for handsets that would not taste the platform otherwise,
but today's news bring something new into the equation. An Android 2.2 Froyo port available for users of a HTC Hero
on Sprint's airwaves in the US has just emerged accompanied
by a video of Nexus One running under Ubuntu, complemented by detailed instructions on how
this can be done.
[/quote]
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-on-Nexus-One-Froyo-on-Sprint-s-Hero-146747.shtml
Android sees healthy growth at expense of Apple, RIM, MS
[quote]
Android's share of the smartphone OS market went up between February and May of this year while everyone else took
a hit, according to the latest data from comScore. The
analytics firm released its three-month MobiLens report Thursday, observing that Android's share
of smartphone subscribers had gone up a full four percentage points in the US, though it still remains fourth on
the list after RIM, Apple, and Microsoft.
[/quote]
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/07/android-sees-healthy-growth-at-expense-of-apple-rim-ms.ars
Motorola
Motorola aims low with Android-based Charm
[quote]
Motorola announced a low-end Android 2.1 phone for T-Mobile equipped with a new version of its MotoBlur UI layer.
The Motorola Charm is equipped with a 2.8-inch, 320 x 240
touchscreen, 802.11b/g/n, a three-megapixel camera, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a
"Backtrack" touchpanel on the back of the device.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Motorola-Charm/?kc=rss
Droid X reviews praise battery life, multimedia
[quote]
eWEEK has run two favorable reviews of the Motorola Droid X, praising the phone's multimedia performance, call
quality, battery life, and camera, but criticizing its Wi-Fi
performance and MotoBlur interface. A Wired review, meanwhile, calls the Droid X "one of the
finest Android devices available" -- if one can handle the size.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Droid-X-reviews/
Sub-notebooks
For Those Intel Netbooks, There's A MeeGo 1.0 Update
[quote]
This update carries over 100 bug-fixes, including the upgrading of the Linux kernel against the 2.6.33.5 kernel,
improved 3D performance via DRM and Mesa updates, web browser
enhancements, improvements to visuals and the window manager, full support for the GNOME
Proxy, and many other changes.
[/quote]
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODQwMA
Up-selling Fails
[quote]
Huge inventories of netbooks resulted because people wanted cheaper netbooks. Those inventories are now cleared but
OEMs are taking a wait-and-see attitude before offering for
sale the latest Wintel systems. Even the $11 price increase for the latest Atom is seen as
too much. Wouldnât a $50 reduction for using GNU/Linux look good about now? Wouldnât a $50 reduction for using ARM
look good about now?
[/quote]
http://pogson.6k.ca/2010/07/08/up-selling-fails/
Tablets
Affordable Android-powered iPad-like Tablet Computers Galore
[quote]
Affordable Android-powered iPad-like Tablet Computers Galore: While browsing through dealextreme.com, a popular
online shop for electronic products here in Asia, I was really
surprised to see several iPad-like tablet computers that are sold for as low as $99 (US).
Another surprising thing is that they are all powered by Android.
[/quote]
http://www.junauza.com/2010/07/affordable-android-powered-ipad-like.html
=======================================
FOSS
Free Software/Open Source
Open source chosen for first major contract for Indian ID cards project
[quote]
MindTree is using open source software to build the applications. This was the choice of the authorities in charge
of the project. But Lahiri says open source such as Linux is
scalable and mature enough for a project like this. Mindshare will use some vendor
applications.
[/quote]
http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/inside-outsourcing/2010/07/open-source-chosen-for-first-major-contract-for-
indian-id-cards-project.html
University Challenge & the open source debating society
[quote]
One of the better blogs you might like to read up on in follow up to this event comes from Scott Wilson who talked
about open innovation, development and collaboration. Wilson
said that his focus was on barriers to community as he discussed areas such as, "Governance,
diversity and personal barriers to engaging in an Open Source development community and how as a member of such a
community you can make a contribution."
[/quote]
http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/open-source-insider/2010/07/university-challenge-the-open-source-debating-
society.html
The state of the open source nation
[quote]
Five years on, Simon Brock catches up with those original open source projects he covered in this very column
Itâs now five years since this column changed its title to Open Source, before which it had been restricted to Unix
server software. We changed it because so much of the open-
source Unix software we covered was also available for Windows and the Mac, and a broader
remit seemed more sensible.
[/quote]
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/realworld/359326/the-state-of-the-open-source-nation
Newspaper chain Journal Register Company announces move to open source
[quote]
âDoes this mean that [moving forward] all newsrooms will publish using Scribus or will tone all photos using Gimp?
No, but if an operation â part Journal Register or an outside
company â wanted to, they could,â the press release read. âThe tools we discovered, trained
on and used as part of the Ben Franklin Project could allow a news organization to throw away their old methods and
start anew.â
[/quote]
http://technicallyphilly.com/2010/07/09/newspaper-chain-journal-register-company-announces-move-to-open-source
Open source financial analytics startup OpenGamma comes out of stealth mode
[quote]
Kirk Wylie, CEO of London based startup OpenGamma, has announced the company has come out of stealth mode and in
the coming months, will be presenting its financial analytics
platform to the world. The company is developing a common infrastructure and applications
for financial services firms. The platform unifies batch and live calculations to create more consistency in risk
and analytics calculations and is designed to be the core
technology in batch risk analysis, commercial trading systems, bespoke trading systems and event
driven alerting systems.
[/quote]
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Open-source-financial-analytics-startup-OpenGamma-comes-out-of-stealth-
mode-1036067.html
Open Source Project Management Tools
[quote]
The pre-selection of project management programs started by focusing on some of the most famous web-based ones,
excluding the following (for the following reasons):
[/quote]
http://robertogaloppini.net/2010/07/09/open-source-project-management-tools/
Proprietary Technologies Are Buggier Than Open Source?
[quote]
Katonda has published a list of top 9 bugs and blunders of the last few weeks. In that list Apple and Microsoft
seems to lead the world of bugs by delivering some of the most
lethal bugs.
[/quote]
http://www.muktware.com/news/07/2010/221
A Topic for Discussion - Open Source Feature-Richness?
[quote]
The person making these comments is a professional writer who I follow, with several books published. So the
opinion about the software not being feature rich is a valid issue
and being too complicated is something that I too find with writing software in general. But
that the author feels it is less feature rich because it is Open Source, or more correctly, because it is free is
something that bothers me.
[/quote]
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/topic-discussion-open-source-feature-richness
Symbian
Platform kit for Symbian S^3 goes 100 per cent open source
[quote]
Product Development Kit (PDK) 3.0, released today by the Symbian Foundation, is targeted at device developers. The
kit includes all the source and binary files required to
generate the new S^3 operating system and run it in the supplied emulator.
