See also: last week's Linux in the news page.

Linux in the news

Recommended Reading

Constructing A Windows-Less Office (CRN). Computer Reseller News built a Windows-free office network with Linux and reported on the results. "After constructing a practical solution, the Test Center reached the following conclusion: Linux and associated Linux applications can accomplish many of the same tasks as the Wintel standard at a much lower initial cost,in this case, for 93 percent less than the software cost of a similar Windows-based network,and without many of the licensing hassles presented by traditional software platforms."

Copyright Law Foes Lose Big (Wired). Wired reports on the adverse rulings in the 2600 and Felten cases. "Now, all of a sudden, repealing the reviled DMCA through First Amendment litigation seems altogether unlikely. Nor, given how much Washington politicians adore the law, is Congress likely to alter it."

US courts kowtow to entertainment industry (Register). The Register looks at recent US court decisions concerning the DMCA. Cases involving Eric Corely (aka Emmanuel Goldstein) and Edward Felten have both suffered setbacks. CNET also covers the situation.

Linus Says: Linux Not Designed; It Never Was (KernelTrap). KernelTrap provides some excerpts from a thread on the Linux kernel mailing list. "A thread on the lkml started innocently enough about proper spacing in source code, then grew and grew into a somewhat philosophical debate about evolution and code design."

Waiting for Linux, Waiting for Godot (DesktopLinux). Malcolm Dean writes about the position of Linux in computing history from a Windows user's perspective on DesktopLinux. "There's one thing about Linux: it's downright frustrating. It's unfamiliar, it requires a new vocabulary, and it's simply hard to figure out what it really means." Some of us still feel that way about Windows.

Marcelo the Wonder Penguin (CrackMonkey). Here's a brief look at the new maintainer of the 2.4 kernel, Marcelo Tosatti. "If you are the 700th journalist to wonder why Alan and Linus handed over the 2.4 kernel to an 18-year old man from Brazil, please keep in mind that Marcelo will be busy working on the 2.4 kernel, so please contact the people from Conectiva's marketing department instead of preventing Marcelo from doing his work."

Companies

HP's Blade strategy isn't so dense (Register). The Register reports on HP's new Blade servers. "Surprisingly the first offerings will be Linux-only, with Windows and HP-UX to follow. Red Hat, SuSE and Debian - chalk one up for HP's Linux advisor Bruce Perens - are the favoured distros."

Business

Special Report: Are We There Yet? (Network Computing). This article looks at the current state of Linux in the enterprise, and looks back to where it was 17 months ago. Though Linux support is available, a perceived lack of support remains an issue. "Companies such as Linuxcare, Mission Critical Linux and Multi-User Solutions offer non-distribution-specific 24x7 critical support services for companies wishing to select a non-distribution-specific entity for their support needs. Perceptions of Linux support may not have changed much over the past year and a half, but the availability of support has definitely risen."

Leading the Linux Bird (osOpinion). John Lederer comments on Linux in an article on osOpinion. "In a recent survey regarding Linux adoption, the principal impediment to adoption, cited by 35 percent or more the respondents, was a lack of knowledgeable staff.

This is a lead problem. It suggests that management has, once again, screwed up."

Reviews

Ximian Evolution 1.0 links Linux to Exchange (Register). The Register looks at the Evolution 1.0 release. "As you go over the feature list for Evolution, it becomes clear that it is intended to become the Outlook/Outlook Express for Linux and Unix. Except in regard to security, of course."

Device profile: ZapMedia ZapStation (LinuxDevices). LinuxDevices.com has put up a profile of the ZapMedia ZapStation, which runs embedded Linux, of course. "The ZapStation is an audio/video jukebox that digitally stores and plays music and video files transferred from CDs and the Internet, plays DVDs, allows for Internet surfing, and provides daily news from USAToday. The ZapStation connects directly to TVs and stereo receivers, and provides high quality multimedia playback at the touch of a remote control."

Pogo Linux Altura Athlon XP Workstation reviewed. The Duke of URL Reviews the Pogo Linux Altura Athlon XP Workstation.

Interviews

Paul Everitt Interview (Zopera). The Zopera site has posted an interview with Zope Corp. founder Paul Everitt. "There has always been a tension between whether Python is Zope's greatest asset or its greatest liability. At some point, you have to decide that Python is Zope's greatest asset. Because, if you look, there are many Java application servers out there. And if you take the category of people who don't believe in Java, Zope is there for them. And it has not got any strong competitor in the Python world."

Section Editor: Forrest Cook

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