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German Court: SCO Must Pay a Fine. Yes. Again. - updated
7 minutes ago
SCO was taken to court again in Germany, by one of the companies that got an injunction years ago, Heise is reporting, and now it must pay a fine to the company, Thinking Objects Software GmbH. Three companies took SCO Germany to court back then, and this is one of the three. I'll show you a computer translation first of the headline in Heise. It is perfection: -
Microsoft is profiting from Linux
2 hours, 7 minutes ago
From the "no it's not WinUx but.." files: As Microsoft is set to pump up to $100 million more in Novell for Linux, it's important to note that Microsoft is not paying off Linux - it's actually making money from it. -
Intel unveils dual-core Atom
3 hours, 7 minutes ago
Intel has brought out a dual-core version of its Atom ("Diamondville") processor for low-cost "nettop" PCs. The Atom 330 will ship initially in a low-cost D945GCLF2 mini-ITX board that has gigabit Ethernet, S-video, six-channel audio, eight USB ports, and PCI expansion. -
Linux powers MID-like nav device
5 hours, 7 minutes ago
Clarion announced a Linux-based personal navigation device (PND) based on an 800MHz Z500 Intel Atom processor, with 512MB of RAM and a 4.8-inch 800x480 touchscreen. The ClarionMind has a GPS receiver, but no map database of its own, instead connecting to Internet-based map sites. -
Software Freedom Law Center Publishes Guide to GPL Compliance
6 hours, 7 minutes ago
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), provider of pro-bono legal services to protect and advance Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FOSS), today published a guide to effective compliance with the GNU General Public License (GPL) and related licenses. -
Virtualization technology targets MIDs
7 hours, 7 minutes ago
VirtualLogix will spin a version of its embedded virtualization technology for mobile Internet devices (MIDs), it says. Supporting MIDs based on Intel Atom Z5xx processors, VLX for MIDs should help to simplify designs and materials bills, while improving voice quality, multimedia performance, and security, says VirtualLogix. -
Intellectual Property and Open Source
8 hours, 7 minutes ago
A book on (gulp) law? Why would I want to read this? Well, if you're a developer (open source or not) and you are at all interested in protecting the fruits of your labors, you will want to know this the same way you want to know about locking your house when you leave for work each morning. The next question is, "Will I understand anything the author is saying?". Depends. If you're an attorney, the answer is "yes". If you're a software engineer, the answer is..."yes". What? How can that be? Turns out the author is both a software engineer and a practicing attorney (at least, according to the blurb on the back cover of the book). Is it possible he can speak to both audiences? Let's find out. -
Using Prototype Property in JavaScript
8 hours, 37 minutes ago
In this article by Stoyan Stefanov, you'll learn about the prototype property of the function objects. Understanding how the prototype works is an important part of learning the JavaScript language. After all, JavaScript is classified as having a prototype-based object model. There's nothing particularly difficult about the prototype, but it is a new concept and as such may sometimes take some time to sink in. It's one of these things in JavaScript (closures are another) which, once you "get" them, they seem so obvious and make perfect sense. As with the rest of the article, you're strongly encouraged to type in and play around with the examples; this makes it much easier to learn and remember the concepts. -
Netbooks Continue to Proliferate--Who's Winning?
9 hours, 7 minutes ago
As netbooks proliferate--based on both Linux and Windows--reviews are flowing in for many of the hottest models. Lenovo's IdeaPad S10, which, questionably, runs Windows and not Linux at this point, has been taken through its paces at Laptop Magazine (see the video). As a long-time user of ThinkPad notebooks, I'm not surprised to hear that they love the keyboard. Meanwhile, reviews are lukewarm for Sylvania's G Netbook Meso, featuring the Ubuntu Netbook Remix operating system. How do these compare to the Asus and Acer netbooks? -
OpenClip: Universal Copy and Paste for the iPhone
9 hours, 37 minutes ago
One of the chief complaints among iPhone and iPod Touch owners has been the lack of a system-wide way to copy and paste content. Apple's SDK forbids application developers to create plug-ins for direct collaboration between applications, and aggressively polices how developers can make use of system resources running in the background. There is a workaround application created for this problem, MagicPad, but it has has the major limitation of only allowing copy and paste within the application itself. Now, as VentureBeat discusses, there is an open source application, OpenClip, that can enable system-wide copy and paste--if it gets community support. -
8 Free, Open Source Tools for Video Playback and Encoding
10 hours, 7 minutes ago
It wasn't that long ago that it was impossible to find good, free open source tools for working with and viewing video. Now that video runs rampant on the web, though, there are a whole lot of applications worth getting, even if you're currently happy with your video and encoding tools. Here are eight good applications to try. -
Android Revs SDK, Promises Source Code
10 hours, 37 minutes ago