[/quote]
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Platform-kit-for-Symbian-S-3-goes-100-per-cent-open-source-1034513.html
Nokia boosts Java development for Symbian 3 phones
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/070910-nokia-boosts-java-development-for.html
Nokia opens Symbian to Java apps
http://news.techworld.com/mobile-wireless/3229988/nokia-opens-symbian-to-java-apps/?cmpid=sblxerrplant
Events
Sydney Meetup July 2010
http://www.rubyonrails.com.au/2010/7/7/sydney-meetup-july-2010
Libre Software Meeting GNU gathering this week in Bordeaux
http://savannah.gnu.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=6417
Web Browsers
Reviewing the latest speed wars in Web Browsers
[quote]
I've been around a long time, and I can vividly remember when GNU Emacs was soundly criticized for being so large,
using up so much memory. Well, those complaints went away a
long time ago. Before we even had 1 GHz desktop computer systems, I found that GNU Emacs
would load in just a few seconds on computers with as little as 200 MHz and 32 MB memory. It's so much better
today. The typical Web browser is four or five times larger just
to download, and the amount of virtual memory they use can easily exceed a factor of ten
beyond what an even loaded Emacs would consume.
Where does that leave the typical Web browser then? Two years ago, Web browsers were probably near their all time
low in terms of efficiency and performance. Yes, they were
offering more and more features, but the cost of those features were becoming prohibitive.
[/quote]
http://usalug-org.blogspot.com/2010/07/reviewing-latest-speed-wars-in-web.html
Browser Speed Test â Operaâs Claim Put To The Test
[quote]
Both Opera and Google are obsessed with the speed of their browser. With each release, each claim to be the fastest
browser. Google has even gone on to make a game to
demonstrate the speed of its browser Chrome. With todayâs release of Opera 10.60, Opera is now
claiming that it is the fastest browser on earth. So, we decided to see if it is indeed the fastest browser or if
it is Google Chrome. We also decided to throw in the latest
dev build of Chromium and Firefox 4.0 beta to the test.
[/quote]
http://digitizor.com/2010/07/01/browser-speed-test-operas-claim-put-to-the-test/
Another round of browser benchmarks, this time with Safari, the not so fastest browser on Earthâ :P
http://izanbardprince.wordpress.com/2010/07/09/another-round-of-browser-benchmarks-this-time-with-safari-the-not-
so-fastest-browser-on-earth-p/
Mozilla
Mozilla Public License rewrite deletes Netscape
[quote]
Mozilla is perhaps best known today for its Firefox web browser. Underlying that browser however is the open source
license that enables its development community to thrive.
The Mozilla Public License (MPL) has remained nearly untouched since 1999 and now at long last
is undergoing a process of evolution.
[/quote]
http://blog.internetnews.com/skerner/2010/07/mozilla-public-license-rewrite.html
Firefox 4 Beta Brings Speed Boost
[quote]
Firefox has been taking heat from Google Chrome over speed for some time, but the worldâs most popular open source
browser is getting ready for a comeback. Can Firefox 4.0 woo
back some of the early adopters whoâve embraced Chrome? It looks like it will have a very
good shot.
[/quote]
http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7822/
User interface overhaul arrives in Firefox 4 beta
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/07/user-interface-overhaul-arrives-in-firefox-4-beta.ars
First look: Firefox 4 Beta 1 shines on HTML5
[quote]
You've no doubt heard about or even seen Firefox 4's new Chrome-like interface. More important are the many new
features generally lumped together under the catchall standard
HTML5, a specification that's still a draft but has become more of a rallying cry for AJAX,
JavaScript, endless tags, and life beyond plug-ins.
[/quote]
http://infoworld.com/d/applications/first-look-firefox-4-beta-1-shines-html5-667
More Details on Features in Firefox 4 Beta 1
[quote]
Firefox 4 Beta 1 is now available and ready for testing. This first version is filled with dozens of new features
and improvements. Here are more in depth explanations of some
of the Firefox 4 Beta 1 features from the Firefox team...
[/quote]
http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/07/08/more-details-on-features-in-firefox-4-beta-1/
Once around the Web with Firefox 4 Beta 1
[quote]
I want, I really want Firefox to become a top-of-the-line Web browser again. It was Firefox, after all, that broke
IE's (Internet Explorer) strangle-hold on Web browsers. Even
Microsoft owes Firefox some gratitude. If Firefox hadn't pushed Microsoft into making IE
into a decent Web browser, many of us might still be stuck with crapware like IE 6. Unfortunately, I'm not sure
Firefox 4 is going to get Firefox back into competition with IE
8, much less, what I see as today's leading Web browser, Google's Chrome 5.
[/quote]
http://blogs.computerworld.com/16485/once_around_the_web_with_firefox_4_beta_1
SaaS
Enterprise-Grade Hadoop for Petabyte Analytics
[quote]
If you're slightly bewildered by all the buzz over this new technology with the funny-sounding moniker, youâre not
alone. The official story is that Hadoop was the name of the
inventor's kid's stuffed elephant. However, for most IT professionals, it could easily be an
acronym for "Heck, Another Darn Obscure Open-source Project." The fact that Hadoop, managed by Apache, includes
subprojects with similarly opaque names--such as Pig, Hive,
Chukwa, and ZooKeeperâcontributes to the queasy feeling that this is an untamed menagerie of
squealing beasties.
[/quote]
http://intelligent-enterprise.informationweek.com/blog/archives/2010/07/enterprisegrade.html
Five open source tools for building and managing clouds
[quote]
Open source technology is going to seriously impact the cloud computing world, and there are two main reasons why:
Open source software is essentially free, and it is not
generally encumbered by the software license models of proprietary software. Many proprietary
software vendors, such as Microsoft and Oracle, are trying to maintain old and expensive license models, even
though they impede the flexibility gained by virtualization and
cloud computing.
[/quote]
http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid201_gci1516308,00.html
Databases
Q&A with Roger Burkhardt, CEO of Ingres
[quote]
Since Ingres was re-created in 2006 we have tripled our revenues and established ourselves as the second-largest
open source company after Red Hat.
[/quote]
http://opensource.cbronline.com/features/roger-burkhardt-ceo-ingres-080710
Oracle
My Top 10 Most Useful Joomla Components
http://phpbuilder.com/columns/joomla/components/voja_janjic070710.php3
Education
Considering Open Source Software for K-12
[quote]
IT directors across the country are implementing open source software in their K-12 districts--a decision often
prompted by the improving quality of open source options, as
well as cost savings.
Selection of OSS is sometimes a value-added option when the commercial version would never be financially feasible.
In other cases, IT directors are replacing existing
solutions with OSS, instigated by license agreements that are ending, the need to refurbish old
computers, or the purchase of netbooks.
While there are no recent surveys to measure use of open source software (OSS), anecdotal evidence reflects growing
interest in--and use of--alternatives to proprietary
software.
A few years ago, an OSS talk at the National Educational computing Conference (NECC; now ISTE) would draw about
five attendees, and there would be just a "smattering of people"
in the open source lab. Now the rooms are full, said Alex Inman, director of technology for
Whitfield School in St. Louis, MO.
[/quote]
http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/07/08/considering-open-source-software-for-k-12.aspx
Business
Why the Technology Matters â An Analysis of Consonaâs Acquisition of Compiere
[quote]
While Consona has aquired a number of software companies based on this model, that doesnât seem to be the strategy
behind the Compiere deal. Compiere brings only 130 customers
to Consona and I doubt Compiereâs open-source business model was generating big profits.
Instead of buying customers and profits, Consona seems to be thinking ahead about how they can lead the market in
the next generation of technology. The acquisition is more
about growing organically â selling more Compiere systems â than it is about harvesting
customer support contracts.
