Linux and Unix Forum

The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) took aim at 14 consumer electronics companies for violating GPL licensed products. This is the largest lawsuit of its kind ever filed. This lawsuit uses what Richard Stallman calls "tivoization" as its defense. Tivoization, if you recall from my post, "[URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story240080.html"]Does Linus Torvalds Hate …

Neither RedHat nor Novell feel the need to push for a Linux Desktop that competes with the ubiquitous Windows OS. So the two largest commercial Linux vendors are throwing in the towel in the Desktop arena. There it is. Now go by yourselves a copy of Windows Vista--and while you're …

The Obama Administration vows to cut costs in part by using open source software (Software whose source code is made available to the user), cloud computing, virtualization, Linux and other low cost technologies. But, does the use of open source software put the government, its records and our national security …

It was a cold November morning, leaves covered the now yellowed grass, the dog's water stood frozen, two little winter birds fluffed their feathers while sitting on a low tree branch outside my kitchen window and the smell of coffee began to fill my nostrils telling me that it's time …

Everyone has posted their predictions for 2010 but here's the real scoop on what's going to happen in 2010 with Linux and Linux-oriented hardware and software products. Get ready to see the biggest increase in Linux adoption in history. You can say you saw it here first. These are in …

If you've ever remotely operated one computer from another, you've used desktop virtualization. It's been built into Linux, Mac OS X and Windows for years, but recent moves by Red Hat could signal that it's about to go mainstream. The Linux company late last week announced that it was opening …

Ever pine away for a car for months, or even years, then when you finally get it—you have buyer’s remorse? You should have taken a test drive. Sure, you say, testing a car with a chatty salesperson next to you isn’t ownership but it does give you an idea of …

Do you need a reality check? Freedom isn't free. You have to work hard, and possibly even die, for it. Fortunately, free software doesn't require you to sacrifice anything but restrictions. Unfortunately, the powerful marketing machines constantly bombard and tempt you with semi-clever TV commercials, discount offers, inexpensive upgrades or …

This is the third entry in the continuing "cave dwellers" [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story223037.html"]saga[/URL] and their new lives with Ubuntu. Someone posted a comment on the previous cave dwellers entry about [URL="http://www.apple.com"]iTunes[/URL] not working on Linux and I was absolutely sure that it did. It doesn't. Much to my surprise (and disappointment), iTunes …

It's been almost a year since I[URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story220028.html"] last interviewed [/URL] Joe 'Zonker' [URL="http://www.dissociatedpress.net/"]Brockmeier[/URL], who is the community manager at [URL="http://en.opensuse.org/OpenSUSE_11.2"]openSUSE[/URL]. I sent him several questions to answer by email. I was curious about the new version of openSUSE, 11.2, along with his increasing use of social media to promote it. …

I was talking with my friend, [URL="http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow"]Jason Perlow[/URL], yesterday and he told me that I should back off of the free software rants because he feels that I'm entering the gray edges of freakdom. We laughed about it but it made me think: When does a strong belief in something …

It's a fact of life that Linux distributions go extinct and it happens more often than our Linux fan base would like to admit. At last count, there are approximately [URL="http://lwn.net/Distributions/#historical"]50[/URL] individual distributions that are now extinct. What happens to the poor unfortunates who adopt and use these defunct distros? …

According to an ongoing debate over the GPL version 3, he does. How can this be, since Linus Torvalds, creator and chief architect of the Linux kernel, knows about software freedom and free software? He doesn't have a problem with what Richard Stallman refers to as "tivoization," which is the …

Welcome to the 10th installment of the Crystal Ball Sunday series. This is an exciting time to be involved with Linux because the temperature is right for some Linux vendor consolidation. In my August 22nd post, [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3012.html"]Microsoft and Novell: Buying In or Selling Out[/URL], I subtly predicted that [URL="http://www.microsoft.com"]Microsoft[/URL] would …

At my last, best count, there were over 550 individual Linux distributions. From the most generic, flat installs of the most common distros to ultra-specialized, multimedia-oriented to the eye-popping, fancy ones--they're all there for the taking. I found ten distributions from among the 500 or so that I know about …

IBM has today announced a breakthrough chip-stacking technology in a manufacturing environment that paves the way for three-dimensional chips to extend Moore’s Law way beyond traditionally expected limits. The ‘through-silicon-vias’ technology allows different chip components to be packaged much closer together, resulting in faster, smaller and lower-powered systems. This breakthrough …

Nothing gets people in the Linux World riled up like comparing distributions, desktops or editors. But for the new Linux user, the whole thing is a bit confusing. What do we tell [I]them[/I]? Do we verbally slug it out in forums or do we offer gentle guidance to those entering …

[URL="http://www.ubuntu.com"]Ubuntu[/URL] has redeemed itself with its latest version 9.10 (Karmic Koala). I took a look at Ubuntu 9.10 on October 1st and have been playing around with it for a few days. My first impression is that it is good stuff--seriously good stuff. From the new, updated installer to the …

