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Boston - Fans of open source software have been buzzing since Linus Torvalds, creator of the popular Linux operating system, indicated he wouldn't adopt a new version of the license under which Linux is distributed. Torvalds' opinion matters because his program is by far the most popular open source program in the world.

Massachusetts legislators on Beacon Hill today will see a demonstration of accessibility features for Office 7, but they won't see the complete picture.

Today, interested Massachusetts legislators are being offered a pre-release demonstration of the accessibility features of Microsoft's Office 2007. What I understand they will see will be a subset of Windows features used in conjunction with a subset of third party accessibility tools, configured by experts, and demonstrated by sighted technicians. What they won't see is what it would be like for someone with disabilities trying to learn how to use a new system, using new accessibility tools (assuming that the old tools in fact are ported to the new platform). Not to mention the big bills that tax payers will need to pay to purchase those tools.

[ED: The continuing, important story of OpenDocument Format - this time a MS effort to block it by demostrating its innovative technologies. Tastes good ... something like fudge. - HC]

IBM employees using Linux desktops are switching to Red Hat Inc.'s version of the open-source operating system, but the company denied reports that it's planning to dump Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.

What happens if you take VLC player, add a pinch of XUL, and sprinkle a bit of RSS on top? You get Democracy Player, a new RSS aggregator geared towards managing video podcasts.

A top shipbuilding company has licensed a commercial, real-time embedded Linux operating system for use in three robotic manufacturing devices, including two currently in production. FSMLabs says its Korean partner, RealTimeWave, helped Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) develop the robotic shipbuilding devices, which are based on RTLinuxPro.

This article takes A look at sample GTK+ applications and handy development tools that allow you to deploy a GTK+ application and everything you need to get your product to the user.

Easier, simpler

Company says its next Linux desktop will be more usable than desktop products anywhere else on the market.

Mandriva Club reports - The second beta of Mandriva Linux One 2006, our new installable live CD, is now available... One is a fully-functional live CD, like the one included in Mandriva Linux 2006 Discovery or the old Move, but it also includes a wizard which quickly and easily installs One to the hard disk from within the running system. From then on you can use it just like a normal installed Mandriva system.

Join OSDir as they install Mandriva with the One LiveCD in their Mandriva Linux One 2006 Beta 2 Screenshot Tour.

Fans of the online virtual world Second Life can now connect from Linux machines. Linden Lab, creator of Second Life, recently launched a public test of the Linux client, sporting the same feature set and interface as the Windows and Mac OS X versions. The download and membership are free, so there is no excuse for not taking a look. If you were ever jealous of the exciting world your Sims live in, now you have the opportunity to get a taste of their experience firsthand.

At the age of four Jon Maddog Hall stuck the wires from a rabbit-ear television antenna into an electric socket which sent him flying across the room. Acknowledging the power of technology, Hall went on to forge a career and life based around it. He has been a software engineer, systems administrator, product manager, marketing manager and professional educator. Hall has been the executive director of Linux International since 1995, the first four years as a volunteer. He has been employed by VA Linux systems, Compaq Computer in the Digital Unix marketing group and Bell Laboratories among other companies.

Figuring out available disk space is a common task no matter the operating system of choice. The command line for Linux can be a very useful tool to figure where space has filled up on your harddrives or other storage media. The command line is quick and does not require an extreme knowledge of UNIX based system commands in order to get your desired results. What is great about the command line is it doesn't matter the Linux distribution. All distributions come with their form of UNIX based console interface.

Martin Pfeiffer has won the competition for KOffice 2 GUI and functionality design. All entries are available under the GPL license at the results page. His entry was chosen from among the eighteen submissions because of its innovative, ground-breaking approach to workflow and document handling. Across the board, the entries were of a high quality and demonstrated eagerness to think outside the established office suite paradigm.

Renowned cracker Kevin Mitnick says that while he finds hacking open source to be an easier task, he'd rather run open source in his own company -- for the same reasons that he'd rather hack it.

Building a complete email system with spam and antivirus protection is not as hard as you might think. This guide will walk you through installing and configuring everything you need for sending and receiving email, filtering spam, and scanning for viruses in email.

Get introduced to the Eclipse plug-in architecture and learn how to define your own plug-in using the Eclipse tool itself. You will also begin to leverage the SWT to develop a simple user interface for your plug-in.

Understanding virtualization is not an easy thing to do. The concept of many virtual machines running on board a single physical machine sounds all well and good but to many, even in the IT field, the idea seems rather, well... virtual. Brian Proffitt reports on one open source approach to virtualization that is getting a lot of attention, including from Linux kernel developers.

Rising Frustration with Microsoft’s Compensation and Review System

Internal Microsoft documents obtained by WashTech News show that Microsoft salaries have been stagnant or nudged only slightly higher over the past two years. Comments from current and former employees about the company’s compensation and performance review system suggest a growing level of frustration among rank-and-file workers.

Sidebar: Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, Communications Workers of America, Local 37083, AFL-CIO: Microsoft to invest $1.7 billion, add 3,000 jobs in India, Gates says. GM to raise India workforce by 30%

The European Union might start a new investigation into allegations that Microsoft Corp. is abusing its dominance in products such as Word and Excel, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Tuesday.

[ED: i just cannot understand this evolving story. In essence, Rice said it best: "Who Knew!?", European politicians were that much harder to buy off the the domesticated, native versions here in the States. - HC]