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Even Better: Linux to Be on More Desktops than Windows

bproffitt — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:56:50 -0800

With apologies to my boss, a story in today's Wall Street Journal has me thinking that the future of Linux deployment might perhaps be even better than he predicted.

Two Big Reasons Dell Should Buy Red Hat

OpenRoad — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:33:28 -0800

Well, this is certainly an interesting premise...

"Dell's biggest problem is that its one-time differentiation--low-cost hardware assembly and distribution--is now common industry practice. Indeed, it now routinely gets beaten at its own game, as called out in a recent article by Ashlee Vance in The New York Times...

Next Netbook--Thinner, Cheaper, Better, Linux

451group — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:29:35 -0800

More details on Freescale's netbook announcement at the CES show...

Early Adopters and IDEs (Integrated Development Experiences)

Community Manager — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:23:00 -0800

What are your tool habits, and how have they evolved...?

"Tim Bray: '[H]ere it is nearly thirty years into my programming career and I'm still debugging with print statements.'

"Heh. Same here, though it’s only been 25 years for me (wow, 'only' 25 years?).

I Invented Twitter

Community Manager — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:19:47 -0800

There really is no such thing as a completely new idea. A hacking tale from Jono Bacon...

"Well kind of…in a way…possibly…OK, not at all.

"The other day I was digging through some old articles that I wrote. To my amusement, I saw a reference to a little program I hacked up once when I was involved as a KDE developer. I had totally forgotten about it, and I figured it would be fun to share the story.

Basic JavaScript Engine: The Go Forward Strategy After Looking Back

Community Manager — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:16:01 -0800

A detailed look inside a JavaScript-based desktop app...

Winter-y Mix Creates Need for Mash-up

bproffitt — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:24:30 -0800

Lately my section of the Midwest has been bombarded with one of the worst things a winter season can deal out: freezing rain. From those of you in warmer climes who have not experienced the joys of this fun-fest, it's basically when it starts to rain in warmer air up in the atmosphere. As the rain falls into colder air below (around the 0° C mark), it hits solid objects like trees, power lines, streets and immediately turns to ice.

Exploring the Limits of Package Management with Nix

BruceByfield — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:26:00 -0800

Package management on Unix-like systems has improved out of all recognition in the last decade. However, improvements are being suggested all the time, ranging from improved utilities for existing package tools like apt and yum to Autopackage and Zero Install, both of which allow non-users to install software, to Conary, which combines package management with version control to permit multiple versions of the same software to co-exist.

Software Development Predictions for 2009

Community Manager — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:16:27 -0800

Neil McAllister portends the development future...

Interview with Stormy Peters - GNOME Foundation

Community Manager — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:12:26 -0800

Wondering what the new year will bring for GNOME? Here's some answers...

"Scott: It strikes me that people tend to think of GNOME as just the shell, but it is really a set of other stand-alone, independent applications, as well. Talk a little bit about that relationship between GNOME the shell and all those other projects, as well as what it means for something to be under that GNOME umbrella.

Perl 5 Now Uses Git for Version Control

oreilly — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:07:38 -0800

Perl development is now in a single open source repository...

Rumor: Palm to Unveil Nova-Powered Smartphone

OpenRoad — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:05:55 -0800

Nova, it's reported, is based on Linux...

"Palm is rumored to be launching a smartphone on Thursday that runs Nova, its next-generation operating system, according to a report Sunday on CrunchGear.

"The report, which cites 'a trusted source,' says the device will have a full QWERTY keyboard that will slide under the touchscreen..." [Read more at The Open Road]

The Google Linux Desktop Has Arrived

Community Manager — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:24:49 -0800

A very interesting insight into the future of Android...

Special Delivery

bproffitt — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:00:33 -0800

This morning, before I sauntered into the teeming hub of control for the Linux Developer Network, I performed what has become a semi-weekly ritual here at the Proffitt home: the return of a watched DVD to its home company. But today, along with the movie, I also placed two envelopes with empty printer cartridges and a survey about my auto repair shop in the mailbox as well. And it struck me, as I closed the mailbox door and put the flag up, that there has been a remarkable sea change in the way the US Postal Service has had to do business in the last few years.

Linux Needs Fewer Friends

LinuxToday — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:51:57 -0800

Ted's recent blog on Debian has stirred up dissenting opinions, and good food for thought...