[/quote]
http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/uncategorized/why-the-technology-matters-an-analysis-of-consonas-
acquisition-of-compiere-1070810/
Open Source Software: Less Feature-Rich Than Proprietary Competition?
[quote]
Commercial open source software is a newer trend than open source software itself. Over time, it is likely that the
distance, in terms of feature sets, between proprietary
software packages and open source ones will be closed by contributions from commercial
interests. At least that's true for many important packages. It goes to show that even though many people in the
open source community frown on commercial interests, companies
that back open source projects can have a profoundly positive effect on them.
[/quote]
http://ostatic.com/blog/open-source-software-less-feature-rich-than-proprietary-competition
Do customers want open core?
[quote]
There is renewed and meaningful discussion going about open core with several good insights and arguments: Simon
Phipps, Mark Radcliffe, Stephen OâGrady and our own Matt Aslett
to name a few.
[/quote]
http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2010/07/08/do-customers-want-open-core/
BSD
Taking a peek at GhostBSD 1.0
[quote]
The PC-BSD project brings a user-friendly pre-configured KDE desktop to the FreeBSD community. Which is all well
and good, but what if you're more of a GNOME person? Well, it
turns out there is a project in the works for you too. The GhostBSD project is in its early
stages, but it's paving the way for users who enjoy running GNOME on a FreeBSD base without any configuring or
installing extra software. I had a chance to exchange emails with
Eric Turgeon, the project's founder and lead developer.
[/quote]
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20100705#feature
Benchmarks Of FreeBSD 8.1 RC2 Against FreeBSD 8.0, Ubuntu Linux
[quote]
FreeBSD 8.1 is slated to be released this month as the first significant update to FreeBSD since the rollout of the
8.0 release last November. With the second release candidate
of FreeBSD 8.1 having just been made available a few days back, we have conducted a set of
tests comparing the performance of FreeBSD 8.1 RC2 versus FreeBSD 8.0 and an Ubuntu 10.10 development snapshot.
[/quote]
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=freebsd_81_rc2&num=1
FSF/FSFE/GNU/SFLC
GOLEMs are better than âIntellectual Propertyâ - Passing criticism on âIPâ
[quote]
Have you ever heard someone saying âIntellectual Property is a dumb term, please do not use itâ in the parliament?
Well it happened in the German Bundestag: Prof. Dr. Thomas
Hoeren said it during the internet enquote this week. Afterwards one of the other experts,
Prof. Rainer Kuhlen supported him and added that collecting societies abuse this term âso they can get goods with
licensing agreements and circumvent copyright lawâ. (I already
wrote about that in German blog entry.)
[...]
A bit later in 2004, Richard Stallman also wrote about that topic, in his article âDid You Say âIntellectual
Propertyâ? Itâs a Seductive Mirageâ:
It has become fashionable to toss copyright, patents, and trademarksâthree separate and different entities
involving three separate and different sets of lawsâplus a dozen
other laws into one pot and call it âintellectual propertyâ. The distorting and confusing
term did not become common by accident. Companies that gain from the confusion promoted it. The clearest way out of
the confusion is to reject the term entirely.
[/quote]
http://blogs.fsfe.org/mk/?p=612
Where we're going: Working together for Free Software
[quote]
By working together for free software in a focused movement, we can do much more than the sum of our individual or
project efforts.
That's where this campaign is headed--to strengthen the entire movement by promoting the underlying message that
all free software projects work for a unified ideal: an end
goal of software freedom. It represents a new theme in the Free Software Foundation's work and
a shift in focus that recognizes we are ready to engage a much wider audience. The approach for "Working together
for free software" is to find new common ground to facilitate
an effective public campaign for software freedom that will benefit everyone.
[/quote]
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/where-were-going-working-together-for-free-software
New ideas for the Free Software Foundation
http://www.sorbaioli.org/2010/07/09/new-ideas-for-the-free-software-foundation/
Two GCC stories
[quote]
The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) project occupies a unique niche in the free software community. As Richard
Stallman is fond of reminding us, much of what we run on our
systems comes from the GNU project; much of that code, in turn, is owned by the Free Software
Foundation. But most of the GNU code is relatively static; your editor wisely allowed himself to be talked out of
the notion of adding an LWN weekly page dedicated to the
ongoing development of GNU cat. GCC, though, is FSF-owned, is crucial infrastructure, and is
under heavy ongoing development. As a result, it will show pressures that are only seen in a few places. This
article will look at a couple of recent episodes, related to
licensing and online identity, from the GCC community.
[/quote]
https://lwn.net/Articles/394219/
Could Free Software Exist Without Copyright?
[quote]
A couple of days ago, I was writing about how Richard Stallman's GNU GPL uses copyright as a way of ensuring that
licensees share code that they distribute â because if they
don't, they are breaching the GPL, and therefore lose their protection against claims of
copyright infringement.
That's all very well, but as many people have pointed out, this does result in the paradoxical situation that the
GNU GPL actually *depends* on copyright, an intellectual
monopoly, in order to spread intellectual freedom. Moreover, it seems to doom free software into
a kind of symbiosis with copyright, forcing it to remain a supporter of that monopoly, since without it, the
approach used to make the GPL so powerful would not work.
This is obviously a slightly troubling prospect, so a little while ago I thought I'd raise the point with RMS
himself, since he was bound to be aware of the issue, and
presumably had a solution (I hoped). This issue has come up a few times in recent months, so I
thought it might be worth publishing his answers to my questions to shed some light on this important topic.
[/quote]
http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?blogid=14&entryid=3069
Project Releases
Version 1.3 of WordPress for Android adds stats
[quote]
The WordPress developers have announced the release of version 1.3 of their WordPress for Android app. Using the
mobile application, users can easily post to and edit their
WordPress blogs from an Android mobile device.
[/quote]
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Version-1-3-of-WordPress-for-Android-adds-stats-1034137.html
RDPDesk Launches 3rd Version of RD Connection Manager
[quote]
RDPDesk, one of the leading companies in the field of security connection solution development would like to
announce the launching of version 3.0 of RD Connection manager, a
free open source remote desktop management solution which is licensed under the GNU General
Public License
[/quote]
http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/45196-1278519766-rdpdesk-launches-3rd-version-of-rd-connection-manager.html
Samba 4 now due in 2011; SMB2 and SMB/CIFS protocol docs done
[quote]
The Samba team isnât expecting to release Samba 4 until the first half of 2011 (optimistically) but work on support
for Microsoftâs SMB2 â and older SMB/CIFS â has moved ahead
quite nicely.
Samba leader Jeremy Allison said support for SMB2 â which was introduced in the Windows Vista client â is finished
and will be made available for testing in the next
significant Samba release.
[/quote]
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/samba-4-now-due-in-2011-smb2-and-smbcifs-protocol-docs-done/6810
GIMP 2.6.10 Released
[quote]
Unfortunately a rather bad bug sneaked into GIMP 2.6.9, so here's another release in the stable GIMP 2.6 series to
fix this issue.
[/quote]
http://www.tuxmachines.org/node/46365
Ardour 2.8.11 is released
http://lists.linuxaudio.org/pipermail/linux-audio-user/2010-July/071134.html
GNU Dico 2.1 released
[quote]
GNU Dico is an extensible modular dictionary server with a set of database modules, a command line client utility
and a web interface.
