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Three years after Linux creator Linus Torvalds began using BitKeeper to manage the Linux kernel source tree, debates have continued to spring up on the Linux kernel mailing list. A BitKeeper press release from nearly a year ago claims that the move has resulted in doubling the pace of Linux kernel development, a claim examined in a later two part interview on NewsForge from last May, including comments from Linus and Larry McVoy. In spite of this significant boost in productivity, there remains a group who vehemently oppose Linus' choice to use BitKeeper.

Symbio Technologies, an innovator in server-centric diskless thin client computer systems, today introduced the Symbiont Boot Appliance™ (SBA), which takes the place of far-more-expensive boot servers for diskless thin client workstations and networks.

Ladies and gentlemen! Start your engines! Mad Penguin is proud to present to you the first annual rm -rf February contest. We're also proud to say that this contest is like none other you've entered before. We're not going to give you a cookie for running the fastest, being the best crayon artist on the block, or building the tallest castle with your Lego collection... we're going to reward you for blowing up your computer (not literally! Put down the TNT!). Rule #1 is to never take the staff of Mad Penguin too seriously. If you can't get rule #1 down cold, then close your browser now and go outside and play.

SAN FRANCISCO - IBM is readying a number of new marketing programs that the computer giant hopes will encourage another 6,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) to port their software to the Linux operating system over the next three years. At the Linuxworld Conference& Expo in Boston Tuesday, the company will unveil its IBM eServer Application Server Advantage for Linux initiative, code-named Chiphopper, which is designed to ease the job of making Linux software run across all of IBM's servers.

An Italian bank is to move to thousands of computers to the Linux operating system.

Dear "open letter" writers: Please stop writing "open letters." They're a poor way to distribute your ideas, almost as bad as online petitions. There are more effective ways to make your point.

Oracle Invests Significant Resources to Provide a More Traditional Enterprise QA Environment for Linux

If you have ever wondered what Bill Gates says when he flies to Europe to meet with heads of state, we now have clarity, as business dudes might put it. Here's an article in Danish on precisely what Bill told Denmark he'd do if they opposed the software patents directive, followed by a rough translation by an alert Groklaw reader there, one of several to send this item to us.

Daffodil software has announced the release of v4.0 of its open source java database One$DB.

The title of the review is “Xandros Desktop OS 3 is a Windows XP replacement” because I feel this comment could be true for well over 90% of general computer users (probably like you.)

Free Software Magazine launched last month in electronic format, with a print version due in April. Free Software has no central office, and is not funded by any venture capitalists with deep pockets. Article topics range from an analysis of XML to a discussion about intellectual freedom. Segments of Richard Stallman's blog are promised as a regular feature. A section of technically-oriented articles covers password management, LiveCDs, and programming free software on Mac OS X. The final section deals with economic, social, and political issues of free software. We spoke with editor-in-chief Tony Mobily about creating FSM and his goals for the magazine.

IBM is gearing up to try its hand at Linux diplomacy. Buoyed by the success of cooperative ventures promoting Linux in Brazil and a few other developing countries, IBM plans to spread its open-source philosophy to other parts of the globe in 2005.

running Gnome or KDE on this machine was often a pain. I was aware that if there is a distribution that will make my old box perform well, it is going to be Gentoo.

The amazing Danamania, who is not just a crazed Aussie but also a woman of clear and penetrating insight, scores again:
"A Bay Area man has caused a stir by finally succeeding in his application to patent eating and drinking.

Dean Holland of Oakland explains that he first attempted to patent the entire process of eating, swallowing and digesting - but failed. Diligent patent examiners picked up that part of this process was involuntary, and thus fell outside the scope of patent law."

IBM plans to launch on Tuesday a program to make Linux applications available across its entire hardware line.

Mitchell Baker has written a weblog posting discussing the relationship between mozilla.org staff and Mozilla Foundation employees. In the pre-Foundation days, mozilla.org staff was the group that managed the Mozilla project. Today, the Mozilla Foundation has several paid employees who are increasingly taking on roles previously performed by staff. The Mozilla leadership is currently considering how the position of mozilla.org staff can be revised to reflect the way the project operates now that the Mozilla Foundation exists.

Linux still isn't ready for grandma, but it might be ready for your stoner friend who'll experiment with anything or for a curious type willing to put up with some discomfort. This doesn't get us terribly far past the technology savvy desktop Linux lovers around today, but it pushes up against a point that could be called Freak Mainstream.

As competition intensifies in the market for smart phone OSes (operating systems), PalmSource is looking at ways to carve out a piece of market share. Earlier this month, the company acquired China MobileSoft (CMS) in a move aimed not only at gaining additional smart phone expertise but also Linux know-how. At the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, PalmSource unveiled four new applications that draw on its recent CMS acquisition. IDG News Service interviewed David Nagel, president and chief executive officer of PalmSource, shortly before the start of the wireless conference and exhibition, which runs through Thursday.

It's no longer a question of if Linux and open source will catch on, nor when, nor why.

HP and Fujitsu are expanding the Linux offerings in their blade server lines as well as some of their most powerful systems.