When last we looked at Google's Android mobile phone OS project, there were some rumblings of discontent in the developer community. This week, though, developers have a lot less to complain about (though, perfectionists that most of us are, we can still find a few issues). That's because Google has pushed out an 0.9 beta version of the SDK, making its vision for the first Android release much clearer. -
Mozilla Plans to Nudge Firefox 2.0 Users to Upgrade
11 hours, 7 minutes ago
If you've been on the fence about upgrading to Firefox 3.0, Mozilla is planning to give you a little nudge. Sometime within the next week, people using Firefox 2.0.0.16 will see a request to upgrade and though you'll have the option to decline, it's likely Firefox will ask again anyway. -
Blue Screen of Death in Linux Cause Corruption: “Unmountable Boot Volume”
11 hours, 37 minutes ago
This error was followed by lots of help instructions. I did whatever was the instruction but was not getting rid from this problem. With Linux, you don’t get big scary message. Instead it’ll take you through a reboot, drop you into a minimal shell, and then it tells you the commands to make everything better. Even the OEM Windows machines. -
FCC blesses Android phone
12 hours, 7 minutes ago
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a phone from HTC that could be the first phone to ship with the Linux-based Google Android stack. The 5 x 3-inch HTC Dream sports a slide-or-swivel QWERTY keypad, touchscreen with haptic feedback, WiFi, and Bluetooth. - More News
Linux.com : Features
Bradley Kuhn discusses software innovation, freedom, and the law (video)
Bradley Kuhn is not a lawyer, but he works at the Software Freedom Law Center and heads the Software Freedom Conservancy. He is fun to watch and listen to because he walks the tightrope between creative, carefree developers and cautious, legally-minded lawyers. Linux.com talked with Kuhn a few months ago, but he says lots more in this 30-minute video than in that interview -- including plenty of thoughts on how businesses based on free software can (and often do) turn a profit, plus some comments on how and why open source is helping the next generation of programmers develop and improve their skills.
FOSS for students
Whether you're a high school student or just starting out with your college coursework, the free software community has provided a wide range of solutions to make life easier. Browsing the package repository of my Linux distribution led me to applications for everything from gene sequencing to particle physics, but there are a few real gems I think any student could benefit from, including math and chemistry tools such as TiLP, wxMaxima, Kalzium, Gnome Chemistry Utils, and OpenOffice.org Math.
Getting Mono and MySQL to play together politely
When I first used Mono, shortly after its first appearance in 2004, one of my most important requirements was to get connected to a MySQL back end. This was quickly achieved at the time with the ByteFX data connector. Following the basic Mono tutorial quickly had me up and running, with access to MySQL databases. Last week I needed to reopen and modernize my application and found that there have been several important changes in Mono between 2004 and 2008. First, I found some "then and now" differences with the installation of the data connector. Second, I needed to make some modifications to my programming.
phpMinAdmin is a powerful minimalist MySQL editor
If you've ever worked with and manipulated MySQL databases, chances are you've used phpMyAdmin to manage your databases from a Web interface. But phpMyAdmin can be a little complex; if you want a lightweight alternative, try phpMinAdmin. It's easier to install than its more robust cousin and has an easy-to-navigate graphical user interface for most important MySQL functions.
Help your favorite "public interest" free software project win $10,000
Nominations are now open for the Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest. The winner could be someone you know, or someone whose work you admire, but don't mull over your recommendation too long -- entries must be submitted by September 30.
Scheduling jobs based on filesystem activity with incron
There are numerous documents, tutorials and guides detailing the workings and usage of cron, the de facto tool for scheduling jobs on Linux. While traditional cron jobs are executed at set times, inotify cron, or incron, is a cron clone that watches the filesystem for specified changes and executes the relevant commands. You can set incron to monitor a particular file or directory for changes and schedule jobs for when those changes occur.
Foresight Linux: Two out of three's not bad
According to its past and present marketing, Foresight Linux has three claims to fame: Its user-friendliness, its use of the Conary package management system, and its role as a showcase for the latest in GNOME. In practice, its latest 2.0.4 version is not more user-friendly than any other GNOME-based distribution -- if anything, it is slightly less so because of its limited software selection and package management -- but its other claims are enough to make Foresight one of the more distinctive modern distributions.
Find the DVD containing those files with VVV
The Virtual Volumes View (VVV) project lets you index your data DVDs and perform searches to figure out whether a given file is backed up and what disc contains it. If you routinely back up a large amount of data onto DVDs, you can simply number your discs and keep them in numerically sorted order. When it comes time to find an image or digital video you burned to DVD, just use VVV to figure out the disc number and quickly locate the right disc in the pile.