"It's a cliche, but it's an apt one: 'God save me from my friends--I can protect myself from my enemies.' Theodore Ts'o wrote an anti-Free Software rant this week that could have come straight from the massive, never-sleeping Redmond FudMachine, Debian, Philosophy, and People. He seems to blame Free Software for Debian's ills.

Mickos: A New Year of 'Radical Transparency' for MySQL

OpenRoad — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:48:09 -0800

It will be interesting to see how this transparency affects developers...

Develop a GPS-Aware Application for the Nokia N810, Part 1

developerWorks — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:50:17 -0800

Paul Ferrill delves into the innter workings of the Nokia N810 platform...

"The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet is a great little device with lots of functionality, all in a package that fits in your pocket. It comes with several standard applications and links to the Maemo Web site, from which you can download a whole host of other applications...

Android-Powered G1 Phone is an Enticing Platform for App Developers

linux.com — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:46:56 -0800

A review of the G1 from a developer's point of view...

"The free and open source software community has been waiting for the G1 cell phone since it was first announced in July. Source code for Google's Android mobile platform has been available, but the G1 marks its commercial debut. It's clearly a good device, but is it what Linux boosters and FOSS advocates have long been anticipating?

The Future of Compiz

Community Manager — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:42:55 -0800

Even for those not following Compiz, this is still a cautionary tale of how open source projects can run into trouble...

"The reality is that there has been the equivalent of no progress since the merge. We've basically only been in maintenance mode. The reason for this, from my point of view, is a complete lack of direction and leadership.

Upgrading a C# Mono Application on Gentoo Linux, Part 1

KevinFarnham — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:40:27 -0800

In 2002, I developed a C# application using the beta version of Visual Studio .NET. Three years later, I ported the application to Mono Version 1.0.5. Today, more than six years after the original development of the application using beta VS.NET, I've decided to upgrade my application on Mono, as a way of reviewing the progress the Mono project has made in recent years.

Happy 2.6.28

LWN — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:55:21 -0800

In case you missed the pre-holiday announcement, Linux 2.6.28 was faithfully delivered by Santa Linus...

"It doesn't really matter what day it is, or what holiday (if any) you're celebrating, because even if you sit at home, alone in your dank basement, without any holidays or friends, I bring you a tiding of great cheer: you can now download Linux-2.6.28, and compile it to your hearts content!

linux.conf.au Announces Miniconf Schedule

LWN — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:51:24 -0800

The 2009 conference season is already in the works...

"linux.conf.au organisers are pleased to announce the mini-conferences schedules for linux.conf.au 2009. 'The miniconf organisers along with our miniconf liaison, Joshuaua Hesketh, have put together a pretty exciting schedule,' said linux.conf.au organiser, Ben Powell. 'These specialist conferences really showcase some of the important fields that are in free software today--both technical and social'" [Read more at LWN]

Seven Most Influential GNU/Linux Distributions

Community Manager — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:39:37 -0800

A roundup of the most influential distros; do you agree...?

"GNU/Linux offers a bewildering variety of flavors -- or distributions, as they're called. To a newcomer's eye, many of these seem virtually identical to each other.

Debian, Philosophy, and People

tytso — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:59:10 -0800

Given the recent brouhaha in Debian, and General Resolution regarding Lenny’s Release policy as it relates to Firmware and Debian’s Social Contract, which has led to the resignation of Manoj Srivastava from the position of Secretary for the Debian Project, I’m reminded of the following passage from Gordon Dickson’s Tactics of Mistakes (part of Dickson’s Childe Cycle, in which he tells the story of the rise of the Dorsai):

It's Nearly 2009--Open Source is Here to Stay

bproffitt — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:43:06 -0800

Last week, Saugatuck Technology published a new whitepaper that detailed the affect open source software has had on business and the affect business has had on open source.

The big takeaway--at least the one most touted in the follow-up blogs and news reports about the paper--is that open source is driven more by the contributions of corporations and vendor-run projects than by individual developers.

