LXer Features
Focus to Folly in 3.6 pages - A Microcosm of the Linux Community?
By Roger Danielson - Apr 16, 2007
It started out well, someone agreed with it, someone didn't, the first someone defended his position, the second someone did the same. And on it went. However I noticed a phenomenon that is not uncommon in Linux forums. By the end of the discussion and at that point in time, it ran just short of 4 pages. The conversation had went from the topic at hand to the subject of zebras and virgins. Now you tell me how that happened.LXer Weekly Roundup for 15-Apr-2007
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Apr 15, 2007
Linux Gurus and the ability of a student to burn them out.LXer Feature: 15-Apr-2007
A weekly recap of the big stories concerning Linux and Open Source.
By Brett L. Antoine - Apr 14, 2007
Linux Marketing Campaign Seeks $350k in 40 DaysSometimes a "student" and/or friend can become so dependent on the knowledge base of their teacher/friend that they become not only an annoyance but can drive you away from enjoying your computer time altogether.
[A good article about learning when to stand on your own written by one of our readers. - Scott]
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Apr 11, 2007
Building a new Slackware machine.LXer Feature: 11-Apr-2007
Linux marketing project hopes to raise money in 40 days to sponsor an Indy 500 race car.
The process of building a new Slackware box for my wife's use; a new Slackware 11 system.
By James Dixon - Apr 10, 2007
The process of building a new Slackware box for my wife's use; a new Slackware 11 system.LXer Weekly Roundup for 08-Apr-2007
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Apr 08, 2007
Broadcom Driver Dispute Uglier Than NecessaryA weekly recap of the big stories concerning Linux and Open Source. Happy Easter!
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Apr 07, 2007
Punching the Clock with GNU/LinuxIt all started with a message describing copied code and offering a solution.
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Apr 03, 2007
LXer Weekly Roundup for 01-Apr-2007Despite Novell's much-touted poll showing Adobe Photoshop to be the Most-requested application, accounting remains the weak spot for business users wanting to deploy GNU/Linux. Imagine your small business outsources payroll to one of the giants of the outsource payroll industry. Now imagine your timeclock plugs into your computer and a small utility program lets you transmit your timecard data directly to your vendor's web-based payroll system. Now imagine that you want to migrate to GNU/Linux. Don Parris helps you navigate the sometimes tricky terrain of outsourced payroll in the GNU/Linux world.
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Apr 01, 2007
How I Accidentally Un-Installed Synaptic - The Debian ChroniclesA weekly recap of the big stories concerning Linux and Open Source.
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Mar 22, 2007
Exploring the Debian InstallerI install, begin to configure and unknowingly make a mistake in the second installment of my adventures in Debian-land.
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Mar 09, 2007
I Want To Dual Boot Debian and XP - The Debian ChroniclesDon Parris looks at the Debian Installer, providing something of an overview of the installation process, revealing one or two potential pain points and what the Debian Installer team is doing to improve it.
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Mar 01, 2007
Windows refund - the next episode: Thoughts on a 2007 pan-European actionWith the gift of a new computer the help of a friend I recently decided to move from running OpenSuSE to duel booting Windows and Debian. Thus begins my adventure in Debian.
By Hans Kwint, The Netherlands - Feb 28, 2007
Carmony Says Raymond Mail Not Tied to LinspireLXer Feature: 28-Feb-2007
Linux on OEM desk/laptops is a hot item these days. Dell started to ship corporate desk/laptops without Windows pre-installed lately.
Nonetheless, this is too little and too late, costumers should be able to buy any lap/desktop without Windows pre-installed. Furthermore, the secret trade deals Microsoft made with the OEM's, which effectively make it impossible for / forbids OEMS to ship desk/laptops without Windows - are forbidden.
Therefore, a new pan-European Windows refund action should be started. In this article, I will share my new insights on the legal aspect of this action, since there are a lot of new things I found out after the last article I wrote on the subject. After that, I'll show my plan to do something about it. In short, it reads: Call aunty Neelie and try to get rid of our almost criminal uncles Bill and Steve.
By D.C. Parris - Feb 24, 2007
Fedora Devs Say Goodbye To Eric RaymondWhen Eric Raymond sent off an e-mail complaining about the Fedora project and distribution, some suspected his action was motivated by his conflicting values, with respect to including non-free multimedia codecs in Fedora Core, and that there might be some connection to his work with Linspire. Linspire's CEO Kevin Carmony posted a comment on LXer's forum to clarify the unilateral nature of Raymond's mail.
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Feb 23, 2007
Microsoft Hicks Take Backward Stand On InteroperabilityWhen Eric Raymond announced his departure on the Fedora Core developer mailing list, the developers returned with some interesting responses. Is Raymond really disappointed with the Fedora distribution, or is he simply making the change to Ubuntu for his new boss over at Linspire?
