linux

When Digg first came out with its labs section, almost immediately people threw together unofficial screensavers for each of the visualizations. Since the visualizations run in Adobe Flash, the user creations often just loaded up the pages in a full-screen Flash viewer. Today, Digg has launched official versions of the screensavers for all four of their labs visualizations, which were originally put together by Stamen Design.

Just like the Web versions, you can sit back and watch the current activity on Digg as it's happening, and interact with any of the content. The screensavers are cross platform, and run … Read more

Asus officially announces Eee PC

It's official: Asus has announced that the Eee PC (which we've been tracking since August) will be making its way to North America within the next few weeks. The 2-pound, 7-inch, Linux-based laptop will be available in three configurations priced from $299 to $399.

Though the company has yet to offer details on North American specs, it seems reasonable to believe that we'll be seeing the three top models listed on Asus' global site. The highest-end Eee PC 8G includes an 8GB solid-state drive, 1GB of RAM, a built-in Webcam, and a promised 3.5-hour battery life. … Read more

The secrets of Ubuntu's success

I've written on this topic before, but came across this list of seven reasons for Ubuntu's success that I thought were worth noting.

The Linux distribution battle will come down to two distributions: Red Hat and Ubuntu. Red Hat is the market leader while Ubuntu is arguably the community leader (though Fedora is also coming back strong). How has Ubuntu managed to make such a significant impression on the market, despite its late start?

Having talked about a few of the other reasons on this blog, I'll call out two that I missed:… Read more

Linux server sales up at Dell

Michael Dell, CEO of Dell, has gone on the record as saying server-side Linux is growing faster than Windows at the computer behemoth.

On the server side Linux continues to grow nicely, a bit faster than Windows. We're seeing a move to Linux in critical applications, and Linux migration has not slowed down.

Dell also noted that for all Microsoft's bluster about Linux patent violations, Microsoft hasn't given Dell a call to talk through legal liability (or anything else related to its IP) for shipping Linux servers and desktops. Given the buddy-buddy relationship between the two, one … Read more

Red Hat, Novell sued for patent infringement

Suddenly all those discussions about the discordant ways of open-source software and patent law have become a lot less abstract.

Companies called IP Innovation and Technology Licensing Corporation sued Red Hat and Novell on Tuesday, claiming the top Linux sellers' software products infringe U.S. patent 5,072,412, "User interface with multiple workspaces for sharing display system objects," and two identically named patents. The suit (PDF), in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Texas, seeks damages and a permanent injunction prohibiting any further infringement.

Red Hat spokeswoman Leigh Day said Friday only that the company is … Read more

Google updates Linux version of Desktop

Keeping its Linux fan base in mind, Google has updated its Desktop for Linux, which it launched in June. With version 1.1, still in beta, you can search over more image formats and search the content of Microsoft Office documents. The thumbnails in search results are higher quality and you can customize the hot key that launches the quick search box. There's more information on the Inside Google Desktop blog and you can download the application here.

Episode 581: The final EULA!

Patent troll launches desktop Linux lawsuit. Is Microsoft involved?

Sometimes you just have to sing. I read Groklaw's report on a new lawsuit launched by IP Innovation (subsidiary of Acacia) against Novell and Red Hat over Linux desktop infringements of its "a User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects" patent and just wanted to break out into Stephen Sondheim:

Isn't it rich? Isn't it queer? Losing my timing this late In my career? And where are the clowns? Quick, send in the clowns. Don't bother - they're here.

Why clowns? Well, the more Groklaw digs into this, the more it looks like the ultimate patent troll/clown, Microsoft, may be behind this all. Some might say that Ballmer always sings on cue, and surely his commentary about Red Hat last week may be coincidence or simply poor timing, but Monsieur le Troll must be smiling, regardless.

Groklaw writes:… Read more

Novell lays off AppArmor programmers

Two years after acquiring the company that developed the AppArmor security software for Linux, Novell has laid off team members behind the project, CNET News.com has learned.

AppArmor's founder and leader, Crispin Cowan, joined Novell in 2005 when it acquired his company, Immunix, which developed the software. But he and four others from the project lost their Novell jobs in Portland, Ore., on September 28, Cowan confirmed.

However, he plans to continue AppArmor development. He and two other laid-off AppArmor programmers, Steve Beattie and Dominic Reynolds, launched an AppArmor consulting company on Wednesday called Mercenary Linux.

"I … Read more