Upside Today looks at the year in Open Source, chronicaling the year month by month. The article is in two parts. Part one, and part two.

ZDNET commentary: “The Unix wars of the last decade pretty well blew the
word “open” into uselessness, but I’m still intrigued by
the way it has been turned upside down yet again in one
sad little corner of the computing world.

I’m referring to the Microsoft Open License Program. Of
course, Microsoft isn’t alone in the misappropriation:
Adobe calls it Open Options; Computer Associates and
others also have “Open Licensing” programs.”

DB2mag.com reports that Linux’s popularity among programmers and
businesses that require small- to
medium-scale servers continues to grow. “But
Linux proponents have greater aspirations for
their operating system, a vision IBM shares.
They feel that Linux’s reliability and scalability
are well suited to the needs of growing,
large-scale enterprises, including
industrial-size warehousing, decision support,
transaction processing, and data mining
applications.”

“ESR has an article that explains some ways for you to become a Hacker. I’m not going to repeat all the points he has in that
article, as you can look at that article for the specifics. I am going to make the argument that Hackers do not generally Hack
because they have to for work. Instead, it is their passion, their life, in a dramatic way. Also, I’m going to make the argument
that, and this is not how ESR feels, Hackers can be non-contributing authors to the code base of the world. That code base
is better known as Open Source or Free Software today.” From LinuxPower.com.

“This resembles CSS and e-Books: it is another plan to impose
additional power over people who use published information, on
behalf of those who hope to control the power,” he writes in emails
to The Register.

PRNewswire release states: “CRN dubbed Ellison ‘The Marathon Man’ credited with running, ‘a
marathon race, steering the company on what at times seemed an unlikely course
that would run headlong into the Microsoft juggernaut. Instead he has wound
up at the head of the pack …'”

From FreeOS.com: “Grab some popcorn! These are great times for watching
movies on your desktop. There have never been so many
options available. Read on for more about the choices
you have under Linux for MPEG/VCD playback.”

Linux.com brings us these juicy tips for newbies and others.

Wired News celebrates the most highly anticipated goods or services that, despite all the promises, failed to be transformed from ethereal vapor into real, tangible hardware or software.

The Register reports: “A squadron of heavily armed IBM spin bombers left their hilltop base
at Almaden, Ca at the end of last week. Their destination – Vulture
Central. Their mission – to disarm public outrage at the proposed
inclusion of CPRM copy control mechanisms into hard disks. The
bombers were loaded with a good-natured arsenal of flattery, non
sequiters, and laser-guided hand waves.”