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Google

Submission + - Google's Blogger output fails XHTML standards

saccade.com writes: "The headers generated by Google's Blogger web site assert it's output is complient with the "XHTML 1.0 Strict" document type definition. Well, John Walker tested it against that standard, and discovered even the simplest Blogger page fails with 73 errors. Walker comments:

...whatever standard you choose, you should be willing to be held to it, and in this case the blogging platform used by tens of millions of people falls flat on its face. Personally, I would be stone ashamed to ship something in this state. That Google, with what amounts to unlimited funds in our talent-constrained industry, plus the putatively smartest and certainly most smug technical staff, contents themselves with this is perhaps an indication that before expounding on issues of good and evil, one should first address the more mundane matter of competence.
"

Is KDE 4.0 the Holy Grail of Desktops? 511

An anonymous reader writes "With KDE 4.0 being expected some time this year, expectation runs high in the linux/unix users camp and the media read a lot between the lines of what the KDE developers say and do. In some ways KDE will provide a standard as to how a desktop should look and behave. This interesting article wonders whether KDE 4.0 will become the complete desktop which will meet the needs of a wide cross section of computer users. One of the common complaints that some Linux users have over KDE is that it is too cluttered. And by addressing this need without putting off the power users, the KDE developers could make it an all in one Desktop. Keep in mind that KDE 4.0 is based on Qt 4.0 and so can be easily ported to Windows and other OSes too which makes this thought doubly relevant."
Novell

Novell May be Banned from Distributing Linux 553

Hymer writes "Reuters is reporting that Novell may be banned from selling Linux. In the wake of the (much maligned) Novell/Microsoft deal, the Free Software Foundation is reviewing Novell's right to sell the operating system at all. The foundation controls the rights to key parts of the operating system, and council for the organization said that 'the community wants to interfere any way it can' with the Novell business arrangement. No decision has yet been reached, but one should be made in the next two weeks." Is this a measured response, or an over-reaction to the Novell/Microsoft arrangement?
Space

New Ice Age Theory 272

amigoro writes "Most believe that the ice ages are the result of subtle changes in Earth's orbit, known as the Milankovitch cycles. According to one scientist, that is not the case. Robert Ehrlich of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, has developed a model which hypothesizes a dimmer switch inside the sun that causes its brightness to rise and fall on timescales of around 100,000 or 41,000 years, exactly the same period as between ice ages on Earth. The main problem with Milankovitch cycles is that they can't explain how the ice ages go from 100,000 year cycle to 41,000 year cycle. The cycles predicted by Ehlrich's model line up with the observations."
The Internet

iPhone, Apple TV Headline MacWorld Keynote 1619

Steve Jobs kept his audience rapt at the MacWorld keynote today. He rehashed the announcement of the iTV, now called Apple TV, and announced the iPhone, a revolutionary phone/ipod/wrist-computer that had MacWorld attendees sitting on the edge of their seats. Retailing for $499 (4 gig)/$599 (8 gig), it has to be seen to be believed. It uses a touch screen with a new form of input control, runs OSX and many standard applications, and connects to the internet via WiFi. It has a camera, functions as a movie player, a music player, and can send emails and photos in the middle of a phone call. From the Engadget coverage: "'[OSX] let us create desktop class applications and networking, not the crippled stuff you find on most phones, these are real desktop applications.' He's quoting Alan Kay - 'People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.' 'So we're bringing breakthrough software to a mobile device for the first time.'" Seriously, go check this out. They're going to print money with this thing.
Linux Business

Dell's Secret Linux Fling 146

Slagged writes "The Register has up an article on Linux-based Dell systems being sold in China. While Microsoft quashed an attempt by Dell to create a market for Linux PCs in the U.S., such restrictions are not the case in Asia. From the article: 'Fifteen months ago our own Ashlee Vance, who broke the news of the first break-up in 2001, proved how hard it is to buy a PC from Dell without Windows. Not pre-loaded with Linux mind you - but simply a bare bones box. But far away from the prying eyes of Steve Ballmer, romance is blossoming. An eagle-eyed reader found the fruits of the union, brazenly on display in a Beijing subway.' The article has pictures of the advertisements, which offer Dell PCs preloaded with 'Red Flag Linux'."
The Almighty Buck

