Showing headlines posted by henke54

VLC is unique among Windows players in that it doesn't require installed codecs and drivers to play back media content. Why this approach? VLC originates in the Unix/Linux world where there's no such a thing as Windows codecs. It has been designed to use built-in decoding algorithms from the beginning. Some of the codecs were also developed within the VideoLAN project (e.g. libmpeg2), but most of the codecs are now coming from FFMPEG or other external open source libraries. VLC is cross platform, of course. What does it take to enable that support? We use the same Unix-centric build-system for all platforms. Support for Windows is very time-consuming of its own. Nowadays, we use BuildBot (http://buildbot.sourceforge.net) to automatically test and detect build failures on different platforms.

"I was poor. I was desperate. I wanted to be on this bandwagon of this Internet thing, and I wanted to find a business that wouldn't require large amounts of bandwidth or large amounts of capital. The key was Linux. It was Linux that let me connect to the Net so I could start soaking up this knowledge," said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu Linux.

Earlier this year Dell Inc. announced it would begin offering consumers computers with a pre-installed Linux operating system - later revealed to be Ubuntu. The idea came in response to the company's IdeaStorm website, where users can suggest things they'd like the computer company to offer. Interestingly, the Ubuntu/Linux crowd isn't quite done telling Dell how to run its business. In fact, it's probably safe to say they've completely taken over the IdeaStorm website.

Microsoft has launched a "fact rich" program to help customers understand why they should "proceed with confidence" in rolling out Vista across all their PCs. "Some customers may be waiting to adopt Windows Vista because they've heard rumors about device or application compatibility issues, or because they think they should wait for a service pack release," the company said in a newsletter. "To help partners and customers get the real story, Microsoft has created a comprehensive set of fact-rich materials illustrating how Windows Vista is ready today and tomorrow." Despite the "fact-rich" materials being designed for both "partners and customers", the link supplied by Microsoft goes to a website which is available only to computer makers who are prepared to sign up to a non-disclosure agreement.

[Its not about FOSS but it is funny, at least I think it is. - Scott]

Novell later this week will demonstrate Microsoft’s Silverlight 1.1 browser plug-in running on Linux. The demo of Microsoft's new technology for Rich Internet Application development is set to take place in Paris at Microsoft’s Mix07 conference, and will be conducted by Miguel de Icaza, Novell’s vice president of development.

Linux websites have better uptime and load faster than Windows-based websites. Research by WatchMouse, a website monitoring company, also shows that web server platform Apache outperforms the Microsoft IIS platform. Therefore, having a Linux website and an Apache webserver platform offers the best choice for professional web pages.

The NCA has been working on Linpro's complaint for a year, looking into both the technological and legal aspects. – We made it clear to Microsoft that we were preparing sanctions, as the school agreements excluxded competitors from this market. Now that they have met our demands, we dismiss the case, says NCA department director Jostein Skaar to Norwegian daily Dagbladet. From now on, schools will only be licensed for PCs actually using Microsoft software, and not for all computers, including PCs using software from competitors like Linux, Mac and Openoffice.org.

MUSCLE is a project to coordinate the development of smart cards and applications under Linux. The purpose is to develop a set of compliant drivers, API's, and a resource manager for various smart cards and readers for the GNU environment. Source code is now distributed by this site that supports the Schlumbeger Reflex 60 line of reader and all ISO-7816-4 compliant smart cards. I would like to see a Linux resource manager for smart cards and other cryptographic tokens such as Ibuttons or SecureI d. A good standpoint for this is the PC/SC specifications written for Microsoft OS. I try not to conform to Microsoft but it is VERY important that security tokens work in conjunction with other OS's. If you would like to contribute efforts to MUSCLE please contact me here

What's the best way to attract a pile of threatening lawyers' letters from Microsoft? Sell pirate copies of Windows? Write a DRM-busting program? Londoner Jamie Cansdale has just discovered a new approach. He had the temerity to make Redmond's software better. As a hobby, Cansdale developed an add-on for Microsoft Visual Studio. TestDriven.NET allows unit test suites to be run directly from within the Microsoft IDE. Cansdale gave away this gadget on his website, and initially received the praises of Microsoft. In fact, Microsoft was so pleased with him, it gave him a Most Valuable Professionals (MVP) award, which it says it gives to "exceptional technical community leaders from around the world who voluntarily share their high quality, real world expertise with others". However, his cherished status did not last.