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Feb 19, 2007
SCaLE 5x: PicturesMicrosoft's recent letter argues for choice of formats, not office suites. Yet, their argument undermines the foundation of interoperability that a single standard can offer. In other words, their argument is so backwards, it makes this old hillbilly's head spin.
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Feb 13, 2007
SCaLE 5x: Day 2Here are the pictures I took while at SCaLE 5x with some brief descriptions.
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Feb 11, 2007
SCaLE 5x: Day 1Here is a review of some the events and people I talked too on the second day of SCaLE 5x in Los Angeles.
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Feb 10, 2007
Is the BBC Perpetuating the Microsoft Monopoly?Here is a review of some the events on first day of SCaLE 5x in Los Angeles.
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Feb 09, 2007
Dell Mail Reeks of Redmond's FearThe BBC recently released its Public Value Test for "public consultation" with respect to its proposed on-demand services. The problem is that, while the EU has hammered Microsoft for using its monopoly unfairly, the BBC is poised to prop up the convicted monopolist with a Windows-only service.
By D.C. Parris - Feb 01, 2007
The Open Source Hook: Porting KDE to Mac and WindowsRecently publicized Microsoft e-mails about Dell reveal more than Microsoft's thinking about Dell's "betrayal". The e-mails demonstrate Microsoft's warranted fear of the penguin.
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Jan 31, 2007
A dystopian future - looking beyond Windows Vista
With KDE porting their applications to Mac and Windows the potential number of people using free software is unlimited. Imagine millions of people using Open Source Software for the first time..and getting hooked on it.
By Sander Marechal - Jan 30, 2007
If the thought of Microsoft Vista's DRM restrictions, restrictive EULA, version confusion and user lock-in has you scared then you definitely do not want to know what the lads from Redmond have in store for the next version. If Microsoft's latest patent application is anything to go by then the next version of Windows, Vista+1 is really going to give you nightmares.Microsoft Hires Programmer to edit Wikipedia Entry For OOXML
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Jan 23, 2007
Microsoft is paying Rick Jelliffe to "correct errors" in Wikipedia's entry for OOXMLBill & M. Gates foundation for-profit investments harm the health & environment of the poor
By LA Times Staff writers / Hans Kwint, The Netherlands - Jan 17, 2007
Large academic international interdisciplinary study on FLOSS gets the real factsThe LA Times wrote a great article about the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Since it is eight pages long, a short summary:
Though most people think the Bill and Melinda Gates is a charitable foundation, this can be doubted. The foundation invests in a lot of companies, and makes as much profits as it gives away. Because it gives away 5% of its money every year, it therefore is a charitable foundation, and therefore they don't have to pay most taxes.
By Hans Kwint, The Netherlands - Jan 16, 2007
World Domination – Finding Linux EverywhereThe European Commission's enterprise and industry department just released the final draft (warning: 1,8 MB) of what could be the biggest academic interdisciplinary study on the economic / innovative impacts of FLOSS*. The study was done by an international consortium, led by the United Nations University / University of Maastricht's (NL,EU) department of innovation; UNU-MERIT for short. The study was prepared by senior researcher Rishab Aiyer Ghosh, who did a tremendous amount of FLOSS studies the last few years, amongst them on FLOSSpols and FLOSSWorld.
The academic grade study has a very, very broad scope and has collected real world information that is valuable for both companies, government bodies who are thinking about migration, and decision-makers in the ICT business. The study is about the direct economic impact of FLOSS, but also about the more hidden indirect economical impact of FLOSS, and also compares scenarios of open and proprietary software futures of Europe. In addition to that, the study is also about competitiveness of FLOSS software compared to proprietary software, and also provides a few TCO comparison case-studies.
Probably most important, the study gives policy strategies to European government bodies, which can also be very useful for any company or organization. In this article, I'll discuss the key findings of this report, and try to link this with my own knowledge and experience.
A must-read for anyone who's willing to Get the real Facts!
* In contrary to US articles, European's don't mind using the term FLOSS, since English speaking people are only a small minority in today's Europe, and therefore almost nobody associates FLOSS with the dentist. If you do, please don't bother to complain; just change the associations you make.
By Darren - Jan 15, 2007
In the march of the penguins to World Domination, I have seen Linux become more and more commonplace. Back with my first attempt to install Slackware Linux from 3.5” floppies onto my Packard Bell 386 Legend with its 40MB hard drive, 1x CD-ROM and S3 video knockoff, I never did get X to run with any resolution higher than 300x400. It was horrible – the desktop was so large that my screen couldn't contain all of it. The window manager, as I recall that day in 1994, was VWM. As I wasn't so interested in a GUI environment, and really just wanted an UNIX-like PC so I could practice things like shell scripting, it was “Ok” for me. It was not “good enough” for my girlfriend though. She had her Mac Performa and what I used didn't matter.Interview: Kenneth Hensley of PuppyLinux
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Jan 14, 2007
One Dweeb's Phishing TripAn Interview with Kenneth Hensley, the creator of the "Unofficial PuppyLinux Guide".
