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What if my cousin (US citizen) requested that I (EU citizen) buy this and FedEx it to him? Would I risk being prosecuted in the US for trafficking illegal software next time I visit him?

The simple answer is that no one knows, there are a whole bunch of opinions on the matter, even lawyers who specialise in this sort of area seem to disagree. Alan Cox even stopped distributing details of the security fixes to the kernel to US Citizens, and resigned from the USENIX ALS committee, citing that "...it has become apparent that it is not safe for non US software engineers to visit the United States".

I was recently offered a job in the States and the DCMA, amougst otehr things, was certainly a factor that I weighed up when I turned it down.

I'm once again amused by the amount of anti-microsoft sentiment I'm seeing here. The newsforge article reads a little like the anti-evolution creationist propaganda writing. BTW, the fact that Microsoft is presenting an argument in court (threatening to pull the OS), is just that! It should be quite obvious to anyone who gives this a bit of thought that they would never consider making such a move in reality. CySurflex

The editors/writers at Slashdot aren't alone. Today's BadTech cartoon (I saw it at NewsForger) has the equally annoying misuse of "you're/your" as in "If you can change you're surface texture..." Yes, it's a minor thing. In fact, it's so minor that it's probably taught in 3rd grade. So how about getting right now that you're an adult.

http://www.linuxworld.com/site-stories/2001/1018.t co.html

http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=01/08/10 /1 441239

I think they should implement a micro-ad policy as well. The average user buying the smaller banner type ads for whatever purpose for a small payment (heck, the bigger players don't want those ads anymore, might as well release them to the people).

Might this be an opportunity in the making? Instead of paying $1-5 here and there... pay a central authority for access to affiliated sites. I know this has shades of Passport (which I don't support), but it could be great. Pay $5 to OSDN and get access to every OSDN site (I bet they are all going to try out similar policies in the future), not just Slashdot (Linux.com, Newsforge.com, Freshmeat.net). Or pay $3 to NewsFactor Network for access to all of its affiliated sites like OS Opinion and so forth. It should cut down on some of the payments. Then each affiliate would get its cut based on unique page views or some other metric.

I guess I am saying that a network TV or Radio model might work a little better here.

I could be completely off base... but if not and hiring personnel from OSDN, NewsFactor, or some other "web network" are reading, I am willing to entertain consulting or full-time position opportunities =^) .

Since she wrote both articles, I want some of what she's smoking...

(The patent issues also apply to the DirectX re-implementation that TransGaming is doing, so it's just as likely to blow up in WINE and her other pet project's face as it is to blow up in GNOME's face. And TG's WINE with DX 8 is much closer to realization than GNOME under .NET/Mono.)

Since she wrote both articles, I want some of what she's smoking...

(The patent issues also apply to the DirectX re-implementation that TransGaming is doing, so it's just as likely to blow up in WINE and her other pet project's face as it is to blow up in GNOME's face. And TG's WINE with DX 8 is much closer to realization than GNOME under .NET/Mono.)

Although this one throws in a few SPARC and VAX machines...

http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/02/19/0 49208

And it seems the MIPS-based versions of the respective OSes are coming along; NetBSD will run on your O2. SGI's work on Linux for MIPS is as far as "only Indys have a working XFree86" although a few other machines will boot Linux.

An interesting question is what about the Cobalt MIPS-based appliances? Don't they run Linux as the x86 ones do? So where's the source code for those?

Back in November 2001, when RMS was candidate to the GNOME Board of Directors, there was a discussion on /. about the reasons why he applied.
Just a couple days before, he had said during a conference in Paris that his primary reason to apply to the board was to support cooperation between GNOME and KDE (see my post), eventhough it wasn't clearly stated in his answers to the GNOME board candidacy questionnaire.
I'm really happy to see that it was not only electoral bulls**t.
Maybe he is the last person you could have think of for such a task (especially knowing his position toward the KDE team in the old days of the QPL), but here he comes with this simple (as in not heavily political) practical (as in usefull) first step... so let's try !

Take a look at OEone. They have Linux with a Mozilla desktop on cheap hardware. It looks like they are going to sell it without the hardware soon. There is a review on newsforge.