Have you searched for Linux distributions that are 100% free? Did you find more than one that suited your needs? Well, here's a list of nine from which you can choose your favorite. Free means freedom to alter, redistribute, sell or release as a different product with no restrictions on …

[URL="http://www.ubuntu.com"]Ubuntu[/URL]'s CEO, Mark Shuttleworth fired one over [URL="http://www.microsoft.com"]Microsoft[/URL]'s bow with a statement that the soon to be released Ubuntu 9.10 is ready to go head-to-head with Windows 7 on Netbooks. He also said that Windows XP is still hanging around on some Netbooks as a "ghost." Shuttleworth wants another shot …

Thought you were bleeding edge with your quad-core PC? Think again. A company called Tilera today announced that it's working on a chip containing 100 processor cores, which it says could be seen by 2011. It's part of its new TILE-Gx line of 64-bit multi-core processors, the first of which--a …

The Associated Press [URL="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iuRIVBTLUvW7823FC-fcfhvkSxHgD9BHLF180"]reported[/URL] this weekend that the [URL="http://www.whitehouse.gov/"]official White House website[/URL] has been switched to using the open-source Drupal content management system Using open source will result in improved security -- because more programmers will be looking for errors in the software -- as well as more quickly and …

I had the honor and pleasure of speaking to [URL="http://www.fsf.org"]Richard Stallman[/URL] a few days ago while he was in New Zealand on a speaking tour. I had been in an email conversation with him over several days asking about which software programs he uses and I finally connected with him …

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote, "[URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story220784.html"]Has Linux Fallen Into a Well?[/URL]." It was a tale of two brothers, aka The Cave Dwellers, who had too many complaints and angst concerning the Windows XP installation on my wife's old HP DV-5000 laptop. Reinstalling XP didn't do any good the …

Since I check my linkbacks religiously, I noticed one of the comments over at [URL="http://www.linsux.org"]linsux.org[/URL] (An anti-Linux rant site) on my recent post, "[URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story226405.html"]5 Things You Can Do to Put Linux in the Driver Seat[/URL]" and thought I would share one of the entries with you. He wants us Linux …

Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel, said at the [URL="http://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/linuxcon"]LinuxCon[/URL] in Portland yesterday that, "We are not the streamlined, small, hyper-efficient kernel I envisioned 15 years ago," he said. "Our kernel is huge and bloated. Whenever we add a new feature, it only gets worse." It's time to put …

In its ongoing effort to become the coolest city in the U.S., the mayor of Portland, Oregon, is going to attempt [URL="http://portlandoregon.gov/auditor/index.cfm?c=50265&a=264719"]tomorrow night[/URL] to make it an "open source city," making its data as open as possible while respecting privacy, and buying open source applications when possible. If passed by …

All the glass clicking and cheers of late surrounding the apparent conversion of [URL="http://www.microsoft.com"]Microsoft[/URL] to the open source [URL="http://www.codeplex.com"]fold[/URL] needs to stop. We need the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_war"]Cold War[/URL]. We need [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism"]Communism[/URL]. And, yes, we need the OS Wars. Like any war, the OS Wars stimulate creativity, spark religious battles and divide …

Microsoft announced a new organization this week called [URL="http://www.codeplex.org/index.aspx"]CodePlex[/URL], which according to its web site, is "a non-profit foundation formed with the mission of enabling the exchange of code and understanding among software companies and open source communities." Now, you don't normally see Microsoft and Open Source in the same …

Quick question: What do the following things have in common? A Mythical Horned Rabbit from Douglas, Wyoming. A French-Canadian Linux Guy. An A4 Format. An African Word. A Double-sided DVD. An Abundance of Information. Give up? Don't. But since you'll never guess it, I'll tell you. It's the premier issue …

Today I'm pondering if the current open source model is still valid or if it's outdated. Do we need licensing for open source software? Do we need the GPL, LGPL, APL and all the [URL="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/alphabetical"]other licenses[/URL] that plague...er, [I]grace[/I] us? If your software is free and open source, why bother …

My good friend and partner in crime, [URL="http://blogs.zdnet.com/perlow"]Jason Perlow[/URL] is working on (as I'm writing this) a new Linux distribution that is Hyper-V ready. It is a modified OpenSUSE 11.1 that includes the Linux Integration Components (ICs) from [URL="http://www.microsoft.com"]Microsoft[/URL]. He'll have a link to it on his blog in a …

It's hard to convince Joe and Mary User to convert to Linux when the first things you hear from them are: "Where's my <insert stupid application here>?" "Why can't I just have <insert ridiculous thing here>?" or the ever-popular "This doesn't work like <insert overpriced application here>?" Honestly, it's enough …