[/quote]
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnu/2010-07/msg00002.html
GNU rush-1.7 released
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/info-gnu/2010-07/msg00004.html
Government
Linux Oz head builds open-source SBR link
[quote]
John Ferlito, president of Linux Australia, has revealed that he and several associates are developing a way for
open-source users to interface with the government's Standard
Business Reporting (SBR) system.
[/quote]
http://www.zdnet.com.au/linux-oz-head-builds-open-source-sbr-link-339304426.htm
SBR gets open source tool, AUSkey coming to Linux
[quote]
National Linux advocacy body Linux Australia has added its support for the federal governmentâs Standard Business
Reporting initiative by planning an open source SBR
integration project, meanwhile work begins at the ATO on AUSkey for Linux.
[/quote]
http://www.cio.com.au/article/352647/sbr_gets_open_source_tool_auskey_coming_linux/
U.K. government could drop Microsoft for Linux
[quote]
It wouldn't be anything really new, either, for the U.K. government to look toward open source. In 2003, the
government signed a five-year agreement with Sun to look at using
some of its open source systems in government.
[/quote]
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/63489
UK Officials Suggest Moving To FOSS To Cut Cost
http://techie-buzz.com/foss/uk-officials-suggest-moving-to-foss-to-cut-cost.html
Malaysian Government has reached 97% OSS Adoption -- WOW!
[quote]
When I started working on GNU C++ in 1987, I could almost feel the course of history changing with every line of
code I wrote. When I started Cygnus Support in 1989, I was
convinced that it was only a matter of time before companies began to realize that proprietary
software restrictions did nothing to help their competitive advantage and everything to harm it. And though early
funding for my work came from government agencies (US DARPA in
1987 and French INRIA in 1988), I never quite expected to be visiting and promoting open
source in Malaysia [short version] [longer version]. Yet such is the reach of open source software! Now the
Government of Malaysia proudly reports an astonishing 97% adoption
rate for open source software in this new report:
[/quote]
http://opensource.org/node/535
Dump Microsoft, Use Linux to Save Money, U.K. Officials Suggest
[quote]
U.K. government staff suggested replacing Microsoft Corp. operating systems on computers with free alternatives in
response to a call for ideas for Prime Minister David
Cameronâs cost-cutting drive.
Cameron asked the 600,000 government workers last month to make suggestions on saving money as his administration
seeks to cut Britainâs record budget deficit. Chancellor of
the Exchequer George Osborne today published a sample of the 56,000 submitted ideas, which
including abandoning Microsoft, switching office lights off and centralizing stationery procurement.
âIn terms of spending less, what about migrating the whole of government (the NHS, education etc.) from Microsoft
products to Linux and open-source software like Openoffice,â
read one of the suggestions displayed on the Treasury website. Two of the 31 listed
proposals, whose authors were not named, suggested dropping Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft.
Open-source software such as Linux and Openoffice offers free or very cheap alternatives to Microsoftâs Windows and
Office, the worldâs most popular operating system and
productivity software. Osborne said before the Conservatives won power in the May 6 election that
he favored the idea.
[/quote]
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-09/dump-microsoft-use-linux-to-save-money-u-k-officials-suggest.html
South Korea: Super fast, and finally free
[quote]
Imagine a country that has one of the best Internet infrastructures in the world, and yet its government
effectively forbids the use of GNU/Linux through a requirement that
everyone employ a decade-old Windows-only technology for many key online transactions. That
country is South Korea, where 1 Gbits/second Internet connections are planned for 2012; and that Windows-only
technology is ActiveX.
[...]
Either way, it's great news for the long-suffering South Koreans, who finally get to choose which technology they
use in their daily lives â after more than a decade of
enforced Internet Explorer and Windows use. It's also great news for open source, which gets a
chance to compete on a level playing field â something that Microsoft keeps calling for whenever the EU proposes
favouring open source, and yet somehow never mentions when that
field is already steeply tilted in its own favour, as has been the case in South Korea.
That new opportunity is important, because of South Korea's advanced Internet infrastructure. It means that the
open source community there can now work on creating advanced
applications that explore the possibilities of that kind of bandwidth, and that can be used by
South Korean businesses and citizens in their everyday lives â something that hitherto has been impossible. It
would be nice to think this may lead to a sudden outpouring of
free software creativity, but the reality is probably that it will take a good many years to
recover from what was probably the worst Microsoft monoculture on the planet.
[/quote]
http://www.h-online.com/open/features/South-Korea-Super-fast-and-finally-free-1034389.html
Licensing
Legal foundations of the open source way
http://opensource.com/law/10/7/legal-foundations-open-source-way
Openness/Sharing
The Open Science Shift
[quote]
Recent years have seen technological revolutions in informatics, communications, and the life sciences. Xconomy
readers are deeply engaged with these trends, but may be unaware
of the most important development of all, the transition (sometimes painful), to an Open
Science system better suited for a global, networked, knowledge economy. Sadly, rapid technical progress has thus
far not been matched by a revolution in the democratization of
scientific problem solving. Instead, the practices and institutions that comprise our
science and innovation paradigm are badly strained, and in some cases, arguably crumbling in the face of rapid
technological and economic change.
[/quote]
http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2010/07/07/the-open-science-shift/
Openness/Sharing
'Open source' software for the stage
[quote]
Sara Coffin likes to think of Schreibstuck as the dance equivalent of open-source software that allows members of
the public to modify and redistribute the original code to
suit their own needs.
[/quote]
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Open+source+software+stage/3260250/story.html
Open Data
UK Government to Crowdsource Spending Cuts on Facebook
[quote]
This could get very messy, very quickly. Multiple reports have emerged overnight that the UK government is to
consult the public over how to cut public spending via a dedicated
Facebook page.
[/quote]
http://thenextweb.com/uk/2010/07/09/uk-government-to-crowdsource-spending-cuts-on-facebook/
A Big Part of COINS was not Published
[quote]
I had been reading about the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) â a project to provide a really good detailed
overview of government finances (more information in this previous
post).
I was therefore expecting to see the local council assets and accruals data of the sort that is recorded in the L-
packs as well as central government spending captured annually
in the C-packs. But it wasnât there.
[/quote]
http://blog.okfn.org/2010/07/09/a-big-part-of-coins-was-not-published/
AOL Launches Open-Source Maps Projects In U.S., UK
[quote]
The new fund will support projects in specific communitiesâit over the next year to help expand and enhance the
geographic data available to developers, designers and other
users as part of AOLâs commitment to open-source technology.
[/quote]
http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-aol-launches-open-source-maps-projects-in-u.s.-uk/
MapQuest Launches Open-Source Version Based on OpenStreetMap
[quote]
AOLâs MapQuest has announced an interesting partnership open-source online mapping outfit OpenStreetMap. Through
the partnership, MapQuest will begin using data provided by
OpenStreetMap to power a version of its product. This new product, available for now in the UK
at open.mapquest.co.uk, will reside separately from the main site and will not use any commercial mapping data.
