Open Source proponent and University of Michigan professor Nandit Soparkar doesn’t believe that Open Source datatabases will have much success outside the small projects channel. At least we’re pretty sure that’s what he said. Pay a visit to Dataquest.com and read it for yourself.

LinuxDevices.com features a review of the Agenda VR3, the first pure Linux handheld device. Says the reviewer: “It is encouraging to report that the VR3 is a fairly successful implementation of a Linux PDA, from both a user’s and a developer’s point of view.” The VR3 will ship to consumers on April 23. (Note: The initial post of this item mistakenly attributed the review to All Linux Devices. This editor apologizes for the error.)

Starting off with a discussion of Microsoft’s recent USB 2.0 debacle, ZDNet’s Even Leibovitch touches on Linux offering “too much choice.” For someone migrating from Windows, which Leibovitch says “places unnecessary (and arbitrary) limitations on choice,” that may be the case. Far from demonizing choice as being some sort of flaw, the writer asks: “Why must people operate on the principle that one size, one vendor, must fit all?”

LinuxPR: “The Samba Team is proud to announce a new major
release of Samba, version 2.2.0. This release includes
significant feature enhancements for Samba, and sets
the standard for UNIX and Microsoft Windows
integration.”

Direct Memory Access? Sure, Linux can do that. Linux Journal’s Glenn Burkhardt has the quick but elegant overview of what’s involved to get DMA up and running with this operating system.

PR Newswire: “Mike Carpenter, CEO of
LinuxWizardry, Inc. / LinuxWizardry Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: LNXWF)
wishes to announce that Dr. Harold L. (Hal) Clark has been appointed Chairman
of the Board of LinuxWizardry, Inc.”

LinuxDevices.com has a story about something called RTAI, which can turn your Linux box into a radio transmitter.

Posted at LWN.net: Yes, the *final* release of Python 2.1 is now available. Thanks again
for all who helped! Go here for downloads and information: http://www.python.org/2.1/.

The Register reports that the two Linux desktop projects are actually talking after the
GUADEC GNOME developer conference in Copenhagen last week.

“Not only do the developers from the two camps agree that interoperability would be
a good thing – something they’ve said for ages — they seem more willing to do
something about it.

In a report from the conference, Red Hat’s David Mason notes that a hit list of
interoperability topics was made at a Birds of a Feather session, including file
formats and file types, drag and drop (which has been addressed, but not widely
adopted in XDND), printing, themes and documentation.”

The Washington Post has a story about 2600 and its members, who are often using their skills learned from their 2600 memberships to look for jobs and figure out business plans, instead of hack Web sites. Slashdot readers debate the report.