Weekly news wrapup: KDE makes waves at Comdex

30

Author: JT Smith

By Grant Gross

The huge technology marketing extravaganza Comdex, the fall version, brought thousands of geeks and businesspeople to Las Vegas this week, along with the Linux Business Expo held in conjunction with Comdex. In the true fashion of a trade show, there were a lot of words written and some actual news that broke out.

Perhaps the biggest news was the latest volley in what the media sees as a war to control the Linux desktop. Backers of the KDE desktop environment announced the coporate-backed KDE League at least partially in response to the Gnome Foundation formed earlier this year. Among the more interesting coverage: a LinuxPlanet opinion piece accuses KDE of earlier lying about the League, saying it’d never happen. Upside.com also weighed in with a comparison of the two competing marketing boards.

There were a ton of other announcements at the Linux Business Expo. EE Times rounds up a bunch of them, including public premiers of the Linux-run iRobot and a rehash of IBM’s installation of 15,000 Linux servers for the Lawson convenience store chain in Japan. CNN.com called the iRobot “the closest thing yet to a personal R2 D2.”

Microsoft and Linux: Partnerships and FUD

In other news this week, new Microsoft partner Corel floated a rumor that it may sell its Linux operations. Corel, for it’s part, says it’s still going full-speed ahead with its Linux products.

Speaking of everyone’s favorite software monopoly, Microsoft senior v.p. Craig Mundie ripped on Linux at Comdex, saying the problem with the Open Source model is it can’t produce software fast enough to keep up with consumer demand.

NewsForge news editor Tina Gasperson also looked at the relationship between Microsoft and Open Source, with developers of Open Source projects for Windows asking, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Linus interviewed … again

If you’re curious whether Linux creator Linus Torvalds can be asked anything he hasn’t been asked before, The Register published a wide-ranging two-part interview with him. The second part focuses on version 2.4 of the Linux kernel, and how soon it’ll be ready for release.

New in NewsForge this week

  • Columnist Jack Bryar challenges Open Source developers to come up with a solution for faulty ballot problems plaguing the U.S. election, and several others recently.

  • News editor Tina Gasperson finds a couple of free software or Open Source advocates who like Microsoft’s Whistler, because it may be a tool for the community to turn users against Microsoft.

  • News editor Dan Berkes looks at a couple of soon-to-be-released Linux palmtops.

    NewsForge editors read and respond to comments posted on our discussion page.