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Comment Re:Windows Driver (Score 4, Insightful) 348

I can't imagine why it would.

To the best of my knowledge, Google uses pretty much no Windows servers themselves(at least not for any of their public facing products, they almost certainly have some kicking around) and "a vast number of instances of custom in-house server applications" is among the least plausible environments for a Windows server deployment, so that is unlikely to change.

On the desktop side, Google has a bunch of stuff that runs on Windows; but it all communicates with Google's servers over various ordinary web protocols and stores local files with the OS provided filesystem. The benefits of EXT4 on Windows would have to be pretty damn compelling for them to start requiring a kernel driver install and a spare unformatted partition.

I suppose it is conceivable that some Google employee might decide to do it, for more or less inscrutable reasons; but it would have no connection at all to Google's broader operation or strategy.
Linux Business

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

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?"

Toys

Submission + - Microfluidic Chips made with Shrinky Dinks

SoyChemist writes: "When she started her job as a new professor at UC Merced, Michelle Khine was stuck without a clean room or semiconductor fabrication equipment, so she went MacGyver and started making Lab-on-a-Chip devices in her kitchen with Shrinky Dinks, a laser printer, and a toaster oven. She would print a negative image of the channels onto the polystyrene sheets and then make them smaller with heat. The miniaturized pattern served as a perfect mould for forming rounded, narrow channels in PDMS — a clear, synthetic rubber."
OS X

Submission + - Leopard is the New Vista 4

ninja_assault_kitten writes: Interesting rant from Oliver Rist of PC Magazine. He compares the catastrophy that is Vista to the recently released OSX Leopard. While clearly one is a lion and the other a cub, is does appear to be an apples to apples comparison and it's qutie sad. From the article, "...the fact that so many of the semi-important changes don't work, the fact that Apple turned a stable OS into a crash-happy glitz fest, or that the annoying, scruffy Live Free or Die Hard actor infecting my TV (and our Web site, by the way) is pretending that Leopard is better than Vista". Worth a quick read.
The Military

Submission + - Boeing shows off open software radios (networkworld.com)

coondoggie writes: "Boeing this week said it confirmed the interoperability of two open software-defined radios that will become the one of the backbone communication technologies for battlefield tactics in the future. The radios are part of the company's Family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) and ultimately promise an open architecture that could be used by myriad satellites and ground stations that all use different communications systems to give battlefield commanders high-speed access to all sorts of data or video. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/22127"
Classic Games (Games)

Submission + - The History of the Commodore 64 (gamasutra.com) 1

Matt Barton writes: "I thought Slashdotters might be interested in our History of the Commodore 64, the first in a set of six planned features on gaming platforms at Gamasutra. Bill Loguidice and I look at why the C-64 was so overwhelmingly popular, as both a personal computer and a brilliant gaming platform. We also give advice to modern gamers interested in emulating the platform and playing its games: "The 'Commie' is still the best personal computer ever to grace the living room.""
United States

Submission + - IEEE betrays American engineers (computerworld.com)

jcatcw writes: Dino Perrotti says that the IEEE-USA has stabbed its members in the back. It lobbied against raising the cap on H-1B visas (temporary visas) and told engineers they should support legal immigration because it's a slower process. That slow process would, supposedly, mean more American jobs for Americans. However, it turns out that's not quite the way it works. "Suddenly this slow-track green card alternative to H-1B guest visas has turned into an instant green card for every STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) graduate. When asked for a statement, the IEEE-USA lobbyist said that IEEE-USA's position is to favor legal immigration over guest workers. In fact, they want to convert all 500,000 H-1B visa holders to green card holders as soon as possible. "
Programming

Submission + - Web Browser-Based Interaction with the Eclipse IDE (ibm.com)

Gautham Pai writes: "This is an Eclipse plug-in that enables browser-based access to Eclipse. Eclipse is a widely-used, open-source, integrated development environment (IDE). However, in its current form, Eclipse requires installation and configuration. Browser-based access to an Eclipse IDE or an Eclipse-based application allows users to access Eclipse without any installation or configuration. Users can evaluate an application without downloading it. Alternatively, Eclipse can be accessed by multiple browser-based users. This application provides an opportunity for combining Eclipse content in mashups."
Music

Submission + - Amazon DRM-Less Music Store goes Beta 2

LowSNR writes: Amazon this morning moved their DRM-Free music store into open beta. According to the release, "Since all our digital music downloads are DRM-free, you can play them on anything that plays mp3s including PCs, Macs(TM), iPods(TM), Zunes(TM), Zens(TM), iPhones(TM), RAZRs(TM), and BlackBerrys. Plus, our Amazon MP3 Downloader application makes it easy to add your downloads to iTunes(TM) and Windows Media Player(TM), so you can sync up your devices or burn your music to CD hassle-free." Not to mention Linux.
GNU is Not Unix

Submission + - First U.S. GPL lawsuit filed (linux-watch.com)

angryfirelord writes: For the first time in the U.S., a company and software vendor, Monsoon Multimedia, is being taken to court for a GPL violation. Previously, alleged GPL violations have all been settled by letters from the FSF (Free Software Foundation) or other open-source organizations, pointing out the violation.

The SFLC (Software Freedom Law Center) announced on Sept. 20 that it had just filed the first ever U.S. copyright infringement lawsuit based on a violation of the GNU General Public License (GPL) on behalf of its clients. The group's clients are the two principal developers of BusyBox. BusyBox is a small-footprint application that implements a lightweight set of standard Unix utilities. It is commonly used in embedded systems, and is open-source software licensed under the GPL version 2.

GNOME

Submission + - GNOME 2.20 officially released (arstechnica.com)

Gimli writes: GNOME 2.20 has been officially released. There are a number of enhancements and improvements to things such as power management, Evince (the GNOME document view), Totem (the video player), and note-taking application Tomboy. There are also some changes to GNOME's configuration utilities with an eye towards streamlining them. The timing is impeccable, too: 'This release coincides with the tenth anniversary of GNOME's existence. The project has evolved considerably since its earliest incarnation and has become a global phenomenon. Used as the default environment in popular Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora, GNOME is widely used by Linux desktop users and is supported by a growing community of companies and independent developers. GNOME 2.20 will be included in the next major releases of many mainstream Linux distributions, including Ubuntu 7.10, which is scheduled for release next month. Users who wish to try it now can use the latest Ubuntu 7.10 live CD images, or the latest build of Foresight Linux. You can also check out the release notes.

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