Thursday September 13, 2007 links for 2007-09-13
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Can't say I am very surprised. In fact, I find the eating-out average higher than my experience, I wonder who the people skewing it are?
Posted by webmink
( Sep 13 2007, 01:20:51 AM PDT )
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Tuesday September 11, 2007 links for 2007-09-11
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Even open source code is a problem if it relies on proprietary binaries and patent licenses to be a full peer in the ecosystem.
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Fascinating set of images, with a remarkably high hit-rate if you overlook the archaisms.
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Andy Oram has an interesting and thought provoking article on the overall patent scene. I find his arguments about software patents spare though - his repetition of Tim O'Reilly's position (which I share) is the best bit for me.
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Seems even after they sent in a "troop surge" to fix the results, spun the resulting loss as something they were "extremely delighted" about and braced for ballot resolution, they won't actually commit to supporting the ISO standard if it's accepted. Wow.
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Seems OpenSPARC and the FOSS Chips Wiki are raising the bar for everyone else. Intel and NVidia next?
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Does this account for the iPlayer format lockout in the UK? Maybe it's actually a sell-out, in all sense of the phrase.
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Or rather, what happens next? Informative and level-headed account of the rest of the ISO process. In the comments Alex makes it clear he's faced with something of a challenge interpreting the rules, especially how to handle the redrafted spec.
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Peter Korn spots a crucial detail in the IBM-OO.o FAQ. They are donating the MS Windows port they've done of the great accessibility code already working for OO.o on *IX. Finally, an accessible alternative on Windows is possible.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 11 2007, 01:23:55 AM PDT )
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Monday September 10, 2007 IBM Joins OpenOffice.org
Some great news today. I'm delighted to see that IBM has joined the OpenOffice.org community and will be making contributions resulting from their use of OpenOffice.org in Lotus Notes. I hear there will be load of IBM staff at the OpenOffice.org Conference in Barcelona next week so I'll be keen to find out more about their plans when I'm there in Friday.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 10 2007, 04:19:33 AM PDT )
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links for 2007-09-10
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Good news for corporations, bad news for East Texas which will have to find a new trade, and no news for software freedom - an opportunity has been missed here to fix software patents.
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Amazon Mechanical Turk is running a photo-checking scheme like it did for Jim Gray. I just checked 100 photos and found no sign of aircraft wreckage - go take a look and give them a hand searching.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 10 2007, 01:20:28 AM PDT )
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Sunday September 09, 2007 links for 2007-09-09
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To my untrained eyes, this looks like an obvious outcome but I'm sure the decision will be bittterly fought.
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Apple gradually turns against its customers as they get more numerous.
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This service looks great value if you're a commercial developer. Has anyone tried it? I'd be interested in feedback.
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"So why not build IT infrastructure that reflects the reality that one size doesn't fit all?" Of late Sun's infrastructure has been moving in the direction of opening up to "real internet" usage, but Anderson is spot-on here.
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Hard to believe a rational adult would do this even in the name of 'security'. (Dedicated to my red-neck stalker)
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The origins both of myth and of the reactions I'm getting on Miguel's comments mailing list right now.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 09 2007, 01:22:19 AM PDT )
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Friday September 07, 2007 links for 2007-09-07
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Jonathan responds robustly with the facts against NetApp's pre-emptive attack.
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Bryan notes the interesting fact that NetApp has more history of patent trolling than just chilling Tux2.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 07 2007, 01:22:46 AM PDT )
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Thursday September 06, 2007 The Lure
I see Miguel is expecting flak for his initiative to implement Silverlight on GNU/Linux, and I'm sure he'll get it. The thing that caught my eye, however, was what terms I was asked to agree to if I as much as give Silverlight a try on any other platform in the ecosystem Miguel is helping create. Just take a look at the license agreement you're assumed to agree to if you so much as click the "Get Silverlight" button (yes, your acceptance is there in 4-point text in the Get... graphic). You will be agreeing you will not:
- work around any technical limitations in the software;
- reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the software, except and only to the extent that applicable law expressly permits, despite this limitation;
- publish the software for others to copy;
- rent, lease or lend the software; or
- transfer the software or this agreement to any third party.
