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It is with regret that I urge all FOSS developers to treat anything Novell has contributed to the community as suspect, scrutinize any Novell contributions and purge them as deemed appropriate.This threat is real, and it is not necessarily contingent upon whether or not Microsoft would actually sue customers for patent infringements. This is a classic case of posturing. Novell is now in a position to leverage its agreement with Microsoft in a way that harms all other Linux distributions and other FOSS projects. It is actively exploiting its unique position in ways that seem beneficial, but will pose risks to anyone but its own customers.

Novell and Microsoft's software patent agreement betrays the rest of the Free Software community, including the very people who wrote Novell's own system, for Novell's sole financial benefit. Join Bruce Perens in signing an open letter to Novell's CEO Ron Hovsepian.

An uncompromising advocate of Java compatibility, Dr Graham Hamilton - Sun Fellow and VP - has parted company with the new "age of participation" Sun in the wake of its decision, announced last week, to open-source its implementation of Java.

Australia's open source industry received a boost this week with the launch of boutique consulting and research firm Waugh Partners.

Microsoft's cunning plan to be the ruler of Linux has hit a slight snag. Its Linux ally Novell is not going along with its plans to force Linux distributors to join its approved partners, pay up or be sued and the Open Sauce community has a counter attack planned. According to ZD Net, Eben Moglen, who is designing the next version of the GNU Public License GPL v3, says that the Free Software Foundation's next draft includes a new clause where those agreeing to it will not sue anyone else.

The first development build of Freespire 2.0 has been released: "Freespire version 2.0 Alpha (1.1.57) is now available for download. New features: KDM login manager; KDE 3.5.5 with user switching and SuperKaramba; kernel 2.6.18; desktop directory names (no spaces); Lbrowser with Flash Player 9 beta; Lmail including FreeLinuxEmail; Gaim 2.0.0 beta4; OpenOffice.org 2.0.4."

In a recent interview with IT Business Edge, LXer.com editor-in-chief Don Parris said the patent problem that has arisen between Microsoft and Novell could be resolved amicably — well, as amicably as anything involving Redmond and open source can be – if Microsoft would simply issue cease and desist requests to the open source coders that it thinks have infringed its patents.

With Don Parris, Editor-in-Chief of LXer.com, a news/community Web site for Linux enthusiasts, on the patent covenant between Microsoft and Linux distributor Novell. Even Microsoft admits that the patent covenant falls short of the mark and is seeking input from the open source community.

UK Members of Parliament have identified Department of Education and Skills (DfES) and Becta policies as favouring proprietary software vendors thereby blocking the adoption of Open Source software by schools and colleges. An Early Day Motion tabled by Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh, has called for a fair approach to ICT procurement in the education sector.

Linspire announced at the GITEX Dubai 2006 Trade Show last week a strategic partnership with marketer Business International to bring Linspire's desktop Linux operating system to 17 Middle East and African countries during the next several months.

Perspective: Attorney Eric J. Sinrod explains the ramifications of a recent case on the future of open-source software.

Gentoo is one of the most difficult distributions to learn, though veteran Gentoo users might point out that its friendly community and extensive documentation can help new users. Here are some tips that might make Gentoo easier for anyone who wants to give it a try.

The automatic password manager in the Firefox web browser is not secure, according to a report on the software maker's website.

This week, Berlin is hosting the European JBoss World Conference. Red Hat is now the organizer of the three-day conference for developers and users of the JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite (JEMS). In April, the Linux distributor took over the middleware specialist and recently began offering its products, which are still published under the independent JBoss brand, as part of its own the Red Hat Application Stack in combination with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Does the Microsoft EULA adequately tell you what will happen if you don’t activate the product or if you can’t establish that it is genuine? Well, not exactly. It does tell you that some parts of the product won’t work - but it also ambiguously says that the product itself won’t work. Moreover, it allows Microsoft, through fine print in a generally unread and non negotiable agreement, to create an opportunity for economic extortion.

PortableApps.com has launched Portable Apps Suite and the latest version of its Mozilla Firefox Portable Edition. With more than seven million downloads to date, PortableApps.com claims to bring computing to the pocket, letting users take their favorite applications anywhere and access these on a PC of choice, without installing software or leaving data behind, as per a statement issued by the company.

Microsoft Windows may be the dominant operating system in businesses and homes, but there are some places it just doesn't fit. That is particularly true for the mini-ITX systems that are gaining popularity in single-purpose applications.

Why open source is ready for the enterprise: beyond free stuff

BasKet is a multipurpose note-taking application that allows you to collect and organize text, pictures, files, and more. BasKet 0.6.0, released last month, sports a new interface and improved features over previous releases.

CHILI U.S.A To serve As The U.S. Support And Distribution Center For CHILI PACS Radiology Software Products