Open options for cloud computing
Some cloud computing vendors, such as 3tera and Nirvani, push their own proprietary platforms and tools, which forces adopters to limit their options and work in a restricted or closed architecture. When these established vendors say cloud, they mean their cloud. As a result, Web developers may believe that, in order to use cloud computing, they must accept limitations in the way they write and build their applications. But that view is a misconception; open standards for cloud computing are already in place and are being tweaked.
XBMC's Linux port lacks impressive features
Linux has no shortage of audio and video players, but if you want to devote you whole system to multimedia use, you need the XBMC (formerly Xbox Media Center). Although initially designed for the Xbox gaming console, XBMC has been ported to other platforms. The alpha version of the Linux port of XBMC that I use is quite usable, especially for video playback, despite the fact that not all XBMC features have yet been ported.
New Scalix open source groupware is competition for Microsoft Exchange
Scalix collaboration platform, with its latest release version 11.4, aims to be a good alternative to Microsoft Exchange. Based on the HP OpenMail platform, discontinued by Hewlett-Packard in 2001, it has been further developed by Scalix and now acts as an enterprise email and group calendar server with the option of integrating systems like ERP, CRM, and billing into the Scalix system using its open API. It is compatible with most LDAP authentication mechanisms, such as those in Windows Active Directory, Novell eDirectory, and Red Hat Directory Server. The most prominent feature of Scalix is its Exchange compatibility; you can use an Outlook client to access the Scalix platform. Scalix also provides an AJAX-based client that is nearly identical to Microsoft Exchange Outlook Web Access (OWA). Aside from Outlook compatibility, Scalix also claims to coexist peacefully with other existing Exchange email systems.
Linutop 2.2: A desktop where smaller is better
A shift from multi-core power-gobbling monsters toward whisper-quiet systems with single-digit power consumption is rippling through the desktop market. This trend plays right into the hands of a Paris-based company called Linutop, which offers a miniature Linux-based desktop system. The latest version of the machine appeals to customers who are in the market for a machine with green credentials and low maintenance costs. After testing one myself, I found the tiny desktop has a lot going for it.
Meet Open Invention Network CEO Keith Bergelt (video)
Linux.com correspondent R. Scott Belford caught up with Open Invention Network CEO Keith Bergelt at the 2008 LinuxWorld Expo and had a pleasant (on-camera) conversation with him.
Rocks clusters make sense for educational environments
Cluster computing has played a pivotal role in the way research is conducted in educational environments. Because the amount of available money and hardware varies between university researchers, often it's necessary to find a clustering solution that can work well on a small scale, but also can be expanded into a large computing cluster. To maximize grants, researchers typically ask for an open source solution to meet their needs. Despite the lack of certain desirable features, Rocks clusters are among the best open source solution for building a computing cluster.
NimbleX 2008 is speedy but flawed
NimbleX, a Slackware-based distribution, advertises itself as "the new wave of Linux." However, what is appealing in NimbleX -- its speed and small footprint and the resulting selection of alternative software choices -- will likely strike veteran GNU/Linux users as being very old school. By contrast, its limitations -- too little attention to such aspects as the installer, packaging, and security -- seem all too modern, being reminiscent of other distros intent on commercialization or emulating Windows, even though NimbleX is a community distribution and largely a labor of love for Romanian developer Bogdan Radulescu.
Three Firefox extensions for Gmail
Gmail, Google's popular Web mail application, is already full of useful features all on its own. But Firefox users can further customize Gmail with a variety of add-ons. Some only change the appearance, while others add functionality that makes Gmail more like a personal planner than just a plain old email application. Let's take a look at three Firefox add-ons for Gmail.
Ask Linux.com: Theft recovery, skeleton files, and boot-looping Eees
This week in our parade through the wide world of the Linux.com forums, what to do with a stolen-then-recovered laptop, how to rescue an Eee PC netbook stuck in an endless boot loop, and how make Likewise Open and /etc/skel play nice together. Plus, competitive bash scripting, unanswered questions, and a world of bad Olympic puns.
Spend your vacation getting started with OpenStreetMap
We have written about the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project many times, but we have yet to explain how to get started with it as a contributor. Since it is the vacation high season in the Northern Hemisphere and many more people will be hitting the maps, this is the perfect time. You can contribute a lot to the project even if you don't own a Global Positioning System (GPS) device -- or even a compass.
China takes lead in Linux education
Since the Chinese government began supporting domestic open source communities in 2005, hundreds of thousands of young people in the world's most populous country have become a part of the open source world.
Using Windows, Xbox, and iPod as alternative MythTV front ends
Digital video recorders (DVR) are becoming more and more mainstream. TiVo, in fact, has passed the truest test of any popular technology -- having its name transformed into a verb. MythTV, a free and open source application that lets you turn a computer into a DVR, burst on the scene a few years ago, and has found fans among Linux users. However, with a little effort, it's possible to run MythTV front ends on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Xbox, and even an Apple iPod Classic.