By Darren - Jan 13, 2007
On January 11th, I received an email to my Yahoo! account with the subject "Activate Your Account Now". The sender was "service@paypal.com".Dell's "secret Linux fling" not so secret
By Hans Kwint, The Netherlands - Jan 11, 2007
Short comment - A few days back, I read the story "Dell's secret Linux fling". What surprised me is, the people at The Register didn't know this. To show how 'not so secret' this all is, please let me quote an interesting line from the Asianux site;Happy New Year!"As the base software of IT system, Asianux has gotten full support from many global partners including Adaptec, AMD, BEA, CA, Dell, EMC, Emulex, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, NEC, Oracle, Samsung Electronics, SAP, Stratus Technologies and Symantec just to name a few."
Very secret, huh? I wish it was easier to find out how Linux is doing in the east, but from experience I can say it's rather hard to find out, since sooner or later, you arrive at Chinese-only pages. However, we should still look at the pages that _are_ in English, since they present interesting information. It seems OEM's in the east are supporting Linux, in contrary to what they do in the Western world.If there are any people from Asia reading this and willing to tell us, the LXer readers and editors, anything about the state of pre-installed Linux-offers in Asia, please let us know. We are eager to find out, and I can promise you I will write a (short) article about it.. Our e-mail address is at the last line of the 'About' page.
By D.C. Parris - Dec 31, 2006
From the LXer team, here's hoping the best for you and yours in 2007!A Comedy of Spam
By D.C. Parris - Dec 28, 2006
Converter Enables Conversion Between ODF & Chinese Document Format (UOF)You know, I hate to give spam any credence whatsoever, but some of it just too funny to pass up.
By D.C. Parris - Dec 28, 2006
Ten of the biggest Dutch municipalities say 'enough!' to MicrosoftPeking University recently released a program to convert office documents between OpenDocument Format and the Specification for the Chinese office file format based on XML (UOF for short).
By Hans Kwint, The Netherlands - Dec 27, 2006
Penguins and Fir TreesIn February 2003, the program "Open Standards and Open Source Software (OSSOS) for the Dutch government" started, funded by the Dutch government. One of the main tasks was to make the government independent from single software suppliers, among which are Microsoft and SAP. After three years, the effort starts bearing fruit. Ten big municipalities - together 2,7 million inhabitants and including Amsterdam and The Hague - signed a manifest. I'll try to explain what's in the manifest, what that might mean for the future, and for the monopoly of Microsoft in the Dutch government.
By D.C. Parris - Dec 25, 2006
Why Microsoft (probably) won't sue us for infringing 'IP'Here's hoping you find a penguin under your tree this year!
By Hans Kwint, The Netherlands - Dec 23, 2006
Debian Etch: So Easy A Newbie Can Do ItOpinion - August 2004, Microsofts Steve Ballmer warned Asian governments that Linux infringes 283 patents, some of which belong to Microsoft, and that those countries might experience trouble as a member of the WTO. However, nothing happened ever since (except more threats). Why doesn't Microsoft sue 'us', the users? Here are some more reasons you might not have thought of before.
By D.C. Parris - Dec 18, 2006
Feilner's OpenVPN a Good Read - With One CaveatAfter getting a nudge from one of our DebCentral readers, I decided to give Debian another shot. You see, I haven't messed with Debian since Woody taught me I was just a wannabe geek. As for Etch, if you've installed *Ubuntu, you can install Debian Etch. In fact, Debian may have found a new home or two or three.
By D.C. Parris - Dec 15, 2006
Microsoft answers IP questions posed in LXer open letterMarkus Feilner's book, OpenVPN is an excellent book for experienced administrators. While newbie admins will learn plenty, there is one important caveat.
By Hans Kwint, The Netherlands - Dec 11, 2006
Bad SuSE experiencesMid November, Steve Ballmer said "Linux"uses our [Microsoft Corp.] intellectual property" and "Microsoft Corp. wanted to "get the appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation." Many people didn't understand what he really meant, among them the LXer editors. Therefore, LXer sent an Open Letter to the Waggener Edstrom Rapid Response team, and two weeks later, the answers are in (no pun intended). Check the full story for the answers a Microsoft Spokesperson gave us, which hopefully can answer some of our questions.
