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LXer Feature: 2-Jan-2008

Lately, some articles appeared which stated the open-source way of development didn't bring us any innovation. Jaron Lanier even goes further by saying closed source is the better approach to innovation. However, these people miss a lot of important points and facts about innovation, and therefore the conclusions they make are false. Having read a lot about innovation myself lately, I will try to show that the open-source way of doing things leads to more innovation, and more important, I will give some real life examples showing the closed-source inventions aren't that innovative at all, and pointing to some open-source inventions the other writers missed.

The following guide allows you to wirelessy sync an iPhone with Amarok in Ubuntu 7.10, including adding, editing and playing songs and playlists. It takes less than 10 minutes, and is almost completely graphical, with only 3 Terminal commands for initial set up. Per a lot of my other writing, I’ve added it to the Ubuntu wiki. The guide below is just for iPhone users running Amarok, see help.ubuntu.com for iPhone Touch and gtkpod info. Naturally, it requires a jailbroken iPhone.

So I decided to try an experiment, and participated in the G1G1 (Give 1, Get 1) program from the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project. My 4 year-old is the original target market for the purchase, and I know from experience as the computer geek in the family, (and most of the extended family - sigh), that I would be the primary fount of knowledge for the users of our OLPC. One of the sections of this review will be about how to find out more about the laptop and interface.

TUSDEC has adopted open source software for its entire networking and communication to ensure the safe sharing and transfer of data. According to a spokesman of the company here Tuesday, TUSDEC is perhaps the first ever public sector institution in the country which has embraced the Linux-based software to avoid the problems like hacking and unauthorized sharing of information.

FTP is an insecure protocol, but file-transfer is required all the time. You can use OpenSSH Server to transfer files using SCP and SFTP (secure ftp) without setting up an FTP server. However, this feature also grants ssh shell access to a user. In this article series we will help you provide secure restricted file-transfer services to your users without resorting to http://FTP. It also covers chroot jail setup instructions to lock down users to their own home directories (allow users to transfer files but not browse the entire Linux / UNIX file system of the server) as well as per user configurations.

Marten Mickos sent me an update on MySQL's exceptional 2007. It makes interesting points about open source, generally, while relaying important information about MySQL. Here are excerpts from the message, with his permission

It is sometimes forgotten that GNU/Linux is more than just a desktop operating system. Linux, being a well-engineered kernel, is used extensively and also funded for its important role in several different areas of computing. One needs to look for evidence of growth not only in desktops. Judgment must be based on multiple areas where GNU/Linux gains traction. This ought to cover some disruptive trends that are yet to be reckoned with.

Not long after Linux.com reviewed Roelof Temmingh's powerful online data mining tool Paterva Evolution a few months ago, Temmingh was forced to remove the application from the Paterva Web site because of complaints that some of the methods he used to harvest data were violating the terms of service (TOS) of the services from which the information was gathered. Recently, Temmingh released a completely redesigned version of the tool -- now called Maltego -- and has made it available again as a free-as-in-beer download.

Via CRN we learn that according to Novell’s recent 10-K annual report, the Linux vendor received $355.6 million (R2.5 billion) from Microsoft in terms of the companies’ agreement on interoperability signed in 2006. No wonder Novell execs are feeling pleased with themselves.

With seven stable releases of VectorLinux Standard Gold edition under their belts, the developers of VectorLinux have released the much-awaited VectorLinux 5.9 Standard Gold edition on the 21st of December 2007 to the joy of many Vectorians. Well, in case you are not aware of VectorLinux, it is another immensely popular Xfce-based Linux distribution in the GNU/Linux world. It originates from Canada and focuses on speed, stability and choice. It's designed to run well even on low-resources compatible Intel or AMD x86 hardwares. Other than the announcement of the new release, its website, vectorlinux.com also provide many screenshots of the new VectorLinux 5.9 Standard Gold or just called VectorLinux 5.9. While you are there, you may want to check out its CD store for the Deluxe version.

After reading Wolfgang's blog entry on how easy it is to upgrade a Debian installation (and I recommend his blog, The Debian User, to any and all Debian and Ubuntu users), I decided to do it myself. I have a testing hard drive (one of three I can easily swap in and out of my Maxspeed Maxterm converted thin client) that began as a Debian Etch Xfce box and recently got GNOME added. Now I'm doing the easy upgrade from Etch (stable) to Lenny (testing).

Running Microsoft Office 2003 on Linux with Wine 0.9.52

The new year brings the promise of unprecedented growth to Linux and open-source software. It's good to have a plan to facilitate that growth. It's good to see that Lobby4Linux is on top of it.

Early Bird registration for SCALE expires on January 5th. If you're contemplating attending SCALE 6X register now at SCALE 6X Registration.

Ajax developers are turning away from commercial development tools and opting for free, open source alternatives. That's according to a recent Ajaxian poll that asked developers which Ajax tools they used either in development or in production.

Following the success of Elephants Dream, an open-source movie, Blender is sponsoring the development of a open-source, professional-quality 3D game based on the characters of Peach.

This year a combination of travel and snow storms influenced me to stay at home on New Year's Eve. I had returned to my home from a night out in Boston the evening before, and after battling a snow storm while returning home I did not feel like going out again. A fire in the fireplace and my favorite beverage in my hands was all I wanted on the last night of 2007.

Zimbra 5.0 GA came out today or was it yesterday / last year? After reading the release notes and doing a complete backup, I upgraded both my work and personal Zimbra servers. I have been using the Open Source edition of Zimbra for my work and personal email for... oh... something close to two years now and have been through a number of upgrades. They have always gone smoothly. Read the full article to see what is new in the 5.0 release as well as an overview of the upgrade process from the 4.5.10 release.

The beginning of the year is traditionally a time to look back, and, for the brave of heart, to make a few predictions looking forward. Lacking the requisite bravery, I'll just quote something that the Economist wrote recently: "Rejoice: the embrace of “openness” by firms that have grown fat on closed, proprietary technology is something we’ll see more of in 2008." Now, had this "fearless prediction" been made a year ago, I would have been impressed, because 2007 has turned out to be the year when everyone, it seems, wants to be open.

What is the Network Information Gnome Applet? It is an applet for your Linux Gnome desktop. This project symbolizes why I use Linux. It is my way to share the simple method of writing your own Gnome applets, provide source code to those that desire to get started writing their own applets, and provides me a fast way to gather network information when I am browsing. Also, the applet provides a very fast way to see that there are no connections when I am not browsing!