19 Standards Orgs.--Including LF--Support Rambus Brief

aupdegrove — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:25:49 -0800

Yesterday I filed a pro bono amicus curiae (”friend of the court”) brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of the Federal Trade Commission’s petition for writ of certiorari in its suit against Rambus Technologies. I’m pleased to report that 19 standard setting organizations (SSOs) - including the Linux Foundation - representing over 13,300 members, joined as amici curiae supporting this brief; the list of participants appears later in this blog entry. As noted in the brief itself, these SSOs:

Higher and Further: The Innovations of Linux 2.6.28

Community Manager — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:46:17 -0800

A good wrap-up of Linux 2.6.28's features...

"The Ext4 file system leaves its main development phase and will soon be ripe for productive use. Major renovation work on the code for memory and disk management promises GPU speed increases and better scalability. Hundreds of new and revised drivers improve hardware compatibility significantly.

Red Hat Q3 2008 Earnings Suggest Resilience

OpenRoad — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:39:02 -0800

Red Hat apparently didn't get the memo about the economy...

"On Monday Red Hat reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings, saying it generated $165.3 million in total revenues for the quarter, an increase of 22 percent from the third quarter of 2007 and a slight bump of 1 percent from the second quarter of 2008. While revenues barely missed analysts' expectations, profits exceeded expectations by 4 cents per share.

Center for Moblin Linux Opens in Taipei

Community Manager — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:25:55 -0800

Moblin opens a new dev center, close to the chip manufacturing action...

"A new center aimed at speeding the development of mobile computing devices around the Linux-based Moblin OS opened in Taipei on Tuesday.

Displaying Maps with OpenLayers

linux.com — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 07:24:30 -0800

How to play with OpenLayers for your map needs...

"Google Maps gives you a quick and easy way to add maps to your Web site, but when you're using Google's API, your ability to display other data is limited. If you have your own data you want to display, or data from sources other than Google, OpenLayers, an open source JavaScript library, can give you more options.

LSB 4.0 Release Candidate 1 Released

licquia — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:59:49 -0800

I am pleased to announce the availability of LSB 4.0 Release Candidate 1.

This version of LSB 4.0 has been put in the normal release directories, but IS ONLY A RELEASE CANDIDATE! In particular, certification is not yet open for LSB 4.0.

We are continuing to use the previously-announced beta page for accessing information on LSB 4.0 prereleases. That page can be found at:

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/en/LSB_4.0_Beta

FLOSS Manuals Sprints to Build Quality Free Documentation

linux.com — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:17:25 -0800

Documentation makes the world go 'round...

"Documentation is one area in which free/libre/open source software (FLOSS) is weakest. A project called FLOSS Manuals is trying to remedy this situation. The idea behind project is to create quality, free documentation for free software.

Nix Fixes Dependency Hell on all Linux Distributions

linux.com — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:14:03 -0800

Another package manager, with some really interesting capabilities...

Linux--The OS That Keeps On Giving

451group — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:09:44 -0800

One pundit is planning on a little quality geek time over the holidays...

"Most Linux users and supporters are well aware of the openness, collaboration and flexibility that mark the OS and its distributions, but we’ve received some more tangible gifts from the Linux community recently as we enjoy the holidays. We also see the OS continues to run strong in a variety of settings, and this is best-evidenced by the latest releases of the most popular distributions.

Using Kernel Customization Tools

mtimjones — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:00:07 -0800

While Linux is officially a monolithic kernel, it does permit dynamic extensibility with loadable kernel modules. In this article, we'll explore the various tools and processes that support dynamic kernel customization. We'll also explore the various configuration mechanisms available for module configuration.

More on the “I’m Linux” Video Contest

Amanda McPherson — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:17:54 -0800

Last week, we launched the Linux Foundation video site. The site will of course house the growing collection of Linux Foundation original video from our events, but I hope it will also become a place for the Linux community to share their Linux video content. The intention is for it to become the central location for Linux videos, so Linux users and developers can easily find pertinent and educational Linux video information. If you have Linux video, we would appreciate your uploading it to this site.

Python 3 Primer, Part 1: What's New

developerWorks — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:36:18 -0800

A new primer series begins on Python 3...

"Python version 3, also known as Python 3000 or Py3K (a nickname that's a pun on the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system), is the latest version of Guido van Rossum's general-purpose programming language. Although many improvements have been made to the core language, the new version breaks backwards compatibility with the 2.x line. Other changes have been anticipated for a while, such as:

MySQL: Now and Then

Community Manager — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:27:32 -0800

Stephen O'Grady's look at the changes affecting MySQL...

