A statement from the Free Software Foundation: “Software patents are a harmful government policy of creating
monopolies that restrict computer users. (See
www.programming-freedom.org and www.noepatents.org). We oppose this
policy, and we think it is a shame that Victor Yodaiken has chosen to
obtain a patent for an idea that we believe should not be, and is not,
patentable. The patent covers real-time interrupt handling using a
software emulation layer for interrupt masking, so that interrupts can
be prioritized. There is significant prior art for this.” Editor’s note: Victor Yodaiken told NewsForge he will respond next week.

But, even worse, Yodaiken has attempted to use the patent to impose
restrictive terms on a GPL-covered program (Linux, the kernel used in
the GNU/Linux operating system).  These terms conflict with the GNU
GPL, and imposing them is a violation of the GPL.  We have told
Yodaiken this, and we have told him what license terms would comply
with GPL.  He, like everyone, has the reponsibility to comply with the
GPL or cease his infringing distribution.  Anyone else redistributing
a modified version of Linux under the restrictive patent license that
Yodaiken offers will also be violating the GPL.

It is up to the copyright holders of Linux to enforce the GNU GPL for
their code.  The FSF is not one of them; we have never been involved
in developing Linux, the kernel.  The FSF holds the copyright for a
number of other major components of the GNU/Linux operating system,
but those programs are not involved in this issue.  So the FSF is
not a party to this issue in a legal sense.

However, we have told Yodaiken that if he remains in violation of the
GPL, we may well choose to support efforts by others to invalidate
Yodaiken's patent in the courts, and we may also support actions taken
by others to uphold the GPL.

Wired: “What you see on your computer screen is the document or Web page you opened, right? Wrong.

In an attempt to protect sensitive information from would-be pilferers, Alchemedia’s Mirage 3.0 plays tricks on users — so what you see is not always what
you get.

What happens if you want to share confidential information with employees, business partners or vendors — but you don’t want them to copy, save on disk,
print, forward or otherwise hold onto the data?

Until now, you had only one choice: to encrypt the document. But Mirage 3.0, the newest application from Alchemedia, offers users another option.”

Wired: “Information overload — including billions of e-mails, instant messages and cell phone minutes — poses a challenge for law enforcement agencies that monitor communications.”

Kelly McNeill writes: “Internet service providers such as America Online and EarthLink have begun cooperating with the investigation into Tuesday’s terrorist attacks, and now privacy advocates are bracing for what they see as an assault on civil liberties. They’re expressing concern that, for the sake of security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other authorities will push for increased electronic surveillance of communication networks, including stepped-up use of Carnivore.”

LinuxSecurity: “This week, advisories were released for fetchmail, sendmail, xinetd, bugzilla, apache-contrib, uucp, and xloadimage. The vendors include Caldera,
This week, advisories were released for fetchmail, sendmail, xinetd, bugzilla, apache-contrib, uucp, and xloadimage. The vendors include Caldera,
Conectiva, Red Hat, and SuSE. It has been a tragic week. Our own Dave Wreski writes, “Today’s events mark more than a display of courage by
Americans, an effort to exact retribution on those who committed this senseless act, and how this country will be changed as a result. It directly impacts us
all on an international scale as individual architects of the global Internet.”

MSNBC: “In proclaiming Friday a national day of prayer and remembrance, Bush
urged community groups and places of worships nationwide to hold noontime
memorial services, ring bells and set aside time for candlelight vigils. He also
encouraged employers to let their workers off to attend.”

Wired.com: “Some lawmakers say encryption laws can let terrorists plot attacks such as Tuesday’s assaults on the East Coast. Congress is considering a crypto-crackdown.”

Kelly McNeill writes: “In response to recent customer complaints that Microsoft’s volume licensing for Windows was being issued far too soon, Microsoft revised the licensing deadline to February 28, 2002. If your organization requires new computers and the revised timeline is still inadequate, consideration for the purchase of older Windows editions might be in order. Large organizations might want to even consider stockpiling such software if significant numbers of new employees are expected in the future.”

IDG: “There’s more bad news for companies seeking to make a profit from the open-source Linux operating system, as an embedded operating system maker announces layoffs, and a supplier of Linux-based server hardware files for bankruptcy protection.”

tjhanson writes: “Due to circumstances beyond my control, all progress on VarLinux.org will be
suspended until further notice. I do not know at this time whether or not
progress will resume in the future. I do not know how long or whether or not
the existing content will remain online. I cannot comment further, so I regret
that I cannot post answers to questions. Thanks to everyone, participants and
contributors alike for all your support.”