[/quote]
http://news.softpedia.com/news/MapQuest-Launches-Open-Source-Version-Based-on-OpenStreetMap-146947.shtml
MapQuest Going Open Source
http://www.geekosystem.com/mapquest-open-source/
Open Access/Content
Open Course Production
[quote]
In short: maybe we shouldnât just be releasing content created in a closed process as Open Educational Resources
(OERs); rather, we should be producing them in public using an
open source production model?
[/quote]
http://blog.ouseful.info/2010/07/09/open-course-production/
Does Creative Commons need more court cases?
[quote]
I do not think that CC licences, or any licence to that effect, requires a court decision in order to be valid.
There are thousands and thousands of commercial End-User Licence
Agreements that are never tested in court, yet they manage to have legal effects and are
usually followed to the letter by its users without producing a conflict. True, many licences contain clauses that
when analysed by legal practitioners and scholars may seem
doubtful. But even then a court case is required to declare the clauses invalid. One could say
that a licence is valid until proven otherwise.
[/quote]
http://www.technollama.co.uk/does-creative-commons-need-more-court-cases
Open Hardware
Hardware hacking heaven
[quote]
OSCON this year will be a delight for anybody interested in working with hardware. A full open source hardware
track offers a range of talks to get you started with hardware
hacking, and gives a great insight into the current options for prototyping.
[/quote]
http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/07/hardware-hacking-heaven-at-osc.html
Programming
The Urge to Brag
[quote]
Way back in the late '90s and early 2000s, many Perl fans could rattle off a list of big projects using Perl:
Slashdot, Amazon.com, IMDB. Eyebrows popped up (maybe at one
point), as if the fact that billions of dollars of online sales went through Perl were validation
of a language.
[/quote]
http://www.modernperlbooks.com/mt/2010/07/the-urge-to-brag.html
Does Python 2.7's Release Mean the End of the Line for Python 2.x?
[quote]
The open source Python language is at a crossroads with two major versions available to developers. The end of the
road for the Python 2.x branch is now a little closer, with
the release of Python 2.7 this week.
Python 2.7 is intended to be the last major Python 2.x release as the open source project aims to help developers
migrate to the newer Python 3.x release codebase. Python 3.x
first hit general availability in December of 2008. Though the Python 2.x branch is now at
the end of the line in terms of new releases, Python 2.x still has a lot of life left in it.
[/quote]
http://www.developer.com/open/article.php/3891996/Does-Python-27s-Release-Mean-the-End-of-the-Line-for-
Python-2x.htm
Why you want PHP-5.3.2
http://badmadmatti.blogspot.com/2010/07/why-you-want-php-532.html
The Haskell 2010 report
[quote]
The Haskell 2010 report was published in July 2010, and is the current definition of the Haskell language. It is
freely available online, in the following formats:
* read it online: The Haskell 2010 Report
* PDF [1368K]
* HTML (tar + gzip) [336K]
[/quote]
http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Language_and_library_specification#The_Haskell_2010_report
Standards/Consortia
Proposal of new project for UOF
[quote]
UOF is not in same structure of ODF, some features(such as Media Object and Conditional format of Spreadsheet ) can
not transform well only with XSLT, so we need to develop a
set of extensions to transform them into a friendly structure first. For UOF API we must bind
a bundle of interfaces and services on OpenOffice.org in order to OpenOffice.org can be integrated into office
system with UOF API. The mission of this project is improving the
interoperability of UOF.We're going in for transforming the format between UOF and ODF with
XSLT.There's an UOF filter including an extension to solve some very important problems with Calc and OLE.
[/quote]
http://www.mail-archive.com/dev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx/msg14278.html
Convert XHTML to ODF using Xalan-J?
http://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/xml-xalan-j-users/201006.mbox/%3CAANLkTikS_ffc-ZojsnT_N-VPbNsGPB2KVabU-
kBzWfke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx%3E
Smokescreen alternative to Flash
[quote]
There are already a number of Flash alternatives available to users, including the promising open source Lightspark
and Gnash players.
The most interesting alternative, however, is not a replacement Flash player but a separate technology that
converts existing Flash content into HTML5 and Javascript, on the
fly.
[/quote]
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/software/13581-Smokescreen-alternative-Flash.html
Public Review of OpenDocument v1.2
[quote]
To OASIS members, Public Announce Lists:
The OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) TC has recently approved the following
specification as a Committee Draft and approved the package for
public review:
Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) Version 1.2
This standard specifies the characteristics of an XML-based application-independent and platform-independent
digital document file format, as well as the characteristics of
software applications which read, write and process such documents. This standard is applicable
to document authoring, editing, viewing, exchange and archiving, including text documents, spreadsheets,
presentation graphics, drawings, charts and similar documents commonly
used by personal productivity software applications.
[/quote]
http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/tc-announce/201007/msg00004.html
=======================================================
PATENT/MONOPOLIES
ACTA
Defending against laws which threaten user freedom
[quote]
As our mission here at the Free Software Foundation is to promote computer user freedom and to defend the rights of
all free software users, we also have to defend against ill-
conceived and misguided laws. Many of you may already be aware of an international trade
agreement being negotiated by the G8 nations called ACTA, but another law known as the Digital Economy Act is of
concern, specifically to citizens of the UK.
We have already published a petition condemning ACTA on a number of specific grounds which we urge you to sign if
you haven't already. If you would like to know more, please
read the rationale for this declaration. Right now, you can take action!
[/quote]
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/defending-against-laws-which-threaten-user-freedom
Greens call for ACTA transparency
[quote]
The Greens/ EFA group yesterday adopted an urgent appeal for transparency in the negotiations on the Anti-
Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). With this action, the
Greens/EFA protest against the decision by ACTA negotiators to keep a new version of the draft treaty
secret after the 9th negotiation round concluded in Switzerland on 1 July. This decision clearly ignores the
European Parliament's Resolution adopted by a grand majority in
March 2010. The Resolution clearly carried an expectation of a continuous policy of
transparency. But instead, there was a one-time release of a draft text in April designed as a piecemeal
appeasement of the parliament, and then again after a complete lack of
transparency. The Commission's flagrant disregard for the demands of the Parliament is
completely unacceptable.
[/quote]
http://www.erikjosefsson.eu/sites/default/files/Greens_call_for_ACTA_transparency.html
Digital Economy Bill
Mandelson accused of running 'worst election campaign in Labour history'
[quote]
Lord Mandelson has been accused of "running the worst general campaign in Labour's history", as he reignited the
feud between Blairites and allies of Gordon Brown ahead of the
publication of his memoirs.
In an interview to promote the book, entitled The Third Man, Mandelson said Brown had been served badly by his
aides, who had "unbridled contempt" for Tony Blair.
[/quote]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/11/mandelson-worst-election-campaign-labour
ISPs mark disapproval of the Digital Economy Bill
[quote]
The great and the good of the internet world turned out in force last night at the London Marriott, DJed and
evening gowned, to learn who had won prizes at the ISPA annual
awards dinner. What a difference a year makes: last year the talk was all around safety,
particularly for children. Last night the focus had shifted, with digital economy and the right way to fund
creativity on the net very much to the fore.
[/quote]
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/09/ispa_awards/
Challenge to Digital Economy Act
[quote]
News that TalkTalk and BT are challenging the Digital Economy Act in court is extremely welcome. It is a
vindication of our view that the legislation should not have been
rammed through parliament in the dying days of the last government.
