Joshua Marshall writes, “Devshed.com has a new article. Python 101 (part 1): Snake Eyes delves into Python’s history, basic syntax, and concepts. Here’s a sample: Perhaps it’s just my imagination, but Python programmers seem to command a great deal more respect than their Perl or PHP counterparts. In the consciously-elitist world of software engineering, a developer with a few years of Python under his belt gets the best cubicle, the prettiest girl and the respect of his neighbours; people move out of the way when he strides down the hall, and colleagues turn to him for creative and elegant solutions to the problems they encounter. Walk into a job interview and mention Python when reciting your qualifications; you’ll immediately see a glint of recognition in the interviewer’s eyes, an awareness that, in the hierarchy of software developers, you’re one of the top guns.”

From PR Newswire: WhiteCross
Systems, a leading service provider of reporting and analytical solutions,
today announced its move to Linux as its Operating System (OS), replacing
LynxOS. Now WhiteCross is able to see the OS source code and potentially
modify it to enhance performance when and where required.
There are a vast number of people carrying out development applications
for Linux, so WhiteCross benefits in receiving excellent support, minimal cost
and quality development openly available. The Linux platform also supports
more RAM per rack so that WhiteCross can provide more capacity for new and
existing customer’s data analysis.

From an eWeek column: “Any time someone criticizes open source or Linux or makes comments that can be
interpreted as criticism, that person is setting himself or herself up as a target for an attack.

It’s good that the
open-source community is
so impassioned by its
craft; Linux, Apache and
other products never
would have succeeded
without that zeal. But the
time has come to focus
and direct that passion, or
more open-source
companies will suffer the
same fate as Eazel, the
GUI developer that closed
its doors this month.”

From PR Newswire: The Program Management Office
(PMO) of the Java Community Process program today issued its first year
Java Community Process 2.0 report. The report affirms the success of JCP 2.0,
the current version of the Java Community Process program, its steady
evolution as a community process and strong results in delivering content-rich
Java technology specifications at web speed.
The Java Community Process program, the open, community-based process for
the development of Java technology specifications, reference
implementations and associated technology compatibility kits, successfully
transitioned last year to Java Community Process 2.0.

From PR Newswire: The Program Management Office
(PMO) of the Java Community Process program today issued its first year
Java Community Process 2.0 report. The report affirms the success of JCP 2.0,
the current version of the Java Community Process program, its steady
evolution as a community process and strong results in delivering content-rich
Java(TM) technology specifications at web speed.
The Java Community Process program, the open, community-based process for
the development of Java technology specifications, reference
implementations and associated technology compatibility kits, successfully
transitioned last year to Java Community Process 2.0.

KDE.org has another interview in its line of features on the “people of KDE.” Featured today is George Staikos, a Canadian student who does “a lot of cryptography work” in KDE.

CNET: “The company shored up its online defenses after a hacker pointed out a vulnerability in April that
allowed access to the company’s internal network and exposed nearly 3 million support records to
the public.

The company praised the hacker–known by the alias “Adrien Lamo”–for coming forward after
he poked around their network. Despite the open-source movement underscoring the historic definition of hackers as curious–if
unconventional–researchers, companies have been frequently leery of associating with anyone
who considers themselves one.”

PCWorld: “While the debate rages about the best models for music and e-book sales, Amazon is forging ahead with its
hybrid approach: free music, and books and software for a fee. Jeff Blackburn, head of Amazon’s digital
division, brushes aside any discussion of whether and how music customers will pay for downloads as
largely irrelevant to the task he faces. In his quest to build the ultimate digital mall, he’s ready to use any
platform–whether Adobe’s e-book format or Microsoft’s, for example–and business model that will work.
“We have a pretty pragmatic view of it,” he says.”

Kelly McNeill of OSOpinion writes: “There was once a time when people dreamed of always-on IP services on their mobile phones and streaming video direct to their palmtops. But alas, reality bites and the glorious services that have been hyped by such companies as Hewlett-Packard and Vodafone seem likely never to appear. And with 3G, it may be the last chance for IPv6 to gain a foot in the door of the Internet..”

CBSMarketwatch: “Office sales could provide a significant boost to Microsoft’s revenue when combined
with the new software licensing rules Microsoft is foisting on customers. Starting October 1, the world’s largest software
maker will end the practice of selling software upgrades to business customers — the least expensive and most popular way
companies buy Microsoft software.

Instead, Microsoft is offering either a subscription to its software, or a pricing scheme the company calls “software
assurance”, in which customers must buy a three-year license to all the official software changes the company makes to one of
its software brands.”