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Linux in the news

Recommended Reading

Open Source alive and well at O'Reilly P2P conference (Register). The Register covers the P2P conference from an open source perspective. "Among the vendors in attendance, Sun was especially prevalent. In his keynote, Sun's Phipps advised the audience that their best protection against vendor lock-in was Open Source. He said Sun views Open Source as a valuable software development methodology, rather than 'being religious about it.'"

Linux Outlawed! (Troubleshooting Professional). Troubleshooting Professional has put up a special issue on the SSSCA. "What is the end result if SSSCA passes? It starts bleak, and gets bleaker. For starters, Linux is outlawed."

MS promotes Linux from threat to 'the' threat - Memo (Register). The Register has picked up an alleged internal Microsoft memo on competing with Linux. "Speaking of fights, Brett Cocking and team from the SLG vertical just don't know when to quit! Not only did they displace RedHat for a 40+ web server deal at Broward County in Florida, they're also going straight after one of the Linux community's key wins at the City of Largo (dubbed the City of Progress). 'If they're the city of progress, why are they running Linux?', Brett jokes."

How Microsoft invented open source, by Billg (Register). The Register reports on the Microsoft shareholder meeting. "There you have Bill's view of how the good free software movement should perform, tapping away at the creation of baseline 'adequate' functionality so other people can - we hesitate to say 'steal' - it, develop it and make money out of it."

Apache 2.0 to debut from Covalent (News.com). News.com reports on Covalent, which is about to release a version of Apache 2.0, even though the Apache Project has not yet done so. "But Covalent, which employs some but not all of the key members of the Apache development effort, is ahead of the rest of the Apache programmers, who still consider 2.0 to be beta software and whose current 'production version' is 1.3.22, which is ready for real-world use."

Linux security self-censorship ominous (Register). Here's an article in The Register about the suppression of information about security fixes in the 2.2.20-pre changelogs. "First, Microsoft's Scott Culp argued in an essay that security researchers shouldn't reveal the nature of security holes in software. Then Culp may have found an unexpected ally in his war against full disclosure: Linux's second-in-command, Alan Cox. Cox's decision to delete security-related material from the Linux kernel changelog seems almost to honor Culp's request that we suppress information useful to attackers."

Companies

Casio to ship Linux, Transmeta laptop next week (Register). Here's a brief Register article on the new "Fiva" laptop from Casio. "Interestingly, though, users select which operating system they want to boot into by toggling a physical 'Change Over' switch in the Fiva's body. Flip it to A Mode and you get XP; set it to B Mode and you get Linux."

New CEO replaces Lineo founder (News.com). According to this brief News.com article, Lineo founder Bryan Sparks has stepped aside, and COO Matt Harris is the new CEO of the company. "Founder and former CEO Bryan Sparks will remain chairman, [spokesman Lyle] Ball said, though his new duties remain vague."

VA Linux goes mainstream (IT-Director). IT-Directory has put up a look at the SourceForge 3.0 release. "This version of SourceForge runs, not surprisingly, on Linux (however, the company has announced plans for other operating systems, of which the first will be Sun Solaris). You might think that it would also run based on an open source database such as MySQL but, fortunately for its sales potential, the company has taken the pragmatic stance of rolling it out on Oracle (though 8i rather than 9i) in the first instance."

Business

Future of the Data Center (ComputerWorld). Nicholas Petreley talks with Open Source Development Lab leader Tim Witham in this (slightly old) ComputerWorld article. "What impressed me most was his long-term outlook for Linux. Witham is convinced that Linux will own the data center in about five years." (Thanks to Peter Link).

Linux: The Penguin Marches On (IT-Director). Here's an IT-Director article on how Linux is doing in the corporate world. "Our guess is that Linux on the desktop is still too early to call, but on the server it now looks to be unstoppable."

Reviews

A developer's perspective on Sharp's Zaurus SL-5000D Linux/Java PDA (LinuxDevices). LinuxDevices.com is running a detailed look at the Sharp SL-5000D PDA. "Sharp calls their kernel 'Lineo Embedix'; though it is not clear what Lineo brings to the party -- at least from the point of view of the kernel. Basic functionality is provided by BusyBox , an open source project now maintained by Lineo. In any case, it should not be necessary to purchase Embedix to write software for the Zaurus -- freely available tools will work just fine." Worth a read.

Editors' Choice Awards (Linux Journal). The Linux Journal has announced its "Editor's Choice" winners for the year.

Word to the Wise: KWord's Quest for Completion (LinuxPlanet). LinuxPlanet looks at KOffice, and is not particularly impressed. "Without neglecting to acknowledge the incredible efforts of the open source developers that have gotten us this far with KOffice on what must amount to a shoestring budget, I have to say that as a consumer, I am getting a bit cynical about opening up a Linux product and being disappointed with the results."

Internet liberation theology (Salon). Salon reviews The Future of Ideas, the new book by Lawrence Lessig. "Lessig's discussion of levels of control in the information ecology follows from the work of NYU communications scholar Yochai Benkler. Benkler described the Internet as a multitiered environment consisting of an underlying physical layer (the wires), a logical layer (the protocols) and the content (the Web pages you view, the cable programming you receive). At each level, Lessig notes how the balance is tilting increasingly from freedom to control."

Interviews

Interview: Neal Walfield (KernelTrap). KernelTrap interviews Hurd developer Neal Walfield. The article gives a good overview of what the Hurd is about. "With respect to usability, the Hurd works quite well as a desktop system, however, I would not yet recommend it to anyone as a server. That said, approximately half of the Debian Woody archive has been compiled for the Hurd. This includes most development tools and noteworthy programs such as XFree86."

Alan Cox on the DMCA, his future, and the future of Linux (NewsForge). NewsForge interviews Alan Cox. "I have a list of things I want to get done in 2.5, most of which consist of removing old ugly code. There is some device driver stuff I want to work on, and there are a whole collection of userspace things I want to play with somewhat more -- especially configuration tools and usability."

Miscellaneous

Geeks on the Half Shell (Linux Journal). Here's a travelogue by Doc Searls from the Geek Cruise. "After the third Bloody Mary, it doesn't matter what the hell Richard Stallman says."

Section Editor: Forrest Cook

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