[/quote]
http://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2010/challenge-to-digital-economy-act
Patents
Is there really an Open Source âTea Party Movementâ?
[quote]
Also, I wouldnât exclude the possibility that Florian M. could once more gain some following, even though some
parts of his agenda, such as IBM-bashing, currently do not have a
basis in any existing movement.
[/quote]
http://standardsandfreedom.net/index.php/2010/07/06/is-there-really-an-open-source-tea-party-movement/
Patent holder sues smart phone makers over patents
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i8awyCCWRuDMAIgRDCRYBHzkSYGQD9GRHSUG1
NTP Sues Apple, Google, HTC, LG Electronics, Microsoft and Motorola
http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/09/ntp-sues-apple-google-htc-lg-electronics-microsoft-and-motorola-
marketnewsvideo.html
NTP sues everybody over alleged wireless e-mail patents (updated)
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/07/ntp_sues_world_over_wireless_e.html
Open season on open-source ZFS?
[quote]
Enterprise Strategy Group senior analyst Terri McClure wonders why NetApp didn't hit Nexenta with the same letter
since Nexenta supplies its ZFS software to multiple storage
vendors.
"If NetApp did it would make sense â stop a number of vendors instead of just one. It certainly makes you wonder
why they would single out Coraid, people could read into this
that NetApp sees Coraid as a threat. Coraid's NAS product is pretty new but the underlying
platform has been on the market a while and is solid, at a really aggressive price point," said McClure.
"[NetApp] just spent a couple of hundred dollars in lawyer's fees and took a competitor out of the market. Quick
and easy, but a little disappointing, too. At the end of the
day, ZFS is open source, and while there is no way to predict how the settlement talks between
Oracle and NetApp will turn out, you can't really un-open source ZFS," she said.
There's still no word from NetApp on the matter.
[/quote]
http://www.infostor.com/index/blogs_new/kevin_komiega_storage_blog/blogs/infostor/kevin_komiega_storage/post987_411
0226808087625768.html
Smartphone Patent Suits Challenge Big Makers
[quote]
NTP, a patent-holding company best known for prying a settlement of more than $600 million from the maker of the
BlackBerry, is now suing the other big names in the smartphone
industry: Apple, Google, Microsoft, HTC, LG and Motorola, writes The New York Timesâs Steve
Lohr.
The suits, filed late Thursday afternoon in federal district court in Richmond, Va., charge that the cellphone e-
mail systems of those companies are illegally using NTPâs
patented technology.
[/quote]
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/09/smartphone-patent-suits-challenge-big-makers/
Open Source Music Fingerprinter Gets Patent Nastygram
[quote]
"The code wasn't even released, and yet Roy van Rijn, a Music & Free Software enthusiast received a C&D from
Landmark Digital Services, owners of Shazam, a music service that
allows you to find a song, by listening to a part of it. And if that wasn't enough, they want
him to take down his blog post (Google Cache) explaining how he did it because it 'may be viewed internationally.
As a result, [it] may contribute to someone infringing our
patents in any part of the world.'"
[/quote]
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/07/08/2311225/Open-Source-Music-Fingerprinter-Gets-Patent-Nastygram?art_pos=6
Patent Infringement...!?
http://sites.google.com/site/redcodenl/patent-infringement
Creating Shazam in Java
http://sites.google.com/site/redcodenl/creating-shazam-in-java-1
Bullied over âAlgorithmâ
http://www.p2pnet.net/story/41642
Open Source Music Fingerprinter Gets Patent Nastygram
http://techfreqnews.com/2010/07/09/open-source-music-fingerprinter-gets-patent-nastygram/
Describing How To Create A Software Program Now Puts You At Risk Of Contributory Patent Infringement?
[quote]
A whole bunch of you have been submitting the following story from a Dutch developer who is being threatened by
Landmark Digital, a BMI subsidiary which owns the patents on
Shazam's music recognition technology, for writing a blog post describing how to build similar
technology in your spare time. The story is a perfect example of the ridiculous situation with patents today.
Basically, the guy noted that what Shazam does in recognizing
music is really not that complicated, and explained how to create something similar yourself,
which he did himself in a weekend. He had not released the code, but was planning to do so when the legal threats
came in. The guy wondered what patents they were talking about
specifically, especially considering that in Europe, the standards to patent software are
much higher. In response, he was only told about two US patents (6,990,453 and 7,627,477 -- oddly, on that last
one, Google still shows it as being patent pending, even though
the patent was granted last year).
[/quote]
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100708/04230710128.shtml
Developer Told Posted Code Infringes Patents
[quote]
Roy van Rijn, a developer based in the Netherlands, last month posted about his plans to release open-source Java
code to implement a music matching algorithm similar to that
used in Shazam, which lets users identify songs from brief audio samples.
His blog post describes how he implemented song matching in Java, with snippets of code. He said that while the
code is not in a releasable state, he might clean it up and
release it if there's enough interest.
[...]
EFF Fellow and patent attorney Michael Barclay agreed that posting code covered by a patent could put van Rijn at
risk of a lawsuit, but noted that some critical details need
to be determined.
"Merely posting the code on a Netherlands Web site would not infringe any US Patents," he said.
Landmark's claim, he said, appears to be overreaching unless the company has patents in the Netherlands. "If there
are no issued Netherlands patents, he's free to ship and
deploy all he wants in the Netherlands," he said. "The really sketchy part, and I don't know
that this has ever been litigated, is he says don't post the code."
[/quote]
http://www.informationweek.com/news/infrastructure/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225702757&subSection=News
The Internet Makes DC Closer To Homer
[quote]
In case you need more evidence around the stupidity of the whole situation, take a look at the crap van Rijn is
going through. Or maybe this patent from Microsoft on âhow to
turn a page in an electronic book.â
[/quote]
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/post.aspx?bid=358&bpid=25451
Business methods and software still patentable in U.S. following closely- watched Bilski decision
[quote]
I wholeheartedly agree most software patents are nonsense however and serve neither society, innovation or
business.
Given the complications here, is it natural to suggest that the Supreme Court make law here? Should this not be
within the realm of are ever capable and cogent Congress to
adapt patent law to modern types of innovation and invention? Or do we need to clone Jefferson,
grow him in a lab until he can make a new law for us?
[/quote]
http://www.benzinga.com/10/07/368888/software-patents-growing-jefferson-in-a-lab
Business methods and software still patentable in U.S. following closely- watched Bilski decision
http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Business+methods+software+still+patentable+following+closely+watched+Bils
ki+decision/3256876/story.html
NetApp Threatens Sellers of Appliances Running ZFS
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/07/09/1654224/NetApp-Threatens-Sellers-of-Appliances-Running-ZFS
Microsoft seeks patent on ebook page flip
[quote]
As if to dispell all doubt that innovation is alive and well in Redmond, Microsoft has filed a patent application
for â wait for it â the "Virtual Page Turn".
Yes, with filing number 20100175018 at the US Patent and Trademark Office, Microsoft is seeking to patent the
animation of a page-flip when a user makes the appropriate gesture
on an ebook's touchscreen. As the filing reads:
A page-turning gesture directed to a displayed page is recognized. Responsive to such recognition, a virtual
page turn is displayed on the touch display... The virtual page
turn curls a lifted portion of the page to progressively reveal a back side of the page
while progressively revealing a front side of a subsequent page... A page-flipping gesture quickly flips two or
more pages.
