Dana Blankenhorn opines, “The war is over and Linux won.” Ah, if it were only that simple. I think we've seen a turning point, but unlike wars with surrenders and treaties and armistices, commercial and non-commercial software will always live with some dynamic tension, and plots by one to eradicate the other will continue. There has been a sea-change though: vendors are learning to accomodate Linux as an alternative choice of their customers.
Archive | OpenSource
Open Source means that users have the freedom to see how software works, adapt it for the own needs, fix bugs and limitations and contribute back to the community.
MerriLUG: 16 Nov 2006: VMWare
Jim Kuzdrall announces that Shawn K. O'Shea will present “VMware tips: features, advantages, installation, quirks, demo” at the November 16th meeting of the Merrimack Valley Linux User Group chapter of the Greater New Hampshire Linux User Group. Should be a great show!
Groklaw: Microsoft Patent Pledge Useless
Groklaw is reporting SFLC's Bradley M. Kuhn's Letter to the FOSS Development Community Regarding Microsoft's Patent Promise. The Software Freedom Law Center's CTO Bradley Kuhn has issued a statement regarding the Novell-Microsoft agreements and how they will impact FOSS developers. They have analyzed in particular Microsoft’s Patent Pledge for Non-CompensatedDevelopers and see little value and in fact say it's worse than useless, because it creates an illusion of safety and because it limits severely what that developer is allowed to do with his work: read more
No, they're not! Yes, they are!
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols responds, Novell is not SCO. Novell is accepting around $350 million dollars from Microsoft to allow Microsoft to indemnify Novell customers from patent infringement claims, which Novell insists is not a problem. Steven, who admins he is not a lawyer, believes he understands the way they thread that needle without violating the GPL. SJV-N notes, “In the long run, Microsoft will shaft Novell. Just ask Stac, Lotus, WordPerfect… oh, wait. Novell is still suing Microsoft for that last one! Could it be that Novell already knows that they're supping with the devil? Why, yes I think they do.”
So, they're taking money for desparate short-term gain, despite knowing long-term liabilities? Aiding Microsoft in spreading the chilling effects of bogeyman legal threats that will damage its Linux business as well as everyone elses? A dangerous game they are playing.
Novell turns to the dark side
OSNews links to a Register story: Perens: 'Novell Is the New SCO'. “Often cast as the peacemaker in free software disputes, Bruce Perens is on the warpath. When we caught up with him, he wasn't in a mood to be charitable to Novell.”
“Novell is violating the GPL,” he tells us. “It's up to the Free Software Foundation, which owns the copyright, to pursue this. But the FSF owns the C library and the compiler outright. There isn't much Novell can do without either.”
Subversion 1.4.2 released
From the Project RSS Feed for Project subversion“>subversion project comes the news Subversion 1.4.2 released.. “I'm happy to announce Subversion 1.4.2… You can find list of changes between 1.4.2 and earlier versions at: http://svn.collab.net/repos/svn/tags/1.4.2/CHANGES ” Sounds cool! Read the notes carefully for some cautions on working with differing versions of the clients and servers. The svnsync feature opens up some interesting opportunities to publish and subscribe, perhaps into a QA or backup repository.
Novell turns to the dark side
OSNews links to a Register story: Perens: 'Novell Is the New SCO'. “Often cast as the peacemaker in free software disputes, Bruce Perens is on the warpath. When we caught up with him, he wasn't in a mood to be charitable to Novell.”
“Novell is violating the GPL,” he tells us. “It's up to the Free Software Foundation, which owns the copyright, to pursue this. But the FSF owns the C library and the compiler outright. There isn't much Novell can do without either.”
Subversion 1.4.2 released
From the Project RSS Feed for Project subversion“>subversion project comes the news Subversion 1.4.2 released.. “I'm happy to announce Subversion 1.4.2… You can find list of changes between 1.4.2 and earlier versions at: http://svn.collab.net/repos/svn/tags/1.4.2/CHANGES ” Sounds cool! Read the notes carefully for some cautions on working with differing versions of the clients and servers. The svnsync feature opens up some interesting opportunities to publish and subscribe, perhaps into a QA or backup repository.
Red Hat responds to Microsoft-Novell "protection" deal
InfoWorld reports “ Update: Red Hat spins Novell-Microsoft deal in its favor” with the killer quote “Linux has won.” Linux Watch reports “Red Hat spits on Microsoft/Novell patent assurances” where the Red Hat spokesman points to the several levels of “protection” and “assurance” Red Hat already provides. Over at TechTarget, Jack Loftus is reporting “ Red Hat: We will be here in one year, Novell will not” Haven't we been here before: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt vs. The Facts? It'll be fun watching this play out.
Linux Journal Editor's Choice Awards
Meanwhile, the Linux Journal staff have selected their Editor's Choice products. A great range of software, some of which I'll have, and some I'll now have to make time to try out.