In addition to that, you are agreeing:
- that the limit of Microsoft's liability in any matter (including "internet services") is $5;
- that Microsoft can gather information about your computer and internet connection;
- that they can automatically modify the software.
Update:As Miguel repeatedly points out, if you're smart enough to actually read the license you'll discover you can opt out of these last two defaults. Most people won't.
If you're a business, you're also not covered by the MPEG patent licenses, and you may be agreeing to waive some of your other contract terms if you're a Microsoft competitor.
Now, I'm not a lawyer but to my eyes, all those are terms that are incredibly hostile to the spirit and practice of Free software. Miguel is encouraging you to surrender your freedoms if you're using the technology he promotes anywhere but the operating system he is working on. He's the lure for someone else's trap.
That's also why I don't yet share Tim O'Reilly's enthusiasm for Microsoft's apparent epiphany. I realise it will take them a long time to modify their historic behaviours, and I would welcome their decision to promote software freedom. Their new projects, however, should not be actively undermining our freedoms like this, and I can only conclude that regardless of any lip-service to "open source", software freedom is not yet their goal. That's the issue, Tim.
Update: Luis has a great photo and also a great point about patent protection. Also, to be clear, Moonlight is under a Free license, not under the EULA I'm commenting on above. My issue is rather that it acts a the lure to an architecture designed at best with no regard to software freedom and at worst withthe intent of removing it.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 06 2007, 05:25:40 AM PDT )
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Wednesday September 05, 2007 links for 2007-09-05
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Fascinating and excellent historical document that gives perspective on the XML Specification and how it came to be what it is.
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"A ballot on whether to publish ... Office Open XML file formats, as an International Standard by ISO ... has not achieved the required number of votes for approval."
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Joe Wilcox expresses the same amazement I felt when I read Microsoft's press release, which asymptotically approaches untruth as it seeks to deceive less professional journalists into writing the wrong story.
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Looks like a bait-and-switch (get popular as open source then switch licenses and go proprietary).
Posted by webmink
( Sep 05 2007, 01:27:57 AM PDT )
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Monday September 03, 2007 links for 2007-09-03
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Eric Raymond appears from nowhere and fills in the blank that no-one else on the OSI Board has been brave enough to say.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 03 2007, 01:23:28 AM PDT )
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Sunday September 02, 2007 links for 2007-09-02
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Stephe describes what most of us just knew was going to happen. Expect Microsoft to tell all those people who have been earnestly supporting it that their implementations are flawed and only Office works properly.
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It's hard to believe that any technology business would be this abusive of their paying customers. There is just no excuse, I'm sorry. The product deserves to tank.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 02 2007, 01:19:25 AM PDT )
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Saturday September 01, 2007 links for 2007-09-01
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The NZ standards body has a fine, articulate and balanced summary of the issues that apply to all countries considering OOXML.
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This is the virtual world server that Sun Labs developed. It's now available under GPL for people to create games and virtual worlds of any description.
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The classic list of languages you can use on the Java platform. I've been linking to this from my web site ever since it started in the 90s, just realised it wasn't on my del.icio.us list though.
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I always thought my wife was unlucky, but this research suggests she just smells better than I do.
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This article was written by a member of the audience for my session at JavaOne this year and does a good job summarising my outlook. Since it was written I've added the "Extender" layer to the community model and found tighter names, of course.
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This could make an interesting night out at the OpenOffice.org conference.
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A really excellent list from Matt Asay. I think the lessons he draws are mostly generally applicable to any kind of business.
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Egads. Can it get dirtier?
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Wow. This is a very welcome development indeed. It's high time fair use got a posse with pockets.
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This is a pretty cool video about the evolution of publishing from elite specialists to Everyman.
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Absolutely fascinating - apparently we automatically defend our worldview when we are forced to consider our mortality just beforehand. Eminently game-able by politicians, religious leaders and others.
Posted by webmink
( Sep 01 2007, 01:22:28 AM PDT )
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