Improving Linux Driver Installation

September 11, 2004 Leave a comment

This article discusses some of the current issues with Linux hardware device drivers. While I completely agree that the current implementation needs to be improved, I'm not too sure about things like “When you plug in a camera, the photos should sync with your desktop photo application. A wireless card should log on to the network. Plugging in a printer should bring up the printer configuration tool automatically.” I don't want my computer guessing what I want to do with a device. One of the things we should be learning from windows it that, when the OS guesses it will be incorrect more often then not (at least in my experience). I like that Linux tends to sit in the background and do what I ask, not try to lead me in directions I don't want to go. I do however whole heartedly agree with “One of the true benefits of the collaborative open source model is how well it can fix and improve issues and problems. I have no doubt that this will continue to apply for the challenges of using Linux as a desktop operating system. It will be interesting to see whether these challenges can push the kernel into new areas and continue the evolution of the Linux desktop.” Should be interesting indeed.
–jeremy

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More GMAIL

September 7, 2004 4 Comments

You know the drill. First response gets a GMAIL invite. Maybe even the first two this time ;)
–jeremy

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Microsoft Sees Open-Source Threat Looming Ever Larger

September 7, 2004 Leave a comment

Seems Microsoft may finally be getting the picture that Linux and Open Source are for real and pose a serious threat. One thing I don't quite get though. From the article:
“while we believe our products provide customers with significant advantages in security and productivity, and generally have a lower total cost of ownership than open-source software, the popularization of the noncommercial software model continues to pose a significant challenge to our business model, including recent efforts by proponents of open-source software to convince governments worldwide to mandate the use of open-source software in their purchase and deployment of software products,”
Now, first I think it's fairly clear that at least parts of the MSFT solution are not secure. That aside though, they seem to be confusing Open Source and noncommercial. Ask Red Hat or Novell if their Open Source solutions are commercial or not. Remember, libre != gratis. Considering this info was in a “public” MSFT doc, you'd think due diligence would have caught this…
–jeremy

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LinuxQuestions.org is Headed to the UK

September 6, 2004 1 Comment

I just got confirmation that LinuxQuestions.org will have a spot in the .Org Village for the upcoming LinuxWorld UK. I'm trying to pony up the cash to get myself there. Both LinuxWorld New York and LinuxWorld San Francisco went very well for LQ, and I am looking forward to finally making it to the UK.
–jeremy

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Fired for Blogging

September 6, 2004 Leave a comment

Does anyone else find it odd that Friendster, a company focused on social networking, has fired an employee for blogging? I agree with Jeremy Zawodny – if you have a friendster account, canceling it may not be a bad idea. They clearly don't get it.
–jeremy

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More Microsoft Patents

September 5, 2004 Leave a comment

Looks like MSFT is at it again. This time it's “Discoverability and navigation of hyperlinks via tabs” (hmm, just like lynx) and “Generating a music snippet”. Coupled with their recent “a process configured to run under an administrative privilege level” sudo ripoff, and they are on quite a roll.
–jeremy

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More Linux OEM Musings II

September 5, 2004 Leave a comment

More on preload OEM Linux. The article underscores why Dell will likely not be the leader in this market. The question remains though – who will be? I was hoping for IBM, but they still rely on MSFT for a lot of revenue also (albeit much less then someone like Dell). The bottom line here is that whoever steps up here has quite a bit to gain, and may end up being the next Dell.
–jeremy

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More Linux OEM Musings

September 3, 2004 Leave a comment

Maybe this will convince OEM's like Dell to take a closer look at Linux. The problem is, the larger the OEM the more tied to MSFT they are. I've seen some estimates (that were backed up with some very logical looking numbers) that up to 20% of Dell's profitability comes from Microsoft bonuses, incentives and kickbacks. That's hard to turn your back on.
–jeremy

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MSFT's license for Sender-ID II

September 2, 2004 Leave a comment

As a followup to this post on the Sender-ID license, it looks like the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) has taken an official position. This means no SpamAssassin support at a minimum. The article contains some comments from Larry Rosen, general counsel of the Open Source Initiative, regarding why the license is bad.
–jeremy

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The SCO Group Announces Third Quarter 2004 Results

August 31, 2004 Leave a comment

SCO has released their third quarter results, and they aren't pretty. From Groklaw:
The Unix products business, they say, is now profitable. They are, however, downsizing and some offices are moving to smaller offices. They are closing the Spain and Italy offices. They expect “restructuring” costs in the 4th quarter. I gather there have been layoffs and they expect more. They currently have 230 employees. They have, they said, implemented a Shareholder Rights Plan that will help protect the company from any potential undervalued takeover attempt. Darl McBride specifically mentioned IBM, saying the plan is designed to block any company like IBM from taking them over for less than what they would view as fair value.
–jeremy

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