[/quote]
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/08/microsoft_virtual_page_turn_patent/
Business method patents nearly bite the dust (Updated)
[quote]
Reflecting on Justice Stevensâ lost majority opinion in Bilski
[/quote]
http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/07/business-method-patents-nearly-bite-the-dust/
Bilski: business as usual
http://lwn.net/Articles/394079/
The silver lining in the Bilski decision isn't where most people believe
[quote]
About two weeks ago the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) handed down its opinion in re Bilski, a
business method patent case. The patent application was rejected,
but in a way that didn't draw any kind of line that would affect patents on software
technology.
[...]
Let's better face this fact: there isn't a single killer argument against software patents that will convince a
non-programmer if that same counterpart has also heard the pro-
patent argument. If you can ever convince a majority of decision-makers, you'll have to do it
indirectly. The direct approach has been tried by many people for many years -- to no avail (except, as I mentioned
before, in a defensive situation).
[/quote]
http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2010/07/bilski-decision-silver-lining-isnt.html
FeldThoughts: Why Bilski Really Means That Software Companies should leave the US
http://www.digitalmajority.org/forum/t-252361
German Federal Supreme Court strengthens the significance of EPOâs and foreign courtsâ decisions
[quote]
The German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) has recently made clear that every court has to take into
account preceding decisions of the European Patent Office (EPO)
and of courts of other contracting states to the European Patent Convention (EPC) if these
decisions essentially concern the same questions. Although there is no principle of precedence in Germany â neither
in respect of German nor of foreign decisions â, the recent
ruling of the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, 15 April 2010, Xa ZB 10/09 â
âWalzenformgebungsmaschineâ) requires more than just regarding other decisions with favour. Every court has the
obligation to deal with the arguments brought forward in other â
German, EPO or foreign â decisions.
[/quote]
http://kluwerpatentblog.com/2010/07/06/german-federal-supreme-court-strengthens-the-significance-of-epos-and-
foreign-courts-decisions/
Microsoft inks patent deal with yet another car tech firm
[quote]
Microsoft scored yet another patent licensing deal yesterday, this time with automotive tech firm DENSO Corp.
[...]
Famously, Microsoft's original court allegations over the three file management patents involved TomTom's use of
the Linux kernel, and according to Redmond at the time the
settlement provided TomTom with coverage under those three patents in a way that was compliant
with TomTom's obligations under the General Public License Version 2 (GPLv2).
[/quote]
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/08/microsoft_patent_deal_denso/
LG, Samsung big on Android
[quote]
And now most other mobile phone makers, and those readying to ship tablet PCs, are embracing Android. Among them
are LG and Samsung both of which are on the brink of releasing
Android-based devices.
[/quote]
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/13579-Samsung-big-Android.html
=======================================================
OPPOSITION LINKS
Microsoft opens source code to Russian secret service
[quote]
Microsoft has signed a deal to open its Windows 7 source code up to the Russian intelligence services.
[/quote]
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/security/2010/07/08/microsoft-opens-source-code-to-russian-secret-service-40089481/
Microsoft Opens Source Code To KGB's Successor Agency
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/07/09/0042238/Microsoft-Opens-Source-Code-To-KGBs-Successor-Agency
Dead Pink phone fallout hits Microsoft's top brass
[quote]
If killing the KIN after just two months was bad for Microsoft, what happened next is far worse â especially for
its corporate captains.
This single act has blown the lid off what appears to be smoldering frustrations inside the consumer products group
and divisions between that group and the rest of the
company.
Allegations have been flying of autocratic leadership, incompetence, ignorance of what it takes to build consumer
products, and an uninvolved and indifferent senior management.
These have mingled with demands that heads must roll in the wake of KIN's death.
The shouts and claims have been posted on the Mini Microsoft blog, a notoriously reliable source of insider
information from anonymous company insiders.
[...]
Some have attempted to mitigate the failure of KIN. While some reports claim just 500 KINs were sold, others have
claimed the number is more than 8,000. But how many phones are
in circulation is irrelevant: the phone was killed after just six weeks, having cost
Microsoft "billions".
[/quote]
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/08/microsoft_kin_fallout/
Google out-FUDs the FUDmasters
[quote]
For decades Microsoft has lived by Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD). Now, in an ironic twist of fate theyâre being
strangled with it, and by a Linux distro.
Thatâs what Chrome OS is, you know. A Linux. Googleâs strategy has always been to use Chrome against Microsoftâs
desktop monopoly, and through a series of selective leaks that
strategy appears to be coming together.
[...]
That is precisely what Google is engaged in here. And whatâs the headline from Redmond while all this is going on?
Lay-offs.
[/quote]
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/google-out-fuds-the-fudmasters/6807
Why China won and Google lost
[quote]
Forget the fig leaf of the Hong Kong work-around. China beat down Google, because Google got no support from its
government for uncensored search.
[/quote]
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/why-china-won-and-google-lost/6815
Cracks
[quote]
There are more signs of cracks in the monopoly these days:
* share of web stats keeps dropping (87.8%)
* mercy-killing of KIN as Android overtakes that other OS in smart-thingies
* grumbling in the ranks about KIN and leadership/openness to new ideas
[...]
Now, I donât take web stats for gospel especially when there is clear bias in favour of that other OS and Apple,
but if consistently calculated the same way each time, I find
them useful indicators of trends. Clearly the share of that other OS is shrinking and much of
the fall-off of XP is going to GNU/Linux and MacOS. From May to June, W3Schools shows XP down 0.7% of share and
GNU/Linux up 0.3% and MacOS up 0.1%.
[/quote]
http://pogson.6k.ca/2010/07/09/cracks/
Microsoft MS-PL code in Mono
[quote]
Over the past couple of years Microsoft has been open sourcing some key .NET libraries under the MS-PL or Apache 2
license.
We are tremendously grateful to Microsoft for making these components open source. This has allowed us to
distribute this in the past, and we are going to be bundling a lot
more of it with Mono 2.8...
[/quote]
http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2010/Jul-07.html
Lies, damn lies and the BSA
[quote]
The BSAâs figures for software piracy in this country need adjusting. It could start by surveying some South
Africans.
If itâs May, then itâs time for the Business Software Allianceâs annual Global PC Software Piracy Study. The study,
a comprehensive look at the state of unauthorised software
around the world, is commissioned by the BSA and carried out by research giant IDC, which
uses its data from quarterly PC shipments and market indicators from around the world to come up with a global
figure as well as rates for individual countries. South Africaâs
piracy rate was given as 35 percent this year, not as bad as some other countries but not
good either, according to local BSA chairperson Charl Everton.
[...]
How was the 35 percent rate arrived at? Itâs a guess, or rather, a combination of guesses combined with some market
data and presented as a final authoritative percentage.
[/quote]
http://www.brainstormmag.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3925:lies-damn-lies-and-the-
bsa&catid=70:cover&Itemid=108
RIM gets royal approval for Blackberry, well kindof
[quote]
GoMo News recalls an early rival to Novellâs NetWare called Waterloo Port, for example. Plus, wasnât the University
of Waterloo heavily involved in the early development of
Linux? The veteran British online conferencing system, CIX www.cixonline.com, used its
software.