Please mod the parent down as "Redundant". I already mentioned WorldForge here.

From the NewsForge story:

"Bradley Kuhn, v.p. of the Free Software Foundation, said he was there as an ambassador to preach freedom as in speech. Richard Stallman, always true to his principles, would not be attending LWCE, said Kuhn, because Stallman doesn't patronize events that don't use the term 'GNU/Linux.'"

- Robin

But to speak quite frank this image is a pretty crappy way to make people feel fuzzy. KFM is OBVIOUSLY half dead behind the menu there since it hasn't repainted the window. KFM is solid for me, but I'm saying that a new entry into the Linux Arena needs to (at the extreme freakin' least) make for damn sure their screen shots are perfect.

P.S.
Yes, I know this isn't from the Lindows site, but I feel my point still stands...

Games have no such luxury. They are the end product. There is very little to be made off support, certainly not enough to support the development of games like QuakeIII. Games have to make their revenue off initial sales.

Linux has proven dominant in the server market and it is a brilliant star there. Many have now set their eyes on the desktop, and all signs seem to indicate that this is a viable dream. I see linux gaming as the target after the desktop - once we have a serious control of the desktop market, Linux games will become a serious issue. Until then, however, the fight for Linux games will be difficult, as many others are pointing out. Loki did a great job, and many of us love their games, and it's sad to see them go. But the fight's not over yet.

There is also an editorial on newsforge on the subject:

An AOL-owned Red Hat would be good for everyone -- except Microsoft

After the years of RPM-Based Distros, it seems as if those "self-building" distros are the new trend. We now have 3 of them:
RockLinux
Gentoo Linux
and Sorcerer Linux...
From my experiences and what I've heard Gentoo is the by far stablest and easiest to install of them and recently got a really good review at Newsforge.

I don't really know if that is good concept, because the time/use of self-compiling every bit of software is quite low IMO. What is needed is a new Distro, that builds the Kernel itself and installs all the other application through RPM. That would maximize Speed and usability. My friend and I are working on something like this right now ;).

Right, just compare it with the recent newsforge article on gentoo linux. Seems the two are both "unique in the same way".

The Finnish city of Turku just few weeks ago published an research on the pros and cons of migrating from Windows/MS Office computers to Linux/OpenOffice environment (a short note about it can be found here. The verdict was that city would save considerate amounts of money by doing this and so migration is started first by installing OpenOffice to existing Windows systems and slowly starting to migrate tho OS as well (first Linux workstations should be running by 2003).

Related article from Newsforge

Abstract : Libertarian candidate for the Jacksonville, Florida, city council Adam Davis is a Web developer, FreeBSD user and Open Source advocate who says if he could choose any CEO to run his company, it would be Bill Gates.

I'm a Charlottesville resident, as well as a member of C-ville's tech crowd (tightly-knit bunch that we are) so I don't think you'll have any problem finding local advocates to back you (or help with implementations.)

To the rest of our community (the non-techies) I'd cite the licensing trouble several local governments have had with Microsoft, and some of the BSA actions. That should be enough to convince them that if they're going to use non-free software, they're going to not only pay for the licenses, but also for the license audits. That should help bottom-line-oriented people understand the benefits of free software.

I should also add that I think it would be highly inappropriate for any governmental body to publish any document in a proprietary format (Read RMS's editorial on that). If all of the desktops in the city offices used only free software I think the odds of that happening are slim.

Actually, what I'd really like to see the city do is own the "last mile" of telecom wiring...

Several people have written articles on how MS and others are moving to a pure leasing arangement. At some point you will be paying monthly and if you stop paying, you will be unable to access your data. Add in DMCA nightmares of reverse engineering prevention, and the future is very bleak. Plus, how can you trust a convicted monopolist?

And have They been to your city yet. Use it to your advantage. Use examples of other successful places. Between a lower budget, better reliability, and no fears of data lockup, it would make a good plank in your platform, but you will need other things to make a stand on. Lastly, be prepared for some mud slinging. Probalby they will paint OSS as commie or some other Non-American thing. Explain it as being Christian (give unto poor) and use other metaphors to make the populace think of Free software writers as good charitable folks. Might want to avoid outright speaking of it as Christian, but as a politician, you should know how to turn a phrase to put an idea in the populace's mind.

