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The topics from last week's Red Hat Summit, and what they might mean for the future of the open-source revolution.

Foreword -- This article describes how researchers at the University of Vermont used a real-time Linux operating system from FSMLabs to build a "laser trap" that manipulates individual molecules with a computer-controlled laser beam. The project illustrates how RTLinux separates time-critical and non-time-critical tasks, according to FSMLabs CEO Victor Yodaiken.

Pleasing impatient open-source developers,"Sarge," the latest Debian Linux distribution, finally arrives.

Apple Computer has expanded its open-source operations, cheering volunteer Web browser coders who had raised complaints against the computer maker.

Birt 1.0 makes it easier for Java developers to build reporting and analysis capabilities into enterprise applications.

PMC-Sierra will ship a "router-on-a-chip" targeting VoIP (voice-over-IP) CPE (customer premises equipment) in Q3, 2005, along with a complete Linux-based software reference design. The MSP4200 is a 32-bit MIPS-based SoC (system-on-chip) with integrated voice processor DSP (digital signal processor), the company says.

The sales pitch for EnterpriseDB (EDB) is pretty simple: it's an enterprise-class relational database management system (RDBMS) based on twenty years of open-source development, compatible with Oracle - and costing a fraction of the price of a commercial system.

As the clock ticks down to this summer’s release of MySQL 5.0, Open Enterprise Trends spoke with MySQL AB’s Director of Architecture Brian Aker. In this interview, Aker shares his views with OET on what early adopters are saying about MySQL 5.0, his thoughts on the impact MySQL 5.0’s stored procedures and triggers will have on the enterprise, and how the new upgrade might affect ISVs, as well as long-time end user DBAs and developers.

Perens Will Build New Bridges Between Open Source Developers and Enterprise IT Users, Complementing His Leadership Role in the Open Source Developer Community

I will be continuing, with Sourcelabs support, my role as a leader in the Open Source developer community, devoting about half of my time to that task as I have since 1999. I will continue to work on political issues that threaten Open Source, such as increases in software patenting. My current involvements in Open Source projects such as UserLinux will continue. I will also continue as a board member of Open Source Risk Management, Technovera, SPI, and No-Code International, and as operator of Technocrat.net .

Imagine a utility that lets you make an annotated backup of any of your project files with the click of a mouse or a single command. It would let you review the history of your backups and recover any version you wished. And it would integrate with your file browser and would keep track of files that have changed since your last backup. The utility exists -- Subversion, and its companion program TortoiseSVN, can help you safely manage your files as you work with them.

Nokia last month released a Linux-based handheld computer aimed at mobile power users and gadget enthusiasts alike. About the size of a disposable camera, the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet runs a mini desktop Linux distribution put together by the phone maker. The interface is a 4-inch touch screen, which is used to access Web browsing, e-mail, some office productivity applications, as well as an RSS news reader, a digital music file player, and tools for viewing movies and photos. Future releases are said to include applications for presence management and VoIP.

Company that sells supercomputers built from clusters of interconnected Linux servers names Robert "Bo" Ewald its new chief.

Apple is leaving the PowerPC chip family behind, but Linux on Power vendors, Terra Soft, Red Hat and Novell/SuSE are staying with the IBM chip family.

The newly launched Linux distribution has a glitch--some versions were released with default security updates turned off.

Welcome to the Mandriva Linux Community Newsletter -- dedicated to keeping you up-to-date with the latest Mandriva-related news & info.

Getting a grip on all the legalities associated with open source and proprietary software licensing is a daunting task. To gain that understanding, says Mark Webbink, general counsel for Red Hat, one first needs to understand the true legal implications of words like patent, copyright, proprietary and open. After that, students of software law can get into more advanced subjects, such as an examination of what happens when developers mingle applications that were created under different licenses.

Firefox continues to gain users in Europe as it does in the U.S., a French Web metrics firm said Tuesday, although the rate of increase appears to be slowing. The Mozilla Foundation's reaction? It's the bottom line market share numbers that matter, not how fast, or slow, Firefox attracts fans.

The GNU Compiler for Java (GCJ), a free software implementation of Java, has been in development for seven years, but with the Free Software Foundation's recent call for volunteers, the project is suddenly receiving more attention than ever before. For many, GCJ is seen as a means of ensuring that the next version of OpenOffice.org does not require non-free versions of Java for full functionality. Yet the scope of the project goes far beyond this immediate need.

A number of open-source software projects will have to decide before the end of the month whether they want to continue using the proprietary source code management system, BitKeeper.