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Comment Re:So is it compatible or not? (Score 1) 40

by luge (#38624824) Attached to: Mozilla Public License 2.0 Released

The CDDL is also MPL-with-some-fixes, so it will be interesting to see how MPL2 and CDDL compare.

CDDL was definitely referenced frequently during the initial drafting of MPL 2; it resolved some problems that we knew MPL 1.1 had so it made sense to see how they had solved the problems. I'm not sure how much actual CDDL language actually survived into MPL 2 (that part of the drafting was almost two years ago now), but probably at least some.

Comment Re:Big Open Source (Score 1) 40

by luge (#38624696) Attached to: Mozilla Public License 2.0 Released

No, that's wrong. Because the new license is compatible, when the relicensing (from MPL11/GPL/LGPL->MPL2) is complete, the software will still be licensed in a way that is compatible with GPL and LGPL code.

The only usage that will now be discouraged that was previously possible is the simple case where someone took the old code, and republished under only one license without combining it with GPL/LGPL code- in other words, they did it because they wanted it to be incompatible. (This was something that Stallman publicly stated was poor form, but some people did it anyway.) This is prohibited by the new language- you have to have a real reason now to switch the licensing, and you still have to do your first publication under both licenses instead of just one.

Comment Re:So long... (Score 1) 1521

by luge (#37206394) Attached to: Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda Resigns From Slashdot

When someone writes the history of the new media and the new communities, /. - and CmdrTaco will get its own chapter. And that's no small thing.

Still, I'm sad you didn't hang around long enough to use ICANN's new TLD program to get the .dot TLD... ;)

Submission + - File sharing case argued in appelate court (boston.com) 1

Submitted by luge
luge writes: Harvard students, along with Prof. Charlie "eon" Nesson, took the next step in Joel Tennenbaum's case against the RIAA this week, presenting their arguments on the unconstitutionality of huge copyright damages to a panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals (one level below the Supreme Court.) Serious junkies can hear the audio recording of the discussion here. This is an appeal of last summer's ruling, which reduced Tennenbaum's damages — to $2,000 per song. The appellate court's ruling could come in a few months.
Google

Submission + - Microsoft says Google lies about Apps for G (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg
alphadogg writes: In a scathing blog post, http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/archive/2011/04/11/google-s-misleading-security-claims-to-the-government-raise-serious-questions.aspx one of Microsoft's top lawyers alleged that Google has been falsely claiming that its Google Apps for Government service has an important certification. The two companies have been pitched in a fierce battle for government customers and have been trading barbs and in some cases lawsuits over the past year. On Monday, Microsoft said that court documents related to a case Google filed charging the government with unfairly favoring Microsoft were unsealed. Those documents include a brief from the Department of Justice noting that "notwithstanding Google's representations to the public at large, its counsel, the GAO and this Court, it appears that Google's Google Apps for Government does not have FISMA certification."
Government

Submission + - Lessig for Congress(?!) (ox.ac.uk)

Submitted by
luge
luge writes: "With the unfortunate passing of Congressman Tom Lantos parts of Silicon Valley and San Francisco will be having a special election in June to send a replacement to Congress. Given the area, it would be great to have someone who is both tech and policy-aware fill the seat- and it looks like that just might happen, with a 'Draft Lessig' group forming on facebook, featuring some of Lessig's old co-workers at Harvard and Jimmy Wales, among others, and Lessig apparently buying 'change-congress.com'. No word from the man himself yet, but he's been increasingly vocal about politics of late. If it happens, it would be a huge step forward for the representation of technology in Washington."
The Internet

Submission + - Converting a Website to a Wiki

Submitted by CedgeS
CedgeS writes: I administer a website with a few thousand pages and images. I'd like to convert it into a wiki, mostly for the benefits of revision history and easy editing. The task seems fairly straightforward: make a list of which filename will have which article name, convert as much of the html as possible to wiki markups (especially links and images), strip out php/ssi includes for headers and footers, and toss it all into a wiki. Sharing your knowledge of existing software and migration experiences would be a great help to me and to others attempting the same feat in the future.
Privacy