Under current copyright and contract law, BSA is free to represent its members and do what's described in this article.

However, I find its methods too severe and too aggressive. BSA should consider helping the companies to comply with licenses rather than scaring them and send in the police. If BSA developed a good license administration tool and released it under the GNU GPL or any open source license with the source code, I think many companies would improve in their license compliance.

Some companies will steal anything they can, but most companies are serious and should not be treated as criminals. Doing a good license audit today is very costly and hard to administer for a small or medium sized company. BSA should treat the potential costumers of its members with respect and appreciate this problem. Developing an administrative solution and perhaps a license crawling spider - with very open code - is a much better way of helping the companies than by using cease-and-desist-letters.

Hence, BSA should consider a different and more customer friendly policy. We, the public, should consider an evalutation of the copyright system for computer programs at large.

Regards

Mikael

An iMac has four wires to plug in. The Internet Computer has five, but the additional one is for something the iMac doesn't have: A connection to your TV antenna or cable TV line.

And did I mention it runs Linux? That means one could technically do lots more with it.

Even the $500-$600 price range is still a bit too high. I should know, I am one of the 'disadvantaged people'.

I had a feeling that I would get complaints about the price I gave. Ideally, I would give it $300-400 to make it affordable for most people, but the relatively new hardware makes that unrealistic. From the Newsforge article, the computer has:

Pentium III 800 Mhz processor
128 MB RAM
24x CDROM
CRT 17" monitor

That's nice. I just don't see charging below $500 for that sort of hardware.

I don't really see anyone paying even $500 on something that can only do internet browsing when for roughly the same price they can get a cheep pc that will do most anything Joe User needs to do.

This brings up a good point: The name "Internet Computer" is misleading. If it is advertised as a computer that can only web surf, it will go the same way as Audrey. But if you read Roblimo's article again, you'll see it does more than just surf. It also has these capabilities:

*writes and prints letters and homework assignments
*plays downloaded MP3s or music CDs
*plays games
*has a built-in calendar
*watch TV

This will do everything Joe User wants with some nice equipment. It's relatively expensive right now, but lowering the price, in addition to some rebates, would bring it to people who otherwise could never afford something so cool.

Oh yes, and it's an easy-to-use Linux machine.

This must be a difficult time of year for Cheap Software bigots. Those of you who aren't naive college students have no money to buy gifts, and surely no gifts will be given to the hostile, irritable, unhygienic "developers" (ha!) whom we have to thank for such monuments of shit as Mozilla and SourceForge. I'd be sad, too, having to watch highly-paid Closed Source developers stroll down the street, arms laden with expensive gifts, surrounded by beautiful women.

And speaking of women, I just remembered that Valentine's Day is only two months away! You think that you'll be able to find a girlfriend by then, hog? Or will you spend another year cold and alone, trying to convince yourself that playing Counter-Strike with 15-year-old illiterates is really better than hot, greasy sex?

Perhaps you should look to homosexuality, the traditional sexual outlet of the Cheap Software "developer." Sure, it may hurt a bit, and your ass may leak blood and semen for 72 hours afterward, but anything is better than being alone on Christmas... isn't it?

Anyway, as I was saying, if making up fairy tales about Santa and Linux helps you survive another holiday season, fine. But it isn't helping your cause, and it isn't improving the real world's outlook on Cheap Software. Why not get some exercise, take a shower, put on some nice clothes, buy (or steal) some expensive chocolates and wine, walk down to your nearest singles bar, and... slit your wrists in the bathroom? Thanks!

"...Note that I have deviated from our standard practice and have not included a link to their site. That's because there is nothing there except pure, unadulterated hype. ..."

Hmm... Lets see... Didn't Slashdot used to report every little violation of the GPL they could find?

But now that Red Hat is doing it, Slashdot refuses to tell the story. In fact, I don't believe I've ever had a submission get rejected so quickly.

Perhaps Slashdot is Red Hat's little bitch.