[/quote]
http://www.gomonews.com/rim-gets-royal-approval-for-blackberry-well-kindof/
SCO appeals ruling in Novell case
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/070810-sco-appeals-ruling-in-novell.html
SCO appeals Novell case ruling
http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34712:symbian-releases-
pdk-30&catid=69&Itemid=58
Novell ditches direct sales incentive
[quote]
Veitkus, who was drafted into EMEA in 2007 to sort out its problematic channel, has spent the last three years re-
organising its programmes and distribution. âIt was a bit
crazy,â he comments on the 13 distributors the firm had in the UK when he arrived. Many had been
added as the acquisition-hungry vendor had increased its product footprint, but had remained stagnant. âWe cut a
lot of dead wood...and we spend a lot of time and effort to
ensure that the remaining partners had a strong economic reason for being with Novell,â says
Veitkus.
The cull resulted in around a third of the 2000 plus EMEA partners leaving Novell, and distributors rationalised
down to just five including Magirus, Bell Micro, Avnet and ECS
Arrow. However, in the last 12 months, Novell has added a further 479 partners across the
region as demand for its products has grown.
[/quote]
http://www.channelpro.co.uk/news/534268/novell_ditches_direct_sales_incentive.html
Yahoo Hires Another Ex-Microsoft Exec: Bill Shaughnessy
[quote]
Yahoo just added another former Microsoft executive to its ranks. Bill Shaughnessy, who left Microsoft in during a
shakeup in 2008, will join as a senior vice president of
product management, reporting to chief product officer Blake Irving, another former Microsoftie
who joined last spring. Shaughnessy was a global VP of sales at Microsoft. Now he is moving into product management
after taking time off for the past year and a half. He is
also an investor and sits on the board of ad-tech startup Mixpo.
[/quote]
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/08/yahoo-hires-another-ex-microsoft-exec-bill-shaughnessy/
Microsoft NZ boss leaving
[quote]
Microsoft NZ managing director Kevin Ackhurst is moving onward and upward in the organisation, to become vice-
president of sales and marketing for the Asia-Pacific region. He
will be based in Singapore.
[/quote]
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/microsoft-nz-boss-leaving
SCO Files Motion to Stay Taxation of Costs. Again.
[quote]
SCO has filed a motion to stay taxation of costs until after the appeal they just filed notice that they plan to
pursue. If you are getting that deja vu feeling, you're right.
They did this the last time too. It's almost word for word the same. The last time, Novell
opposed, and Judge Kimball denied SCO's motion, ruling that "the court does not believe that a party's speculation
as to the possibility of the underlying judgment being
reversed on appeal is a valid reason for delaying a determination of costs."
[/quote]
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100708200214612
Why iPhone 4 Is Not For Every Tom, Dick & Harry
http://www.muktware.com/blog/08/2010/223
Microsoft investigating new Windows flaw
[quote]
Microsoft said on Tuesday that it is looking into reports of a new Windows flaw that could compromise the security
of machines running older versions of the operating system.
[/quote]
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20009779-56.html
McAfee provides anti-virus to secure USB devices
[quote]
INSECURITY SOFTWARE VENDOR McAfee has announced that its anti-virus software will be used on most USB devices
thanks to partner programmes with the major orignal equipment
manufacturers (OEMs).
[/quote]
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1721001/mcafee-provides-anti-virus-secure-usb-devicesb
Microsoft patches Freetard-by-design bug
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/06/microsoft_dont_stop_sharing_that_file/
Windows 8 and life after KIN - Ballmer's hot summer
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/06/microbite_july_2010/
Windows Trojan Kills Antivirus
[quote]
Researchers at Websense have uncovered a new Trojan that poses as a Windows Input Method Editor, or IME, and
infects a system.
IME is a Windows component that allows users to input characters or symbols on their keyboard from other alphabets.
[/quote]
http://securitywatch.eweek.com/av_tools/windows_trojan_kills_anti-virus.html
Failure isnât an option, itâs integrated into the new Hotmail
[quote]
If you are like me and use POP3 to get your email in your own client, congratulations, Microsoft has officially
broke your secure login options.
So now I guess that in addition to sending all the emails from my bank and Amazon and other perfectly legitimate
sites to the Junk folder while hosing down my inbox with
obvious Nigerian scams, I canât use TLS/SSL/STARTLS to log in either. I now have to send my
password as plain text over a non-encrypted connection. I wonder if the NSA or the Russian KGB/FSB helped them
engineer Hotmail like they lent a hand with Windows 7â
[/quote]
http://izanbardprince.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/failure-isnt-an-option-its-integrated-into-the-new-hotmail/
Disgruntled security researchers take aim at Microsoft
[quote]
The Microsoft-Spurned Researcher Collective welcomes other researchers to join, though Microsoft employees are not
welcome: it notes that it has a "vetting process" to weed
them out.
[/quote]
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/07/disgruntled-security-researchers-take-aim-at-microsoft.ars
Are Standards Organizations Relevant?
[quote]
Recently I was in a brief conversation about the use of the IEEE. They are an institution that, like many (all?)
other standards organizations, seems to exist largely or
entirely to standardize the reason for their existence. While it is generally agreed that we would
greatly prefer a world with standards organizations to one without, it's evident that standards organizations need
to do more than they currently are to remain relevant. Given
the complaints about standards organizations, the solution to this may actually be more
standardization.
[...]
Another important point is careful control over what exactly becomes a standard. Standards must be fully defined
with nothing critical being dependent on any particular
implementation. If I pick up the document defining the standard for a document format, that
document should contain all the information I require to create an application which handles that format in a
manner identical to the reference implementation. For the Open
Document Format (ODF) standard, this is possible. For the Microsoft Office OpenXML (MSOOXML)
document format, this is impossible. The MSOOXML definition refers to the behaviour of previous versions of
Microsoft Office applications without providing any documentation on
how to properly produce that behaviour or even what the correct behaviour should be. Even
worse, the MSOOXML definition defines an "arbitrary binary data" field â neither open nor XML, and by definition
impossible to define. It is therefore possible for an
application to create a MSOOXML document which would appear to be completely adherent to the document
specifications but which could not be properly read by any other application.
[/quote]
http://www.jgoguen.ca/2010/7/are-standards-organizations-relevant
Use Open Document Format as the Government standard
[quote]
Establish the Open Document Format as the standard for use in all Government departments rather than continually
upgrading to the latest version of Microsoft Office at a cost
of many millions of pounds. This is a process which is already taking place in other
European countries and one which should be started in Britain at the earliest opportunity.
[/quote]
http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/repealing-unnecessary-laws/use-open-document-format-as-the-government-standard
openSUSEâs software manager lists Mono apps under Proprietary Applications Pattern
[quote]
Iâve been using openSUSE for quite some time now, but this is definitely the first time that Iâve noticed this (
though probably because I tend to use zypper or the 1-click
install rather than entering YaST).
[/quote]
http://sathyasays.com/2010/07/10/opensuses-software-manager-lists-mono-apps-under-proprietary-applications-pattern/
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