PJ at Groklaw has uncovered this little gem from an exhibit filed in SCO v. Novell. Fascinating stuff. It's always interesting when you can finally read things that were intended to be private. In this case, it looks like SCO was a definite precursor to Microsoft's patent charade, what with a "right to use" Linux, covenants not to sue, etc. Meager minds think alike?

Sichuan based computer maker Sinomanic launched production of a series of low-end computers for the less developed regions in China. Priced as low as 998RMB ($130), these computers will include a Linux operating system, MIPS processor, multimedia and network supports. Internet browsing and document processing software will also be packaged into these systems.

You have to take a look at Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz's blog today. He has pledged the company will use its patents to defend Red Hat and Ubuntu. That's the headline, and I'm really happy to know that Sun's very extensive patent portfolio is available, just in case it is ever needed. You never know these days. And yes, I take that as a message in a bottle to Microsoft. But he says it in such an interesting and creative way, I think you'll be glad if you go and read the entire entry.

Implicit in its deal with Novell is the subtlety that Microsoft products may be violating the patents of other technology companies. Says Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation: "Microsoft has to be careful about what it starts because it doesn't know where it will end." We don't either. But here are three plausible scenarios.

In its ongoing battle against software patents, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has launched PlayOGG.org, a campaign to promote the use of the OGG Vorbis standard for compressed audio. The patent-free and licence-free standard is being punted as an ethically, legally and technically superior audio alternative to the proprietary MP3 format. The most common music format is currently MP3, but what most people don't realise is that any time a distributor sells or gives away music encoded as an MP3, they are responsible for paying a fee to the owners of the MP3 patents. Any software that runs MP3s is also affected by this. The OGG Vorbis specification, being in the public domain, is free from such restrictions and anyone can use the format or write software to use it without needing permission from a patent holder.

Linux and other open-source software can offer competitive advantages where cost and customization pressures are concerned.

The Japanese government wants to go open source, as a way to rely less on a single vendor IT software infrastructure. And plenty of vendors are lining up to help make this happen.

There are many reasons at Fon for dropping Microsoft. The first one and by far the most important is to save time. I have tested Ubuntu and Mac for about a month now and while I like Mac to play I found myself using Ubuntu more and more for work. Ubuntu has the look and feel of Microsoft, but it´s like a Microsoft software that works fast, that turns on and off very quickly, that installs programs very easily, that lacks that atmosphere of paranoia that surrounds Microsoft and that is extremely easy to learn and use. With Ubuntu I forgot about the computer and got to focus on the work at hand.

Linux continues to make inroads into China according to the latest market research. A new report from Beijing-based CCID Consulting pegs Linux operating sales revenues up by nearly 31 percent in the first quarter of 2007 to 31 million Yuan (just over US$4 million), as compared to the same period a year prior. CCID's numbers are close to those of IDC, which, in its "China Linux 2006-2010 Forecast and Analysis" report last year, pegged the compound annual growth rate for 2006 to 2010 of Linux in China to be 34 percent, bringing revenues to $51.1 million.

Bangalore: ``Honey, I've shrunk your Linux computer!'' It's now the size of a postage stamp. Yet, it has all the power of a full-sized board — complete with 32 megabytes of memory; 16 MB of storage and the interconnects needed to fuel any standard Linux application. The Bangalore-based EI Labs India has just released ``LinSeed version 1,'' a single chip embedded Linux computer that original equipment-makers can use to create a host of handy devices, including wirelessly connected pocket computers.

The German government says that its "Advancing eGovernment" conference held at the end of February in Berlin also provided impetus for greater use of open standards in information technology both in industry and in public administration. As a result of this conference, the German government plans to implement open document formats in its administration.