Author: JT Smith
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It was a slow week for news in the United States, with the July 4 holiday breaking up the week, but that didn’t stop Open Source news from breaking out elsewhere. Red Hat v.p. Mark White raised a question about Chinese Linux developers, especially those at Red Flag Linux, hoarding their code.
White was concerned that Chinese developers are violating the GNU General Public License that Linux is issued under, by not sharing their changes to the code with the rest of the world. Red Flag investors defended their work, saying they are building applications on top of Linux, not changing Linux, and they accused Red Hat of being frustrated by its lack of business in China.
NewsForge business columnist Jack Bryar doesn’t see much the Linux community can do about such a violation. Who’s going to go after the Chinese in defense of Linux? Certainly, not the George W. Bush administration.
Cool new stuff on the way
We reported on the new K-12 Linux Terminal Server Project, a low-cost, easy-to-install alternative to Windows computer labs for cash-strapped schools. It was released on July 4 as a nod to the freedom it would give teachers from crashing computers.
Also released this week: Nautilus 1.04, the desktop utility, even though the original company to develop it, Eazel, is dead in the water.
Even more cool stuff on the way: Mono, Open Source company Ximian’s answer to Microsoft’s .Net. Also, look for a preview release of Netscape 6.1 soon, according to Mozillaquest.
Another reason to switch
If projects like the K-12 Linux Terminal Server Project aren’t enough to make you declare your freedom from Microsoft, consider this news from Ford. Seems the giant auto maker’s European division is planning to flush Windows from its desktops in favor of an Open Source operating system.
New in NewsForge
Stories unique to NewsForge this week (in addition to those mentioned above):
