LXer Weekly Roundup for 27-May-2007

LXer Feature: 27-May-2007 A weekly recap of the big stories concerning Linux and Open Source.

Guess what? Dell is selling computers with Linux Pre-installed and our own Don Parris was on top of the story from the beginning. More details came out concerning the Microsoft-Novell deal, IBM looks to be "opening up" development and with the Indianapolis 500 being run today the Tux500 campaign comes to a very successful close.

Moglen: SUSE Vouchers Have No Expiration Date! (Unlike MS's Patent Bullying): In this article Growklaw reports that Eben Moglen said that the SUSE vouchers Microsoft is distributing have no expiration date so they would then be subject to the GPLv3 which I think would most likely break the MS-Novell deal. Why am I not sad?

Railsconf 2007 roundup: Our own Sean Lynch aka 'number6x' attended the Railsconf 2007 and submitted this overview of the show.

Microsoft's Patent on a Pile of Baloney: In this editorial by Carla Schroder, she states plainly: "..Because there is no patent threat. None at all." and she's right, there isn't.

Microsoft is not the real threat: This post by Mark Shuttleworth on his blog is interesting in that Mark really tries to tell us that Microsoft is not a real threat to the Open Source community. Sorry Mark, but I can't walk down that road with you because I have evidence to the contrary.

From MP3 to OGG: Freeing Sound from the Chains of Proprietary Software: The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has launched a campaign to convert the world to OGG, a non-proprietary alternative to MP3 audio files. It’s called the PlayOGG Campaign. This is an issue for me because I am a musician and I listen to a ton of music and I still need to convert a lot of my collection over to OGG.

Five Tired Old Myths About GNU/Linux: Don Parris gives some old myths a new review: "Would you believe that, in 2007, there are people who still blame Linux for the lack of hardware vendors who advertise Linux support and who believe that the Bash project's evangelists are hurting Linux uptake?"

'The List': Open Source Advocates Unleash Fury at Microsoft: You have to read this and then go and add your name to "The List". It is a list where you can sign up to ask Microsoft to sue you for using Linux. I signed it, and I am glad I did.

You cannot advertise an iGasm, says Apple: This article has nothing to do with Open Source but I just had to include it in my round-up because it is so darn funny. It goes to show just how far the "i" word can really go.

Why Is Dell Hiding Their Ubuntu Boxes?: During the Dell Ubuntu rollout Don Parris kept us up to date on where, and if you could find the Linux offerings on Dell's website.

Automounting removable devices on Debian: I had this very problem come up last week because my computer all of a sudden stopped recognizing my external Hard Drive. I fixed it before this article came out but I had to figure it out the hard way.

IBM looks to open up development: IBM is experimenting with opening up its software development process to see if developing applications the open source way could work for them. Jerry Cuomo, CTO of IBM said "The reward of getting our information out there is going to be amazing and critical to the future of IBM's software,". I think he is right.

Novell Goes Public with MS Patent Agreement Documents: Novell has filed its delayed annual report with the SEC, which includes the technical co-operation and patent agreements it entered into with Microsoft in November 2006. It looks like Eben might be right about the GPLv3 effect.

Tux500: The End of a Campaign, the Beginning of a Movement: At Noon EDT, the Tux 500 campaign came to an end. The campaign was a success on many levels. Linux was noticed by the sports and mainstream press and it raised the awareness of the need for Linux marketing in general. Hats off the the tux500 guys, now its time to race!

First OpenOffice virus emerges: I gave Matt Hartley a pass this week because I just couldn't get this one out of my head . You better lookout, there's a virus that affects OpenOffice! Oh No! For the first time in history there is a virus that OpenOffice is susceptible too. now run and buy that $700 copy of Office2007 right now before it gets you.