Hans Reiser to Sell Company 583

DVega writes "Due to increasing legal costs, murder suspect Hans Reiser is seeking to sell his company. His lawyer William DuBois said he is running out of money to pay for his defense. DuBois added, 'This is a unique opportunity for someone to buy the company for pennies on the dollar. We welcome all vultures.' This is a good opportunity to own a filesystem and rename it after your own."

Seventh Harry Potter Book Named 449

Croakyvoice writes "JK Rowling has today given fans of the Harry Potter books the name of Book 7 of the very popular series via a Christmas present on her site, to get to the name you need to follow a complicated procedure but thankfully the name of the book has been revealed as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
Red Hat Software

Submission + - Red Hat Sales Surge

head_dunce writes: "Red Hat reported on it's third quarter earnings, and it did quite a bit better than expected even with the Oracle and SuSE/Microsoft new kids on the block.

From the conference call:
CFO Charlie Peters said that the company is "cautiously optimistic that competitive efforts by some of the largest technology companies in the world are actually expanding our opportunity."

Trip Chowdhry, managing director Global Equities Research, said Oracle has misread the market for open source software. "Oracle thinks Linux support is a cost issue; it isn't. It's a business issue."
So it looks like all these companies trying to be like Red Hat has only validated Linux in big business. And all it takes is one tech support call to Microsoft to understand the value of support. Congrats to Red Hat!"
Linux Business

Submission + - Samba creator quits Novell, picked up by google

bl8n8r writes: As many of you will guess, this is due to the Microsoft/Novell patent agreement, which I believe is a mistake and will be damaging to Novell's success in the future. But my main issue with this deal is I believe that even if it does not violate the letter of the licence it violates the intent of the GPL licence the Samba code is released under, which is to treat all recipients of the code equally.

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=200612210 81000710
Television

Submission + - Rosie ODonnell defends herself with Wikipedia

An anonymous reader writes: Rosie O'Donnell cites Donald Trump wikipedia entry on her website as defense for her statements about Donald Trump. O'Donnell goes on to claim her affinity towards wikipedia "loving the wiki, i use it, do u." The question is: will her citation of wikipedia help her case or hurt it?
PHP

Submission + - Generate Flash movies on the fly with PHP

An anonymous reader writes: Rich Internet Applications is the new buzz-phrase for Web 2.0, and a key component of the substance behind Web 2.0 is Adobe Flash. Learn how to integrate Flash movies into your application and generate Flash movies dynamically using the Ming library. It's worth understanding Flash and what it can do to extend the reach and interactivity of a Web 2.0 PHP application.
Security

Submission + - Mozilla Firefox Multiple Vulnerabilities

An anonymous reader writes: Whitedust are reporting on Multiple vulnerabilities in Mozilla Firefox, "which can be exploited by malicious people to gain knowledge of certain information, conduct cross-site scripting attacks, and potentially compromise a user's system." including "1)Various errors in the layout engine and JavaScript engine can be exploited to cause memory corruption and some may potentially allow execution of arbitrary code. 2) An error when reducing the CPU's floating point precision, which may happen on Windows when loading a plugin creating a Direct3D device, may cause the "js_dtoa()" function to not exit and instead cause a memory corruption." Bad day for Mozilla?
Handhelds

Submission + - Why Palm still covets Palm OS

munchola writes: In an unsurprising but symbolically important move, handheld and smartphone maker Palm this month signed a perpetual license with Access Systems Americas, which gives Palm the right to use Access' Palm OS operating system in whole or in part in any Palm device forever more. It sounds like a no-brainer, but according to CBRonline the context is interesting, in particular what it means for the army of Palm OS developers out there. Believe it or not there are at least 160,000 Palm OS developers — and they're just the ones that Palm knows about.

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