Monday July 31, 2006 links for 2006-08-01
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I think I remember "vacations". Had one once.
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Amazing how long this one continues to reverberate.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 31 2006, 06:18:07 PM PDT )
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Saturday July 29, 2006 links for 2006-07-30
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"Even without having sex, bed sharing disturbs sleep quality ... Men and women fared differently ... men thought they slept better with a partner ... [but it] reduced their ability to perform simple cognitive tests the next day."
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Happy birthday, Doc!
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Disney will presumably sue.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 29 2006, 06:17:13 PM PDT )
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Friday July 28, 2006 links for 2006-07-29
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"... Microsoft specifically named OpenOffice.org as a program we couldn't include on the cover disc. That's an incredibly short-sighted move." Not that they are afraid of it or anything. Oh no.
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Zonker is spot on with his summary of my OSCON keynote.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 28 2006, 06:17:37 PM PDT )
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Thursday July 27, 2006 OSCON Keynote
Just got off stage at OSCON, where I broke the habit of a lifetime and delivered a speech without slides (you can read it if you want). It was a strange feeling to focus just on the words. To summarise the points, I said software freedom is promoted by the resolution of five koans:
- Altruism Without Sacrifice
- Licensing Without Lawyers
- Community Without Controlling
- Lock-in is Lock-Out
- Staying Because of the Freedom to Leave
I called for definitions for Governance and Standards to help us know our freedoms are being protected as we move forward. I asserted that in addition to the "freedom to tinker" (licensing that allows any use of the common source a community stewards) we need the "freedom to participate" (community governance that ensures freedom and not control by any particular interest group or company) and the "freedom to leave" (data openness that promotes substitutability). Familiar themes if you've heard me before, but still important issues.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 27 2006, 10:07:03 AM PDT )
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Wednesday July 26, 2006 links for 2006-07-27
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Sun's Developer Network features tools for GNU/Linux development.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 26 2006, 06:17:36 PM PDT )
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Stefan's Award
At the opening evening of OSCON in Portland, Stefan Taxhet received an award in the O'Reilly/Google Open Source Awards, recognising his very long commitment to the software now known as OpenOffice.org - well deserved.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 26 2006, 10:47:59 AM PDT )
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Tuesday July 25, 2006 links for 2006-07-26
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An interview with me featured on Sun.Com to co-incide with OSCON
Posted by webmink
( Jul 25 2006, 06:18:48 PM PDT )
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Comments [1]
Respecting The Developers
So why doesn't Sun just pick an OSI-approved license, apply it to the Java source code and be done with it? Why claim it's so hard to open source the Java platform? I've heard plenty of people asking that question (see, for example, a comment to Nat's blog accusing Sun of just making excuses to endlessly delay it happening). The number of comments on the Slashdot thread about the ComputerWorld interview I did show it's interesting to a lot of people.
There's some stuff you'll instantly guess - for example, the code has to be checked to make sure we actually have the right to put an open source license on it, and we need to make sure that compatibility is preserved as paramount. But there's a dimension that's being overlooked. In making Sun's implementation of Java SE open source, we are not starting from a position where there is no community. Every single line of code is already the responsibility of a programmer somewhere that works for Sun. Every module has a set of committers owning it. They are passionate and dedicated, they pour themselves into it just like any other successful project.
One of the biggest questions on the table right now is, how can we open the code, invite participation from everyone with the interest and the skills to do so, and still respect the work and ongoing contribution of the existing developers? Many of them have spent a decade or more making the Java source code excellent. We can't just dump the code on the street and invite applications for the role of owner for each module. That would be hugely disrespectful, dishonouring the developers who have devoted themselves to the code. And yet neither can we just assert that no help is needed.
Resolving this deep governance issue is the main challenge, and I know the Sun Java team intends to get it right, both respecting the work of the existing community and inviting the growth of a new community. It's a tough job.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 25 2006, 05:20:24 PM PDT )
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Monday July 24, 2006 At OSCON
I've got to Portland, where I'll be speaking at OSCON. If you're here too, seek me out and say hi! The folks at the Sun stand on the exhibit floor (when it opens) will know how to find me.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 24 2006, 09:00:00 AM PDT )
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Saturday July 22, 2006 OpenOffice.org Metro Ad: Mission Accomplished
I just got an e-mail from Fundable to say they collected on my pledge to the OpenOffice.org Metro Ad Campaign, which means - yes, we've done it! I'm still trying to work out exactly what "marketing" means in a world of open source - which is why I'll be at Doc's talk on Tuesday - but whatever it means, collecting small contributions from across the community to fund an awareness-raising campaign for the general public is very cool.
Huge congratulations to Benjamin Horst for taking the initiative to orchestrate this, and to all the individual donors whoever you are for making this happen. If any New Yorker wanted to send me a copy of the newspaper when it comes out I would be very grateful.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 22 2006, 02:46:08 PM PDT )
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Friday July 21, 2006 links for 2006-07-22
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Good Q & A that explains our open source activity at Sun.
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It just has to be for real, right?
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I always enjoy listening to Doc (I'll be going to the tutorial he mentions) and this posting is a cracker.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 21 2006, 06:18:04 PM PDT )
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Wednesday July 19, 2006 links for 2006-07-20
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Not that girls are exempt of course!
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Nat's right, opening OpenSolaris was a big deal. We're being equally thorough over the Java platform as well, which is why it's not just a snap-of-fingers thing.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 19 2006, 06:17:48 PM PDT )
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Tuesday July 18, 2006 links for 2006-07-19
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My instinct to just stay out of the sun once again reinforced.
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Completely ridiculous behaviour by a clueless employer. Someone in France find this wonderful writer a decent job, please.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 18 2006, 06:18:00 PM PDT )
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Monday July 17, 2006 links for 2006-07-18
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Still a classic.
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They should have used SPARC.
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This sounds bad. If it's true it's detestable.
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GCN article is perhaps more upbeat than the news suggests, but makes the important point that it's not acceptable for vendors to dictate what formats governments use for data.
Posted by webmink
( Jul 17 2006, 06:20:55 PM PDT )
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