DATELINE - July 30, 2009 An open letter was sent to Lance Davis, primary administrator, describing the problems experienced by the other major members and contributors to the [URL="http://www.centos.org"]CentOS[/URL] project. Here is that letter, in its entirety that's also posted on the front page at centos.org: [QUOTE]July 30, 2009 04:39 …

If you haven't heard of [URL="http://www.proxmox.org"]ProxMox[/URL] yet, you need to hit the site right now and grab the [URL="http://pve.proxmox.com/wiki/Downloads"]ISO[/URL] file for the latest version (1.3) as of this writing. ProxMox is a bare metal (Type 1) hypervisor that comes with [URL="http://www.linux-kvm.org"]KVM[/URL] (Kernel Virtual Machine) and [URL="http://www.proxmox.org"]OpenVZ[/URL] technology rolled into a …

To be honest, these days it takes a new iPhone or maybe the latest Android-powered beast to get my smartphone pulse racing even if BlackBerry is the top of the smartphone pops in [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4324.html"]raw number terms[/URL]. So news of a new BlackBerry, the Curve 8520 which was also know as …

Linus has spoken so get back to work and stop burning up the Internet with your hate speeches and endless ramblings about Microsoft and how this is so wrong. Linus accepted the code and gives his reasons as to why. Here's my take on the whole thing with responses to …

Just like the international gang summits in Los Angeles, Linux needs a collective, "sit-down" to discuss the future of this now formidable operating system. I'm not talking about a nice little get together with keynote speakers with high-powered, 10,000 foot views of where Linux is and where it's going. And …

Back in October '08, I wrote "[URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3288.html"]5 Things I Wish Linux Had[/URL]" but never realized that it would inspire the heated debate (Read the comments) that it did. I also didn't realize that it would inspire an actual operating system. One of my readers commented briefly that he would take …

Everyone knows that China is not exactly the most Internet friendly country, in fact the Chinese government pretty much hates it. Despite being a truly [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1269.html"]connected superpower[/URL], the Chinese government has already [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1407.html"]declared war on Internet porn[/URL]. Of course, the Internet is a cool tool when used as a weapon …

[URL="http://www.linuxfoundation.org"]The Linux Foundation[/URL] notified me a few days ago about some new member benefits and I'm excited to tell you about them. For starters, you receive discounts on their training courses and entrance to their conferences--which translates to several hundred bucks to those of you watching your budgets. Want more? …

I received a newsletter from [URL="http://www.rpath.com"]rPath[/URL] concerning Lean IT and it occurred to me that Linux is the keystone in each one of the elements listed in it: Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Cost reduction mandates. As more businesses work toward saving money, they'll look for ways to save on IT …

Perhaps it's my role as the family computer guy that's leading me in this direction today but it seems to me that there should be Linux distributions that are age-oriented and age appropriate. Seldom do I see my parents-in-law playing a heated game of [URL="http://www.quake.com"]Quake[/URL] or doing any kernel tinkering, …

I wonder if the [URL="http://www.linuxfoundation.org"]Linux Foundation[/URL] is prepared to go to task for us, the Linux users, the Linux supporters, the Linux developers and the Linux Foundation members? I wonder if they are our [URL="http://www.nra.org"]National Rifle Association[/URL] (NRA)? I wonder if the Linux Foundation is prepared to meet the challenges …

This coming Monday, May 11th, marks the start of the first annual [URL="http://news.opensuse.org/2009/05/07/get-ready-for-opensuse-community-week/"]openSUSE Community Week[/URL], an event conceived of by openSUSE community members to help mentor folks who want to get involved with the openSUSE open source Linux project, but don't know how to get started. The virtual conference will …

I downloaded and installed [URL="http://www.ubuntu.com"]Ubuntu[/URL] 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) and am happy to say it's an overall success. Of course, I would say that because I love Ubuntu; it's my favorite Desktop Linux distribution and I've seen a lot of them. Being Debian-based, it is rock-solid, stable, easily updatable and a …

I hope I am not the only person who has occasionally thought that his mobile phone bears more than a passing resemblance to something straight out of Star Trek. Not being a Trekkie myself I cannot say whether it is a communicator or one of those handheld medical scanners, a …

[URL="http://www.ibm.com"]IBM[/URL] CEO, Samuel Palmisano, announced at 12:01 am EDT that IBM has completed the purchase of Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds for $4.6 Billion in cash and stock. This unprecedented human purchase by a corporation is being met with shock and surprise within the Linux and IT communities. Palmisano said …

I can't say that I've been waiting patiently or otherwise for the upcoming April 2009 (9.04) Ubuntu release and my indifference is justified. There are some updates and OpenOffice.org 3.x is included in this release--blah blah blah. Frankly, this release is a yawn. I'm not disappointed by it--it happens. Should …

This morning I heard a news blip about a Netbook offering later this year from Verizon. Verizon? The phone company? Yep. I had to do a double-take on it too. There's talk that the Netbooks will be subsidized and cost about $100. I'm sure that price is a result of …