But anyway, here's the story. Red Hat is not allowing people to distribute Red Hat Linux. If you do, they insist you call it something else. A clear violation of the GPL if I ever saw one. I guess if its someone like Red Hat or VA, they can violate the GPL as much as they want and Slashdot could care less.

And before anyone tries the obvious rebuttal, I'm perfectly aware that Red Hat owns its own name. However, they licenced their software under the GPL, a license that permits redistribution within its rules. And if the GPL says I have the right to distribute Red Hat, then I have a right to distribute Red Hat. You certainly don't see Apache and Perl being called something else because someone else distributes it. Red Hat is trying to change the rules in the middle of the game.

But now that Red Hat is doing it, Slashdot refuses to tell the story. In fact, I don't believe I've ever had a submission get rejected so quickly.

Perhaps Slashdot is Red Hat's little bitch.

But anyway, here's the story. Red Hat is not allowing people to distribute Red Hat Linux. If you do, they insist you call it something else. A clear violation of the GPL if I ever saw one. I guess if its someone like Red Hat or VA, they can violate the GPL as much as they want and Slashdot could care less.

hmmmmm, I wonder if the City of Largo had any problems with this? Or am I just adding insult to injury? ;-)

Let's see, take a story written by VA's Roblimo, post it on VA's Newsforge, get it covered across the pond on The Register, and then mention it back on VA's /.

No, linux users don't make things difficult.

The Reg®?

• http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=01/12/05/1 259245

  Making Linux look harder than it is
  Thursday December 06, 04:34 AM EST
  [ GNU/Linux ]
  - By Robin "Roblimo" Miller -

C'mon, guys, ya gotta get out more.

t_t_b

They stream out 2 feeds there, newsforge and newsvac. And, BTW, when one uses Newsforge, the Slashdot feed is there to add...

(Yes, my article rejected by Slashdot was posted on NewsVac...)

From an article at the beginning:
...Ximian Connector will sell for $69 a seat. Its value proposition is that it can replace an entire Windows machine. In many large corporations, there might be 50,000 Windows users and 5,000 Linux/Unix users. But corporate standards might dictate the use of Microsoft Exchange for mail and calendaring...

So my question is this. If it's worth $69 USD per seat for this...why doesn't Microsoft port something to Linux? If it is worth that much to companies...why not?

My answer is this: Microsoft wants a monopoly. Its goal is domination. And therefore, it will fight Linux with all it can muster.

In any battle for users, the company on the bottom fights to be interoperable with the company 'on top.' In this case, it is MS on top. (If you look into it, Microsoft only wants shared standards for IM clients, so they can eat up AOL's users...)

The curious thing about KDE/Gnome, Linux, and open source in general is that there is a lot of competition, and interoperability must be neccessary for now, but what about when this stuff has a major chunk of the market?

The fact is, a Unix system administrator might cost 50% more, but you'll need half as many - maybe even a third or quarter as many, maybe even less than that if you take the approach that West Palm Beach did (thin clients). I won't rehash that story, but you can find it here if you want to refresh your memory.

This is fairly reminiscient of other stupid crossover attempts by "artists" speaking outside their medium.

Point being, a couple of days ago there was an article linked there to Newsforge with an interview with Alan Cox about his views on the DMCA and these changelogs.

For the lazy, the essential point is that AC has gotten legal advice that he very well could be charged in the US for posting the vulnerabilities based on an interpretation of the DMCA, but that no "sane" US court would convict him. However, he does not want to spend 6 months in the US to go through the process.

So, basically, he's making a political point about stupid laws. He's welcome to if that what he wants. As others have said, it's not like most people interested in kernel changes can't use diff.

Glenn

Anyone have a solution to a lack of exchange/groupware?


I think Evolution fits the bill. This really is the killer app for Linux, IMO.

The reason there's not something like this is because these kind of things are not what the average Linux developer is interested in. Open Source is done in peoples' spare time, which means that they do what they WANT, not what needs done. Think of how seriously you take your hobbies as opposed to your job, and you get the idea.

Think article over at NewForge sheds some light on this. According to them, they feel they can make a fair share of money from Linux. While we are all congratulating IBM on their Open Source move, what might be happening is: They are selling Linux and getting free development work from the Open Source community. It's a creative way to cut back expenses.. just Open Source your work, and get it developed for free.

