October
Sub-archives
Oct 20, 2007
ALT: Linux from Russia
Russia may have bowed out of the Cold War, but with the release of ALT Linux Personal Desktop 4.0, Russia has become a contender in the Linux arms race. Equipped with KDE 3.5.7, OpenOffice.org, Firefox, a modern infrastructure, and good multimedia support, ALT Linux is a potential weapon of mass adoption. ALT Linux is a Russian Linux distribution with several versions for differing needs. ALT Linux Ltd provides commercial support options for corporate customers, but also offers no-cost downloads of Personal Desktop for home and small office users. It is released under the Berne Convention for the Protecton of Literary and Artist Works, which reads very much like an open source license. It does include some proprietary drivers and binary programs that are still under the license they were originally released. read more...
EU antitrust ruling renews hope for developers
San Francisco (IDGNS) - Microsoft's defeat in a European appeals court Monday has left open-source developers hopeful about the future although still dissatisfied with the company's compliance with a 3-year-old antitrust ruling. The European Commission ordered Microsoft to license its workgroup server communications protocols to rivals in March 2004, aiming to make it easier for those companies to develop and sell enterprise software interoperating -- and competing -- with Microsoft's own products. So far, though, there have been few takers for the licenses Microsoft now proposes under its WSPP (Workgroup Server Protocol Program) -- and the licenses have proved useless to open-source developers. read more...
New portal offers info on open source
A new website, the Free Knowledge for ICT Literacy Portal, has been launched to offer an information resource on free, libre and open source software (FLOSS) with particular reference to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector. The purpose of the portal is to provide access to free learning resources for ICT literacy using FLOSS to enable people to change the conditions of their lives for the better. It aims to improve access to online information in any particular field by highlighting the best resources available. read more...
Linux picks up pace on cellphones
There has been growing talk of Linux's adoption on cellphone platforms. Yesterday Trolltech announced the release of its application platform under the GPL as well as a partnership with OpenMoko on the Neo1973, the potential iPhone killer. At the same time Broadcom joined the Linux Mobile Foundation. This growing momentum backs up recent research that Linux will be the fastest growing operating system in the smart phone market read more...
Talking FOSS at the UN
When Nathan Eckenrode goes to the United Nations in New York City next week to help demonstrate the technology behind open source software, he doesn't really expect to discover the answer to world peace. If he gets a little closer, though, he's all right with that. Last year the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held a joint meeting to discuss the feasibility of using free and open source software (FOSS) as a means to bolster the growth of technology in developing countries. Delegates were intrigued by the information presented by such notables as the Free Software Foundation's Richard Stallman, Intel's Danese Cooper, and IBM's Bob Sutor, and asked to hear more about the real-world practicality of FOSS. read more...
O3Spaces 2.2: A step closer to open source
O3Spaces is a proprietary integrated collaboration and document management application for workgroups and businesses. Almost a year after its launch, the company behind the software has released version 2.2 beta. While the new version doesn't offer any earth-shattering new features, O3Spaces 2.2 sports a wealth of improvements aimed at solidifying its position as a viable alternative to Microsoft SharePoint. read more...
Is it easier to hire open source developers?
Chatting to Steve Raby, UK country manager for open source ECM vendor Nuxeo yesterday, an interesting point was raised around the issue of motivation of open source developers versus developers on proprietary poducts, and hiring them. Namely: what are the benefits of hiring open source developers, and what are the benefits of developing open source software if you're looking to get hired. Naturaly Steve, who hails from JBoss, will have a biased view of such matters - after all it is his job to sell the idea of open source software to enterprises. But his thesis made sense and is based on his experience so I shall repeat it here. read more...
IBM partners in scheme to reduce poverty
BM has announced that it will collaborate with the Grameen Foundation to help microfinance institutions (MFIs) better serve the world's poor communities. Together they will expand the Grameen Foundation's open source microfinance software platform, Mifos. The goal is to provide MFIs with software that streamlines the lending process and cuts costs so that they can expand their operations to provide loans to more people and offer a wider range of services. IBM will assist in building added functionality and making the application more robust. read more...
Microsoft licences get open source nod
In a surprising announcement the Open Source Initiative said it had approved two of Microsoft's licences as being acceptable for licensing open source software. While many within the open source community will view this as tantamount to allowing a wolf into sheep's clothing, the OSI board (which did not a approve a less permissive third licence) appears to be happy with these two. OSI president Michael Tiemann wrote that the OSI board had approved the Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL) and the Microsoft Reciprocal License (Ms-RL). "The decision to approve was informed by the overwhelming (though not unanimous) consensus from the open source community that these licenses satisfied the 10 criteria of the Open Source definition, and should therefore be approved." read more...
Sun offers potpourri of open-source plans
San Francisco (InfoWorld) - Sun offered informational updates Monday on several ongoing efforts in the open-source arena, including product plans for the OpenSolaris version of the Solaris OS, Java, and the GlassFish application server. ADVERTISEMENT Cited were improvements like a binary release of OpenSolaris and plans for dynamic scripting support in Sun's Java Virtual Machine. Executives from throughout the company met with the media at Sun's Santa Clara, Calif. headquarters campus for an open-source "summit" briefing. "We have so many people who work on open source inside Sun," that they must be brought together for an annual conference, said Simon Phipps, chief open-source officer at the company. read more...
OSI approves two Microsoft shared source licenses
San Francisco (IDGNS) - The board of the Open Source Initiative (OSI) has approved two Microsoft licenses that allow proprietary source code to be shared, a move that is likely to inspire protest and spur controversy for die-hard open source proponents. ADVERTISEMENT The Microsoft Public License (MPL) and the Microsoft Reciprocal License (MRL), two of Microsoft's "shared source" licenses, are now viable OSI licenses for distributing open source code alongside more widely used community licenses such as the GNU General Public License and the Mozilla Public License. "Today's approval by the OSI concludes a tremendous learning experience for Microsoft, and I look forward to our continued participation in the open source community," said Microsoft general manager of Windows Server Marketing and Platform Strategy Bill Hilf in a press statement. read more...
Does the Linux Patent Suit Involve Microsoft?
If you expected to read a story someday about a new patent-infringement suit against Linux, this is it. But, while neither of the plaintiffs in this lawsuit is named Microsoft, at least one technology law blog is suggesting the Redmond, Washington-based software giant might be involved. ADVERTISEMENT Several news outlets are reporting that IP Innovation LLC and Technology Licensing Corp. have sued Red Hat and Novell in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, claiming patent infringement from such products as the Red Hat Linux system and Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction and damages, and have alleged that, because Red Hat and Novell had notice of the patents, their infringement is willful. read more...
Linux Foundation's Jim Zemlin on the Virtues of Open Source
"We take a long view, saying that Linux desktop may have gotten a later start in the game, but because of this shared innovation and the rapid development model, we think, over time, functionally, the Linux desktop will be superior to Windows. It's just a matter of timing," said Jim Zemlin, director of the Linux Foundation. read more...