Submission + - New E-Discovery Rules Benefit Some Firms

Submitted by
mikesd81
mikesd81 writes: "The Associated Press writes about companies that help businesses track and search their e-mails and other electronic data are experiencing a surge of interest in the wake of federal rule changes that clarify requirements to produce such evidence in lawsuits. From the article: "The new rules, which took effect Friday, require U.S. companies to keep better track of their employees' e-mails, instant messages and other electronic documents in the event the companies are sued, legal experts say. They are part of amendments to federal rules governing civil litigation and were approved by the Supreme Court's administrative arm in April after a five-year review."

Companies and other parties involved in federal litigation must now produce "electronically stored information" as part of discovery. Federal and state courts have increasingly been requiring the production of such evidence in individual cases, and the new rules clarify that the data will be required in federal lawsuits. Also, under the new rules, an information technology employee who routinely copies over a backup computer tape could be committing "virtual shredding" once a lawsuit has been filed, said Alvin F. Lindsay, a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP and expert on technology and litigation."
Music

Submission + - Sign the petition to ban DRM in the UK

Submitted by Thyrus
Thyrus writes: In the UK APIG has performed a public inquiry into the use of DRM which has recommended clearly labelling DRM infected products (among other recommendations). We want the government to go one step further and ban the use of DRM in digital content. We believe DRM removes the freedom of choice between competing products and locks users into using a particular service. We do not believe that digital content should be cost free, but it should be provided in such a way that a person who has purchased a copy of it has control over that copy. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/bandrm/
Announcements

Submission + - OSDL Lays Off Entire Engineering Staff

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: From a colleague of a colleague of a colleague:

OSDL just laid off their *entire* engineering staff this morning. No warning. It's a ghost town in the building now. Smells of some really nasty board-level politics, but information is not exactly plentiful.

All OSDL hosting is frozen — no more new projects effective immediately. The infrastructure staff has been reduced to a single person (who also has to manage the in-house LAN and desktop support). I get the feeling OSDL is going to be encouraging projects hosted here to go elsewhere. The one remaining infra staff was already talking to management about what systems in the lab could be shut down to save on the power bill.
Security

Submission + - Federal Agency releases network security LiveCD

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Heise news reports that the german "Federal Agency For Security In Information Technology" (BSI) has released the second version of it's network secruity LiveCD for download. The "BSI Opensource Security Suite (BOSS)" includes a bootable Linux LiveCD and includes among others Nessus, Ethereal, Nmap, chkrootkit and some guidance about how to use the LiveCD to test your local network for security issues.
SuSE

Submission + - Stallman Absolves Novell

Submitted by
bubulubugoth
bubulubugoth writes: "There been a lot of fuss about Novell and Microsoft deal, but suddenly silence. We like bad news, we get a lot of coverage about Ballmer's and Stallman's view of the deal. Now, Stallman and Moglen "absolves" Novell and Microsoft, but yet again confirm their intention to close the loophole at GLPv2 used by Novell and Microsoft lawyers. Interesting reading."
Microsoft

Submission + - Opening Statements Begin in Microsoft-Iowa Case

Submitted by cc
cc writes: The Des Moines Register is reporting that opening statements have started in the Microsoft-Iowa antitrust case. The Des Register reports that the Plaintiffs have shaped their case around nine stories involving competitors from IBM to Linux. Microsoft attorneys say Gates is expected to testify in January, and company CEO Steve Ballmer will likely appear in February. Both men are expected to be on the stand for about four days. Unlike previous antitrust cases against the software giant, the Iowa case is seeking additional damages for security vulnerabilities. Plaintiffs allege that Microsoft's bundling of IE with Windows caused harm to consumers by increasing the consumer's susceptibility to security breaches and bugs. The case is one of the largest antitrust cases in history, encompassing millions of documents and Microsoft's business practices during the last 20 years.

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