Especially if the Uniting and Strengthening America Act of 2001 (S.1510) gets finalized today. Newsforge had a little article written by RMS about it. It's pretty scary, but you can read the link for more information. It will basically:
* Allow for indefinite detention of non-citizens, denying them the chance to defend themselves in court.

* Expand secret searches.

* Grant the FBI broad access to sensitive business records about individuals without having to show evidence of a crime. See http://www.aclu.org/congress/l100801a.html.

* Allow officials to designate domestic groups as terrorist organizations. Membership in such an organization would become a deportable offense; see http://www.aclu.org/congress/l100801d.html.

Why is so much of the innovation in the Open Source field taking place outside the USA?

Why is it that it is European governments that are considering moving to Open Source, and not USA governments?

Why is it that it is big companies in the UK that are grouping together to fight Microsoft's restrictive licensing, and not the USA?

Is the USA in danger of losing its lead in the technology sector?

"But then maybe it's just a mad conspiracy theory."

In a way it is a conspiracy. NewsForge exists in large part because of advertiser demand for a "serious" Linux and Open Source news site that would appeal to people who have the power to sign purchase orders, combined with endless reader email asking us to turn Slashdot into more of a news site.

But everyone at OSDN *likes* Slashdot in all its anarchic glory. I've liked it longer than 99% of all current Slashdot users (note my UID), and I don't ever want to see its content change because of corporate pressure.

Hence NewsForge. Think of NewsForge as a trick to get our bosses to leave Slashdot alone instead of trying to turn it into something it was never meant to be.

- Robin "Roblimo" Miller
Editor in Chief, OSDN

When did that happen? Talk about getting your moneys worth from your lobbying efforts... Not just protected by corporate statutes, but now they can elect their own government officials!

My understanding is that J2EE comes from Sun in basicall three parts: specification and other documentation in natural language; the Java API; and a sample implementation. I think these parts are fairly distinct. I want to know which of these is the "problem".

Obviously, every implementor must make use of the documentation. Normally, this does not taint an implementation, but Lutris claims that "reading the specification for J2EE forces the reader to agree to the SCSL". The J2EE specification license I can find doesn't say that. Though it is fairly restrictive, it doesn't seem to prohibit a free implementation. So is the specification a problem or not?

The JBoss response says that JBoss uses "seven jars" from Sun. I'm guessing these jars define the API, ie, they consist entirely of interfaces, abstract classes, and (maybe) trivial classes. Is this necessary? Most free implementations of proprietary API's include their own header files as free software. Does Sun claim a copyright on the API itself? What is the legal status of such claims, since there is basically only one way to express an API? Or did JBoss simply choose not to write their own versions?

Finally, does Enterprise Enhydra use essentially the same Sun classes as JBoss, or do they borrow some of the sample implementation as well? Do they claim that their commercial nature, or some pre-existing agreement with Sun, makes their situation different?

Thanks if you can untangle this.

There's been work to get similar things for the kernel, as well.

I'd personally be a little scared of testing kernel functions, but I've tested a lot of so-called "untestable" things lately. It's worth doing.

"Lawmakers represent those interests which supply the greatest campain funding."

Sorry, but despite what they would have you think, they DO NOT represent YOU, or ME, or any other member of the "public"... unless of course they have very large wallets.

Yesterday's "interview" with Jamie Love, he stated the problem very suscinctly...

Politics have gone downhill ever since the US Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo. By making campaign spending a constitutionally protected form of speech, and essentially legalizing bribery, we created a system where the average member of Congress spends most of his waking hours trying to raise money, just to compete with some other person who might do the same thing.

The draft legislation has is authored by Senator Hollings (D-SC). As this newsforge.com article points out...

...there are five major media and entertainment companies in the top 20 list of Hollings' most generous campaign donors. They include AOL Time Warner ($33,500), Fox parent News Corporation ($28,224), Viacom's CBS ($16,632), the National Association of Broadcasters ($22,000), and Walt Disney Co. ($18,500). The individual donors from those companies include a flock of high-ranking executives from various News Corp/Fox subsidiaries, Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone, and Ted Turner from AOL Time Warner. Since 1995, employees from companies producing television, movies, music, and other media content have sent Hollings $287,534, making the entertainment industry his second most generous supporters.

