LXer Weekly Roundup for 12-Aug-2007

LXer Feature: 12-Aug-2007 Some of the big stories this week are the ruling by the Judge in in the SCO case that Novell actually owns UNIX still, Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony resigns, why Microsoft might want to help get rid of patents, Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian explains his company's deal with Microsoft in his keynote address at LinuxWorld, Vista is helping Linux uptake and the author of one of our FUD articles uses his own recipe to cook up some good non-facts.

Some of the big stories this week are the ruling by the Judge in in the SCO case that Novell actually owns UNIX still, Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony resigns, why Microsoft might want to help get rid of patents, Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian explains his company's deal with Microsoft in his keynote address at LinuxWorld, Vista is helping Linux uptake and the author of one of our FUD articles uses his own recipe to cook up some good non-facts.

Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony resigns: In an interview today with Linux-Watch, controversial Linux leader Kevin Carmony confirmed rumors that he had resigned as CEO of desktop Linux vendor Linspire on July 31. Carmony said he plans to work on several of his own business projects, and on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

Ten Reasons To Dump Windows [III]: Two previous articles (part I, part II) stirred up quite a controversy and a variety of opinions. With this article I'm hoping for calmer and more meritorious responses. In the last article of this series we will touch on the aspects of work and usefulness of the console, remote access, logic behind the OS, pricing, and TCO.

Why Microsoft Is Going Open Source: Glyn Moody writes, "No one would have believed me if I had said five years ago that Microsoft would have a page on its Web site called “Open Source at Microsoft” with the following remarkably sane and reasonable statement on the subject:"

"Selling" Linux - We've Been Doing it All Wrong: They've been in chains so long that they don't have the frame of reference to guide them into knowing the difference. Oh sure, some do...you are one of them. Chances are, you migrated away from Microsoft Windows into Linux as a full-time deal and haven't looked back. You "get it". They don't, but it's easy enough to get your point across quickly....some of us will get a perverse pleasure from this.

Tutorial: Custom Linux Kernels Trim Fat and Tune Performance: In this tutorial by Carla Schroder she writes, "Your Linux distribution probably arrived with a "kitchen sink" kernel. It doesn't take much to build a better one that's tuned to your hardware's needs."

Merging "Open Source" and "Free Software": Due to the increased diffusion of "Open Source" as a term this article suggests its gradual phase out in favor of the original "Free Software" term and renaming of the Open Source Initiative into "Free Software Business Initiative".

Waiting for the storm: In an article by our own wjl he states, "Have you also experienced an ever-growing number of those ‘greeting card’ messages and emails? You’d better not open them, especially if you run that old-fashioned proprietary (read: business) operating system from Redmond, also known as ‘Vista’, or any of its predecessors."

Linux as a Tool for Windows Hardware Errors: In this article, Rais offers insights why Windows hardware failures may be causing some to update or replace devices that are still operational. Instead, he shows how powerful a tool Linux can be in tracking down hardware problems and validating some inherent issues with Windows device support.

Novell-Microsoft Deal Necessary, CEO Says: Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian explained rather than defended his company's deal with Microsoft in his keynote address at the annual LinuxWorld Conference here Aug. 8. "I know our deal with Microsoft is controversial, but it is necessary for our customers who have to deal with both Linux and Windows in their data centers. Virtualization is also going to have to deal with both of those operating systems," he told attendees.

Vista Aiding Linux Desktop, Strategist Says: Windows Vista has probably created the single biggest opportunity for the Linux desktop to take market share, Cole Crawford, an IT strategist at Dell, said in an address titled, "The Linux Desktop—Fact, FUD or Fantasy?" at the annual LinuxWorld Conference & Expo here. For example, a number of companies have moved back to Windows XP after deploying Vista, Crawford said, before quoting Scott Granneman, an author, entrepreneur and adjunct professor at Washington University in St. Louis, as saying, "To mess up a Linux box, you need to work at it; to mess up your Windows box, you just have to work on it."

Virtualize Windows on Linux? Microsoft Says Servers First: Microsoft's Sam Ramji slammed the door on virtualizing Microsoft's newest desktop operating systems (XP and Vista) on Linux yesterday. In a speech at LinuxWorld, the director of Microsoft's open-source software lab claimed that "we haven't seen significant demand for Linux applications on the desktop or for desktop virtualization on top of Linux."

The Microsoft / Novell / FSF / GPLv3 tale about the bridge between the meadows: Our Senior European Editor tells a tale to try and explain just what is going on between the major players in FOSS and Microsoft.

Judge rules Novell still owns the Unix copyrights in SCO Case: Groklaw is reporting that Judge Kimball in the SCO v. Novell case has decided some of the Summary Judgements. Novell Still owns the copyrights to Unix.

In our FUD section this week we have three articles that I list in order of magnitude of FUDness. FUDness? If only my High School Senior English teacher could see me now...

Shuttleworth: Microsoft Fracturing the Open-Source Community: In this article we have Mark Shuttleworth at once decrying Microsoft for not disclosing the 235 patents it says are being violated and then saying that he would be willing to work with them outside of any kind of licensing deal. Hmm, do you smell what I smell?

Office Formats Fail to Communicate: Another in a long line of articles designed to keep those who would consider an Open Source solution, from trying. Just because Microsoft is going out of its way to ensure that any translators do not work is not a good reason to willingly add proprietary extensions to ODF.

Both sides play dirty! Typical Linux FUD Campaign towards Microsoft.: In this article the Author uses a variation of his own recipe to spread some FUD of his own.