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Amazon is trying to sneak through another absurd patent. But, they have been caught out.

Applied computer technology can help reduce dependency on oil. MozillaQuest Magazine (mozillaquest.com) reports: "Telecommuting is a great way to conserve oil/petroleum fuel consumption. The technologies for telecommuting are here now . . . Alternative energy sources such as solar, water, and wind power can be employed to eliminate the need for oil/petroleum to generate electricity. Moreover there is no need to build additional nuclear power plants."

Nigeria's Leapsoft has released a Linux distribution designed to cater for the Nigerian languages Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. Wazobia Linux is a commercial distribution aimed at corporate desktops, and includes the usual office suite, web and email applications, and media players.

Imagine Technologies has published "certified" 3D benchmark results for a Texas Instruments (TI) SoC (system-on-chip) that incorporates its 2D/3D accelerated graphics coprocessor IP (intellectual property). Imagine claims it is the first company to announce "official and certified performance results" using FutureMark's 3DMarkMobile06 benchmark suite.

At LinuxAsia 2006, meet the guy who developed Knoppix, a well-known live CD Linux distribution, which can boot practically any PC into Linux.

Foreword: Open source project founder Cecil Watson provides some background on KnoppMyth in this brief project history. The project aims to create an easy-to-install-and-use Linux distribution for set-top boxes. Enjoy .

The most remarkable thing about Apple Computer's (AAPL) newest iMac is that, even after using it for a while, it's hard to tell just how different it is from the identical-looking iMac G5 introduced last fall. Don't be deceived by the similarities. Hidden in the new iMac is a processor that will let this line of Macs grow and meet the increasing performance demands of software.

[ed: A good platform for Linux? -tadelste]

The United States-based body responsible for protecting the "Linux" name appears to be making a renewed push to register it as a trademark in Australia.

Railsconf is now open for registration. Keynote speakers include Martin Fowler, Paul Graham, David Heinemeier Hansson, and Dave Thomas.

Software maker expected to give away product that lets multiple OSes run on the same PC, CNET News.com has learned.

The KDE marketing group is pleased to announce the release of SpreadKDE.org, the new home for KDE's promotional activities. Such a hub for marketing activities has been sorely lacking in KDE until now, and we consider this site a to be a key milestone in establishing a solid foundation in growing KDE's promotional activity.

Mitt Romney is betting that supporting ODF will prove to be a smart political move, as he grooms himself for a run for the presidency. It looks like that bet is paying off.

The ability to add notes and comments to your Web site can be a powerful and attractive feature for users. This tutorial demonstrates how to implement an AJAX-based website user annotation system in the form of yellow sticky notes that sit on top of regular Web page content. The only additional, required configuration is a back-end Perl script that stores the annotations.

The open source software development model clearly represents a profound and fundamental change from traditional, proprietary development models.

Linus Torvalds, father of the Linux kernel, has fleshed out his unhappiness with GPLv3 in three recent posts on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML).

Here is a suggestion for any CEO interested in improving the performance of his IT department. Consider adding the new position of IT Contrarian. Although some consulting organizations have a similar position (a quality assurance manager), this is likely to be a new concept in many organizations, so let's review of the responsibilities, duties, and qualifications, as well as the rationale associated with proposing the position.

Though few would dispute the fact that Bill Gates' role as a philanthropist has done a lot to save lives in developing countries, in his role as Chairman of the Microsoft Corporation, according to the New York Times, he is doing little to enrich these same people's lives.

Some of the biggest names in computing – including Google, IBM, Mozilla, Oracle, Redhat and Novell – have teamed up to form Open Ajax, which plans to give Ajax (asynchronous Javascript and XML) tools to the open source community. The alliance intends to “promote Ajax's promise of universal compatibility with any computer device, application, desktop or operating system, and easy incorporation into new and existing software programs”.

Linux vendor Red Hat is stepping up its efforts in the potentially huge India market by buying out its joint-venture partner, earmarking an investment of $20 million in the next two to three years, doubling its Pune-based research staff, and signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an official body to work jointly at modernizing the Indian educational system.

Most Linux-based distributions for the masses have either GNOME, KDE, or both desktops, yet the startup times and resources required by both GNOME and KDE make them unsuitable for old or lower-end hardware. My quest for a standards-compliant, fast, lightweight, and extensible window manager led me to Openbox.