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Linux in the news

Recommended Reading

Pretrial Hearings in Sklyarov/ElcomSoft case to begin March 4, 2002 (PlanetPDF). This Planet PDF article is the first we've seen about Dmitry Sklyarov's hearing today. "According to Associated Press' reports, defense attorneys 'intend to challenge aspects of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and whether prosecutors here have jurisdiction' over the Russian defendants."

Here, also, are a few notes from the hearing taken by Henry Schwan of the EFF.

Torvalds says Linux still growing (News.com). News.com looks at the Linux kernel's growing pains. "With Linux, things are more difficult because the OS is relatively young, and is still changing quickly. "The real solution is to make fewer fundamental changes between stable kernels, and that's a real solution that I expect to become more and more realistic as the kernel stabilizes," Torvalds wrote."

Linux app makes Xbox net gaming a reality (Register). The Register looks at the Xbox Gateway, a Linux-based router system allowing Xbox users to play each other over broadband links. "Bill is no doubt absolutely ecstatic about this, but he can console himself with the thought that at least all the work XboxGW has put into the system is on the outside - the box itself remains unsullied by viral GPL-related stuff."

New application takes Xbox online (ZDNet). A group of software developers have created a Linux-based application that they claim lets Xbox users play system-link games over the Internet.

Nixed for Linux (CIO). CIO Magazine is carrying a brief story on how Industrial Light and Magic is moving from SGI systems to Linux. "The irony here is that SGI has helped the Linux cause in the past by serving up some of its own proprietary Unix code to the open-source community. Now Linux seems to be biting the hand that fed it."

Despite a Tough Road, Linux Has Never Been More Popular. Here's a San Jose Mercury article on how Linux is doing well, even if Linux companies are not. "While the flightless bird may have been booted off Wall Street, it is being welcomed on Main Street as a dependable substitute for more expensive software sold by competitors such as Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. From auto dealers in Florida to grocery stores in the Arctic Circle, companies are using Linux to run Web sites, power databases, track inventory and balance the books."

What are you thankful for? (Scripting News). For those who are amused by this sort of stuff, here's Dave Winer's reaction to Richard Stallman's co-winning the 2001 Takeda Award. "Do you work really hard to make good software? I do it every day. Does Stallman push the envelope? I haven't seen any evidence of that. Imho, the economy is still rewarding the wrong people."

Famed Lab Seeks Big Grid (Wired). Wired looks at a computing initiative at CERN. "CERN, the famed Swiss high-energy particle physics lab, has a problem. It's about to start generating more data than any computer or network anywhere in the world is able to analyze. That prospect has led CERN to drive a major European project to create a vast 'grid' research network of computers across Europe. When completed, the 10 million euro, Linux-based endeavor called DataGRID, will become a principal European computing resource for researchers of many disciplines."

Companies

What Makes Google Good (The Dallas Morning News). Google is something of a Linux success story. "Within three years, the Google team had come up with the first public versions of PageRank. Running on cheap, lean Linux computers, it combined the standard search engine "spider" technology, which combs public Web pages for key words, with the company's own database of heavily linked pages."

Red Hat trumps MS poor kids offer (Register). Here's the Register's take on Red Hat's school offer. "If Red Hat really wants to help the indigenous poor, why doesn't it pay for free breakfasts for all children of primary school age in poor areas?"

Red Hat shares ride on IBM deal (News.com). Red Hat stock climbs following the announcement of an IBM deal. "Red Hat shares were up $1.10, or 18 percent, to $7.10 in morning Nasdaq trading and helped lift badly battered shares of other Linux-oriented companies. Caldera rose 19 percent, or 10 cents, to 62 cents; and VA Linux Systems rose 8 percent, or 19 cents, to $2.70."

Business

Open-source fans welcome French government move (CNN). CNN covers a report from the IDG News Service on the adoption of open source software by the French government. "The French government also wants to encourage a decentralized software industry by allowing small companies to work on open-source government projects, rather than the concentrated software development that tends to result from proprietary products, [EuroLinux Alliance spokesperson Jean-Paul] Smets added."

Germany speaks out for open source (ZDNet). Here's a ZDNet article on the German government's opposition to software patents. "However, experts say that the opposition to broader software patents voiced by the German government, open-source advocates, software developers and others is likely to make little difference to the outcome of the EC's plans. Europe is moving towards broader software patents as a way of putting Europe on the same footing as the United States, which many businesses feel is necessary to enable them to compete."

Who's going to sort out Linux? (IT-Director). Here's an analysis of the downturn in Linux businesses. "The downside is that there are not many Linux businesses capable of making it, simply because there is no money being put into them. Red Hat, Caldera and IBM are probably the leading proponents of Linux and all of these know very well that a revenue-free environment is never going to work."

Interviews

Interview: Theo de Raadt (KernelTrap). KernelTrap interviews Theo de Raadt, creator of OpenBSD. "We have a six month cycle for many reasons. First off, and most important to me personally, it is just the right length so that I do not kill myself. The holidays are nicely spaced for me. Since I am project leader, I must not be permitted to go insane."

Interview: Linux darling Caldera states its case (IT-Director). IT-Director talks with Ransom Love. "The problem here is that we have been leading the market from inception and focussing very clearly on the business needs. As it happens, business demands are very different to those of the Linux community. But I do think that the community recognises that we work very hard on Linux."

Interview: Rodney Dawes (LinuxPower). LinuxPower interviews GNOME hacker Rodney Dawes. "Free software isn't entirely intended to be a 'Submit a patch' hack it yourself deal. It's meant to make a better alternative to the proprietary software systems. If we limit ourselves to a single architecture, we're doing no better than the proprietary people. So, let's make this work without having everyone hack their own copy."

Miscellaneous

RMS tagged as Gnomewhere man in board elections (Register). Here is the Register's take on the GNOME Foundation Elections, focusing mostly on who didn't win. "But a spare a thought for fellow nominee, MIT undergraduate Rhett Creighton, who in his manifesto said he "wanted to use the position to impress chicks". Creighton received just one vote in the final ballot, and finished twenty fifth out of twenty five candidates."

Section Editor: Forrest Cook

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