[ Note: The questions may be a bit clumsy, since sending them was a rather impulsive action. - hkwint ]
By Hans Kwint, The Netherlands - Nov 29, 2006
A Challenge To Canonical, Red Hat, Novell, Linspire, and All Linux Distributors: Put Up or Shut UpRecently, LXer asked you: Which Linux distribution is the best? SuSE Linux came along several times. I have tried to work with SuSE Linux, but I only had bad experiences. Nonetheless, I'm not sure if it's SuSE / Novell who I should blame, there are more factors. I am only an amateur / hobbyist, so I could be the one to blame. On the other hand, I have experience with Open/Net/FreeBSD, Slackware, Debian, Ubuntu, Knoppix, a lot of it with Gentoo, and I hold an LPIC 1, so you can't say I don't have experience. I don't know anyone else in my neighbourhood who's good with SuSE, so there's no hands-on support. Moreover, I ran Suse on Microsoft Virtual PC (R), so we could also blame Microsoft (as usual). Or didn't I try hard enough? Fact is, I am dissastified with SuSE to such a level, I won't use it for the coming few months probably.
By Carla Schroder - Nov 28, 2006
Linux isn't going anywhere as long as hardware and multimedia remain out of reach...What are the big Linux distributors like Canonical, Linspire, and Novell doing about this? Packaging closed binary code, and passively waiting for that magical day when hardware vendors bound out of bed with happy cries of "Today is the day we support Linux and open our drivers and codecs! Hurrah!"Ask the Pros...Ahem, that would be you.
[Well, Carla beat me to it. I support her contention 100%, and encourage users to encourage their favorite distro developers to support a combined, coordinated effort to push for Free/Open Source drivers and codecs. - dcparris]
By helios - Nov 24, 2006
Open Letter: Questions about Microsoft Corp. Intellectual PropertyLXer Feature: 24-Nov-2006 No one knows better than this community what Linux Distro is best. The problem is, there may be as many different answers as there are different distros. As a means to assemble a database, we've come to the Linux Community to pose this simple question.
By H. Kwint - Nov 17, 2006
In a question-and-answer session after his keynote speech at the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) conference in Seattle last Thursday, [Steve] Ballmer said "Linux[™]"uses our [Microsoft Corp.] intellectual property" and "Microsoft Corp. wanted to "get the appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation."Give the Gift of Pre-Installed Linux This Year
Now, as a Linux user and editor of a Linux users site, I have some questions about this remarks.[ I sent the thing to WagEdds Rapid Response Team, look forward to hearing from them - hkwint ]
By D.C. Parris - Nov 13, 2006
'Business responsible for security of digital products and services'With Christmas around the corner, you'll be glad to know that you can check out over 100 vendors around the globe who offer desktop and notebook computers with GNU/Linux pre-installed. Put another way, LXer's Pre-Installed Linux Vendor database is now available!
By Consumentenbond - Nov 04, 2006
The GPLv3 Debate: Focusing On the IssuesOld news, but still very interesting for our readers: 'De Consumentenbond' (The Dutch Consumer Union) recently said digital security issues (virusses, spam etc.) are too complex for consumers to handle. Therefore, these issues should be handled by professional business, not by consumers. Also, business should be responsible for damage caused by insecure products it sold.
Note: Click on "Read more" for my English summary, click on "Full Story" to go to the story at the Dutch-only site of 'De Consumentenbond'. Parts of it are subscription-only.
By D.C. Parris - Nov 02, 2006
The GPLv3 Debate: Viewing The LandscapeYesterday we sought to "separate the wheat from the chaff", so to speak. Today, we'll take a look at the heart of the issue - the technical question that has been raised around the GPL's anti-DRM clause. I'm all for fighting DRM. I want the digital content I pay for to be available on my terms, seeing how I already paid for it. The question, though, is whether the GPLv3 will be the most effective tool for combating Big Media's attempt to take away our fair use rights.
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Nov 01, 2006
FeriCyde Analysis: Linux Attacks Rare But May RiseThere has been much debate about the GNU General Public License v3. Unfortunately, much of it has centered more on Stallman's personality and less on the technical issues. Furthermore, many seem to be ignoring history, especially the fact that Xerox' malfunctioning proprietary printer is what led to the explosion of Free Software as a movement. In order to understand the anti-DRM clause, you have to understand the Xerox incident. In this, the first of two articles examining the GPLv3 debate, we will briefly revisit history to see how the GPL came about, and how the debate about the the GPL is turning into a personality conflict, with even journalists making unwarranted attacks on Stallman's character.
By Paul (FeriCyde) Ferris - Oct 24, 2006
Paul Ferris discusses the inherent problems of news sources with large stock interests at stake.Invitation to "Perspektive Open Source" during SYSTEMS
By wjl - Oct 20, 2006
LXer To Add Articles In GermanLXer Feature: 21-Oct-2006
Here is an invitation, in German, to a two-day 'Perspektive Open Source' during the SYSTEMS in Munich. This is the first post in German, so please comment in German, should you choose to discuss it.
By D.C. Parris (Charlotte, USA) - Oct 20, 2006
LXer will begin posting German-language articles to the newswire.
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