Showing headlines posted by Scott_Ruecker

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has hired long-time volunteer Brett Smith as compliance engineer for the GNU Public License (GPL). Smith replaces David Turner, who has held the position for more than five years. Both Smith and Turner say they expect a smooth changeover, with continued development of existing policies.

The Mobile Robot Programming Lab (MRPL) at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute has published the first in a planned series of open, educational robotics designs. The Linux-based "Qwerkbot" can be built in two hours from detailed online instructions, at a cost of $550, the Lab says.

It seems it was only yesterday that the Tiger was escaping into the wild, and here we are today with Mustang rearing up ahead, and the Dolphin already surfacing here and there. Javaists will recognise Tiger, Mustang and Dolphin as Java 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 respectively, and everyone else can now stop scratching their heads and wondering what this reviewer is on about. And with Java 6.0 on the horizon we can expect a slew of books to follow – either established titles updated or, as in this case, new titles making a first appearance.

Syllable is a new OS built for speed, with low hardware requirements. After trying it out, I was really impressed. Syllable is a great OS with a lot of potential.

At first glance, the ROAD S101 looks like a new version of the Nokia 9500, but it isn't. In fact, the S101 is a Linux powered device from a German startup called ROAD GmbH (ROAD stands for Remote Office Access Devices).

For Sun it's just a means to an endComment The other day I attended a briefing with Simon Phipps, Sun's chief open source officer which was ostensibly aimed at updating the assembled on Sun's progress in its open sourcing of Java.…

eChannel linereports:'According to a newly released IDC study, open source software has spread far beyond Linux and is gaining enormous momentum. The study, which analyzed IDC surveys from over 5,000 developers in 116 countries, finds that developers worldwide are increasing their use of open source. The study declares that open source software represents the most significant all-encompassing and long-term trend that the software industry has seen since the early 1980s.

The Nigeriam Communications Commission has said Voice over Internet Protocol will be the engine that drives telephony the developing world.

We learn by doing. Open source lets you take things apart and see how they really work--and makes it easy to work together. This month we saw collaboration come to learning: From Red Hat High--a tech camp for teenagers, to an unconference called BarCamp, and on a global scale, One Laptop Per Child.

Real Time operating systems have traditionally been a separate breed from mainstream ones. Thanks to efforts to incorporate Real Time enhancements into Linux, standard mainstream Linux may well become a real, Real Time OS real soon. A Real Time OS offers the promise of better response times and a degree of determinism not found in non-Real Time OS's.

From universities, colleges, government offices to individuals, free software is gaining acceptance on computer screens in Kolkata. Blame the likes of Richard Stallman

All the focus these days seems to be on Firefox but what about Thunderbird, the equally cool email client? Like Firefox, Thunderbird has an unrivaled collection of extensions that do just about everything imaginable. Richard Frank lists some of his favourite Thunderbird add-ons.

If you're not a full-time desktop publishing expert then an application such as InDesign from Adobe is likely to look a little like weird science. InDesign is a intimdating programme for many but very possibly the best tool for doing great news layouts. This book strip away some of the mystery and gets new users going with this application.

Red Hat India has recently appointed its new President and Managing Director, Nandu Pradhan who succeeds Javed Tapia, and will serve as a Director on the board of Red Hat India.

I have good news, bad news, and worse news. The good news is that I managed to get MythTV working well enough that it now plays standard definition channels better than the cable box alone, even though it's getting its signal from the cable output of the cable box. I get this benefit because MythTV allows me to tweak various parameters that you can't change on the cable box.The bad news is that high definition channels still look worse through MythTV than they do if I watch then directly from the cable box. I don't expect to solve this problem.

A spokesperson for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project on Aug. 22 confirmed to DesktopLinux.com a report that 500 field tests of its low-cost, portable, Linux-powered computers will begin in September, with working devices set to begin rolling off the production line in November.

The Puppy Linux team has organized a "Media Fiesta" to recognize innovations within the mini distribution. The interactive, web-based confab is intended to bring professional Linux developers, intermediate-to-high ability users, and newbies together to share information and tips for using the distro and developing new applications.

Hargadon Computer will get a lot busier in about three weeks, after kids are back in school and teachers and school administrators realize they need to do something with their outdated classroom PCs.