xubu_caapn - Slashdot User

Submission + - Holiday Hacker Takes Down Blogs, Big Science Sites (popularmechanics.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 24, 2007 @03:03PM

An anonymous reader writes: A hacker calling himself "Body" and taking on the image of "The Crow" broke in to at least 20 websites as of Sunday afternoon, targeting blogs as well as well-established news outlets such as LiveScience, Space.com and Aviation.com. From the article: "In an age of hacker syndicates stealing financial info from e-commerce sites or assuming control of vast numbers of personal computers to launch spam, this kind of old-fashioned hack is almost reassuring."

Submission + - Is Ubuntu playing trademark policy games? (classhelper.org) 7

Submitted by

palegray.net

on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @12:02AM

palegray.net writes: "The subject could just as easily be stated "Does Ubuntu understand its own trademark policy?" or alternately "Does Ubuntu really want community support and involvement?" I thought so a week ago. If you're interested in the full write-up of the whole affair, check this page. It contains copies of all the emails I sent to Ubuntu's "trademarks" email address regarding this matter, along with copies of the replies I received.

First, a little bit of background on myself and how this situation started. I'm a pretty big nerd, and I mean that in more than just your general "loves computers and programming Linux applications" sense. I also happen to enjoy puzzles of all types, word games, and kite building. Yes, kite building, especially miniature kites that can be flown in very light winds (or even indoors, in some cases).

I decided it might be a good idea to offer some small kites for sale that were decorated with various open source and Linux themed logos. Given the amount of support the Ubuntu project gives to education, especially considering their focus on education through the Edubuntu project, I thought their logo would look nice on small kites designed for Linux enthusiasts and school-age children. The way I see it, the more kids are exposed to operating systems like Ubuntu, and the less they're forced to use Microsoft products, the better off we all are in the long run. Who knows, maybe a simple kite might spark some kid's curiosity...

So I decided to do the right and proper thing by asking for permission to use the Ubuntu logo on small kites. After a few email exchanges with the folks at Ubuntu, my request was flatly denied with no commentary on my stated interpretation of their trademark policy and the procedure one should use for requesting licensed use of their logos.

What does the Slashdot community think of this? I offered to contribute a percentage of any revenue generated from the kites to the Ubuntu (or Edubuntu, whichever they prefer) project, but received no acknowledgment of that offer. What gives?"

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