Tonight live on the Linux Show: Sputnik launches, and we’re mad as hell about other issues

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Author: JT Smith

Jeff Gerhardt writes: Tuesday, March 12th, 2002 from the home of Wayne’s World, Aurora IL
Tonight LIVE on
www.thelinuxshow.com,
at 6pm pt, 7pm mt, 8pm ct, and 9pm et, Kevin Hill, Jeff Gerhardt, PJ
Hyett, Doc Searls (Linux Journal), Arne Flones and Russ Pavlicek have
another great show lined up tonight on The Linux Show!!

In Segment One – Hot News: We will be covering the hot Linux news of
the last few weeks. In particular we will a series of stories/events that
continue to embattle the technology development community. It has come to a
point where TLS is shifting its editorial posture to a more aggresive tone.
We are “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.” So, tonight we
introduce a new theme of political confrontation.

In Segment Two- Sputnik “launches” into Orbit

Well at least to an 802.11 network near you. It is very sad when you see
people you admire have a difficult time. But, it is really cool when you
see those same people stick together as a team, and launch a new busines.
Tonight we will be joined by Art Tyde, Dave Sifry and Dave LaDuke. These
should be very familiar names as these were the guys who founded the one time high flying Linux Services organization Linuxcare.

Because of an ill timed attempt at an IPO, Linuxcare sort of stumbled, and had to reorganize. In April 2001, the intrepid Trio (Art, Dave and Dave) left Linuxcare and formed a new company that they basically put under wraps. Last month did they launch the Web site to inform the world of their plans. To this point (almost a year later)there has been no marketing or advertising of the (uhhh) Product (no its a service I think).

The secrecy was to “under-promise and over-deliver,” as Sifry put it. What it does is very cool. It is an Open Source 802.11b wireless gateway designed to allow wireless access providers to authenticate users while sharing their bandwidth. This is based on the explosion of wireless mesh networks that are poping up across the world. It allows service providers, and even users to build their own Sputnik Node. Bandwidth Providers will share in the revenue, once the commercial side of the service goes live. At present over 100 service providers have signed up to provide access points.

Please join us on the show, check our IRC Chat(irc.thelinuxshow.com
#linuxshow).

Remember tune in at 6pm pt, 7pm mt, 8pm ct, and 9pm et.

Catch the Linux show at www.thelinuxshow.com