"MySQL has never shied from being controversial, from being the iconoclast of the open source world. From working with SCO to embedding non-open source assets to the dual licensing strategy, the vendor has ever been willing to push the envelope and experiment.

Notifications, Indicators and Alerts

Community Manager — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:22:31 -0800

Interface design issues that are facing Ubuntu developers...

"Let’s talk about notifications! As Ryan Lortie mentioned, there was a lot of discussion across the Ubuntu, Kubuntu, GNOME, KDE and Mozilla communities represented at UDS about the proposals Canonical’s user experience design and desktop experience engineering teams have made for Ubuntu 9.04...

Open Source Success Due to Microsoft, Claims Report

Community Manager — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:18:21 -0800

Beyond the provacative headline, the main point seems to be that commercial development is outpacing community development...

"The success of open source software is now being driven by its rapid commercialisation and not simply its appeal to evangelistic developers, a new report has suggested.

Congratulations Ted! (as the Linux Foundation’s new CTO)

aupdegrove — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 11:20:37 -0800

If you haven’t already heard the news, long-term kernel developer and pillar of the open source community Ted Ts’o has been named the new Chief Technology Officer of the Linux Foundation. Ted is a great choice for a variety of reasons, one of which is that few people have been knocking around the Linux world longer than Ted - he was the first North American kernel developer.

Week 51: Desktop? What Desktop?

bproffitt — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:09:50 -0800

It's getting to be near the end of the year, and--inevitably--there is a new round of year-in-review and year-ahead articles filling up the technical media cycles. There's just something about January 1 that compels journalists and bloggers to wrap up the last 366 days into a nice, neat package and predict how things are going to go during the next 365 days.

The Week of the Linux Desktop Debate

Amanda McPherson — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:40:52 -0800

It never seems to fail: this time of year brings out predictions, and with them debate about the future of Linux, especially on the desktop. It’s a good sign that we go through this back and forth: it shows the wide and diverse community of users, developers and pundits who feel they have a stake in Linux. (Either that or they just need something to write about this time of year.)

So this week, a dozen articles and posts appeared either stating or refuting that this year really will be the year of the Linux desktop.

Linux 2.6.28-rc9 Released

LWN — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:09:35 -0800

Okay, so maybe Linus shouldn't go into marketing...

"There really is nothing interesting here. There's just small changes mostly to random drivers, with some networking updates. Oh, and some MIPS defconfig updates.

"The shortlog really tells the whole boring story--if you can get even half-way through without falling asleep, you've just proven yourself to be sufficiently caffeinated.

The Beatles of Programming Languages

oreilly — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:57:46 -0800

So how would you compare your favorite musician with your favorite language?

"As a musician and a programmer, I'm constantly drawing relationships between the two activities. My wife, who I play music with, has been the recipient of the the vast majority of these comparisons and asked me the other day, 'Is C the Beatles of programming languages?'

Open Source Programming Languages for Kids

linux.com — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:57:29 -0800

Kids into programming? Here's some ideas for you...

Red Hat Launches New Maintenance Service

Community Manager — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:47:23 -0800

This program will extend RHEL maintenance out to 18 months...

"Red Hat has launched a new software maintenance service, Extended Update Support.

The Linux Desktop Isn't Your Father's PC

Community Manager — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:37:24 -0800

Looking at the Linux desktop in a different way...

Ts’o Named LF CTO

Community Manager — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:27:09 -0800

The Linux Foundation today announced that Linux kernel developer Theodore Ts’o has been named to the position of Chief Technology Officer at the Foundation.

Ts’o is currently a Linux Foundation fellow, a position he has been in since December 2007. He is one of the most highly regarded members of the Linux and open source community and is known as the first North American kernel developer. Other current and past LF fellows include Steve Hemminger, Andrew Morton, Linus Torvalds and Andrew Tridgell.

openSUSE 11.1 Sports New Free Street Cred

bproffitt — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:25:39 -0800

Today's a big day over at openSUSE: they've released version 11.1 of that distribution, and my friend Joe Brockmeier is sure to be busy handling all of the attendant chores with this event. Of course, I can't feel too sorry for him, since it's 72 and sunny where he is right now, and it's 20 with a snow storm here.