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Lucas Nussbaum suggests that Linux distributions should have a place to collaborate more effectively than just with upstream projects: I am both a Debian and an Ubuntu developer, and I’m sometimes amazed that Ubuntu discusses technical choices that were discussed (and solved) a few weeks earlier in Debian. And it’s even worse with the other big distros out there. Couldn’t we try to improve this ?

Just when you thought the tale of the man whose laptop hardware warranty was invalidated after he installed Linux could not get any stranger, it goes and gets a lot stranger.

Peter Enseleit wrote a summary about using GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) on Linux.com. He mentions several tools for the Gnome and KDE desktops, as well as plugins for free and proprietary operating systems. And I explain - again - why this is important.

The ath5k driver has been through more than the usual amount of legal trouble. This driver, for Atheros wireless chipsets, was originally reverse engineered and developed in the BSD community. It was reputed by some to have been improperly copied from proprietary Atheros code, requiring two different studies by the Software Freedom Legal Center before Linux developers were willing to believe that it was safe to use. This driver should be the cause of great joy - it will make it possible for vast numbers of laptop owners to run Linux with free drivers for the first time. But, first, there would appear to be one more set of legal hassles to overcome.

This technology is a browser-based visual editor and run-time environment that enables developers to visually assemble Web applications without adding any imperative code. IBM Web Relational Blocks Software, Personal Edition (WebRB-PE) is a downloadable version of alphaWorks service, Web Relational Blocks.

I haven't actually had the time to listen to one of the 77 -- SEVENTY-SEVEN!!!! -- podcasts on Linux at the Linux Reality Web site, but I'm going to soon. They seem to be aimed at the new Linux user, and they cover everything from what an ISO is and how to burn one, to browsers, desktop environments, various distributions, the shell ... And there are more Linux podcasts: The Linux Links Tech Show, Lotta Linux Links, Open News and LQ Radio.

OpenEMR HQ, a consultancy and integration firm focused on the popularOpenEMR medical records software package, has officially began offering service. The company, based near Tulsa, Oklahoma, offers a full range of products and services including installation, customization, and hosting and is primarily focused on small to mid-sized medical offices and clinics. According to company spokesmanMark Jennings, OpenEMR HQ is working on several extensions to the software that will better integrate it into busy medical offices and will streamline the way staff interacts with both clinicians and patients. Major changes should start appearing in the product by the end of the year and the modifications will be contributed back to the general OpenEMR community according to Jennings.

And Microsoft has decided its perfectly fine to crowbar their way into your computer. They will promptly advise you to direct any comments or complaints to the "Kiss My Filthy-Rich Butt" department. You should have read the EULA...it's not like you weren't warned.

Years after it was first predicted, The SCO Group, a Unix and mobile software distributor better known for its Linux litigation, has filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

Found it on All About Ubuntu: long-term Wall Street Journal writer Walt Mossberg tried Ubuntu from a newcomer’s point of view. I have commented on both of them.

Earlier this week David Lin reviewed the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3S and on the review bench today we have the GA-P31-DS3L from Gigabyte. This P31 motherboard supports Intel's Core 2 45nm processors, DDR2-1066 memory, all-solid capacitors, and many of the other innovations found on the GA-P35-DS3S. Nevertheless, is the GA-P31-DS3L that currently sells for about $75 USD able to perform well under Linux like the GA-P35-DS3S?

So, it's finally happened. Unhappy with other media players being better than iTunes, Apple have apparently decided to stop them from working with the new range of iPods. There's no iTunes for Linux, so popular Linux iPod management tools like gtkpod and Rhythmbox will not work with the new range of iPods. The iPod keeps track of the songs and playlists in your iPod with a database file. At the very start of the database, a couple of what appear to be SHA1 hashes have been inserted which appear to lock the iTunes database to one particular iPod and prevent any modification of the database file.

This is release 0.9.45 of Wine, a free implementation of Windows on Unix. What's new in this release:

* Many improvements to the crypto dlls (should make iTunes work).

* The usual assortment of Direct3D improvements.

* A number of fixes to sound support.

* Many more WordPad features.

* Lots of bug fixes.

Embedian has started shipping a tiny embedded processor module available with Linux and a development board with LCD. Roughly half the size of a credit card, the COM-7211 is based on an ARM9 processor, and targets industrial automation, portable devices, POS, transportation, medical, and defense applications. The COM-7211 is shipping now, preinstalled with a Debian ARM filesystem and Linux 2.6.18.1 kernel.

So in my tradition of one post per month (which, I know, needs to change), I present you with some updates from the world of Awn. There have been lots of cool applets popping up, especially since the python bindings were committed a week or so ago. The move to launchpad has also created some very cool branches of Awn by other people which focus on new ideas, or new ways to implement existing ones.

Today is second day of my OpenMoko 2007.2 testing. I do it as part of my work for OpenedHand and this gives me possibility to discuss bugs with applications authors before reporting to get some details. Today I'll be looking at the new UI.

This week I have generally been diving a bit deeper into the Amarok and even kdelibs code to debug some pretty serious issues. The KIO system is in a bit better shape than it was at the beginning of the week, thanks to KDE dev. Thiago, and as I use this intensively for the services, Magnatune not least of which, this is really good news.

When it rains, it pours, they say. First, SCO files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and now on the same day Judge Dale Kimball has denied SCO's Motion for Reconsideration or Clarification of the August 10, 2007 Order. Here's his Order [PDF]. I wrote an article earlier today about SCO's Reply Memorandum in support of this motion, and as you'll see, I am not surprised at the denial.

Nation's largest transportation agency chooses Novell to secure and manage its employee identity infrastructure.

When I started using GNU/Linux eight years ago, I was dumbfounded to encounter Debian users who started their day by upgrading their entire system. Yet now, with the updaters that sit in the notification trays of recent GNOME and KDE-based distributions, I realize that these daily upgraders were not daredevils, but pioneers in the idea that all upgrades are desirable. Never mind that this idea is an nuisance and an unwarranted assumption -- let alone that constant upgrades are unsuitable to many styles of computing and contrary to responsible system maintenance.