Sucks, huh? Well whip out the checkbook and fork over a few hundred grand and maybe "our" side of things can be represented too...

-S

By doing this, they are saving their taxpayers a bundle (easily billions) by not spending so much on licensing fees from Sun or Microsoft. That money saved can go to greater things like making better schools, etc.

The article starts out saying that Congress wants to outlaw Open source via the SSSCA.

Perhaps congress should visit our German buddies and see how a switch to OSS can benefit the American public. A little bit of seeing what's happening abroad could go a long way.

I mean, you get a nice desktop, you get applications (if StarOffice isn't good enough, there are commercial alternatives - Largo uses Word Perfect). What else do you need?

Do you need your employees having complete multimedia systems that play all sorts of nice sound effects and yell "you've got mail!" instead of just beeping or something?

I'd be willing to say that Linux is not ready for the home desktop, what with everybody wanting nice easy tools to rip CDs, play games, send AOL instant messages and so forth. I'll readily admit that. But in a corporate setting where you want connectivety, email and perhaps a web intranet, and office tools (spreadsheets, word processors), then I haven't bought the argument that Linux isn't ready for quite some time.

To top it off, if you had all Linux or Unix networks, then you wouldn't have things like the recent viruses killing your workplace.

I'm not going to say that everyone should switch right now, that nothing Windows offers is better than Linux (sure, there's lots of applications not available yet), but what I'm saying is that if you built, from the ground up, a shop that stayed away from proprietary formats and tools, you could do quite well with Linux.

In Ellison's case, his hammer is Oracle. Is he opportunistic? Sure, but he's probably trying to help. No doubt, he too knew some of the people working in the WTC or the Pentagon. Eric Raymond also suggested a preventive measure to deter hijackers: arming the citizenry. Unfortunately, threatening to kill suicide bombers won't stop them, but firing guns in a highly pressurized tube is very likely to stop the plane.

Of course, the problem with ID cards, FAA regulations and crypto laws is that criminals aren't bounded by law. I don't know why this is a hard concept for our leaders to understand, but apparently it's a real coconut-scratcher.

I haven't heard of a solution that will prevent a future attack like the one that happened on 9/11. This problem has a lot more to do with human nature than technology or politics.

I decided to write my congresswoman, Tammy Baldwin, about this issue. If anyone want's to do the same but needs inspiration, here's my letter. It's far from perfect, and it certainly doesn't apply to everyone, but it expresses how I and probably most of you feel, and explains the basic issue. Feel free to rip it off or offer improvements.

Tammy Baldwin,

I've been reading on internet news sites such as Slashdot and Wired about the pending introduction of a bill known as the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act, or SSSCA. It scares me. This bill requires all interactive computer systems -- PCs, palmtops, possibly even VCRs -- to include certified security technologies, under penalty of law. Major backers of this bill include Sen. Fritz Hollings and the entertainment industry, which coincidentally is a major campaign supporter of Sen. Hollings.
I am a student at Madison West High School, and laws such as these, which overstep the bounds of the constitution and interfere with citizen's rights merely to advance the cause of the media industry frankly, well, scare the shit out of me. It's disturbing to imagine a future where restrictions such as the one's included in the SSSCA are considered commonplace.
Therefore, I ask you, as a citizen who will be voting in the next congressional election, to look into this issue and realize what it's effects might be, before it has a chance to get out of hand on the floor. Laws such as the SSSCA simply serve no purpose other than to restrict the rights of consumers in order to make it easier for media conglomerates to control exactly how their content is used.
I fear that although I may have succeeded in expressing my opinion to you, I have not succeeded in expressing the scope of the SSSCA in terms a congresswoman who doesn't intimately understand information technology can comprehend. I have therefore included links to articles which describe the potential effects of the SSSCA better than I did. Please read them and understand the evil of this law.

http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=01/09/20/2 047211

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46655,00 .html

A current draft of the bill

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Joseph Kohl-Riggs