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GNU is Not Unix

Submission + - Has anyone gotten the GPL code for the Samsung TVs 2

Submitted by Daniel Lamblin
Daniel Lamblin writes: When I got my Samsung LN-T3242H 32" 720P LCD HD TV It came with a copy of the GPL, and a statement saying that some software used in the product is covered by the GPL and other software by LGPL. There was also a USB port on the back from which new firmware could be loaded. This excited me and I emailed the address specified with a request for the code, and anything they were willing to give as documentation with it. I believe the GPL specifies that there must be a usable way to build the source too. Well, two requests later, I had no reply. I emailed a Samsung engineer formerly involved in GPL related work, and he forwarded my request to the right people. It seemed. The last I heard, and they did try to keep me updated, was that they're getting it together for me, I should have it soon, and they need to talk to people in Monta Vista. This was in October. I got the TV in June and made requests starting then.

Apparently several, if not all, Samsung TV models have a reference to using some GPL code. This goes back about to 2005, maybe more. Has anyone's request for the source been honored? I understand maybe my TV has slightly different code, and they may be using a VCS to find the right branch, but it would make me feel better knowing that this isn't a black-hole and that someone's actually gotten some code out of Samsung regarding their TV using GPL & LGPL.

PS edit as needed.
Security

Submission + - Apple's monster meal of updates (itwire.com) 1

Submitted by
WirePosted
WirePosted writes: "Security updates for Mac OS X 10.3.9 client and server provide fixes for AppleRAID, bind, CoreFoundation, Flash Player Plug-in, and Foundation. They also incorporate Security Update 2007-007."
Censorship

Submission + - Brit social services try to censor Youtube

Submitted by Kedyn's Crow
Kedyn's Crow writes: Britain's social services, citeng the Data Protection Act, are trying to remove a audio recording from youtube. The recording posted by expectant parents Vanessa and Martin Brookes , shows social services attepting to force the adoption of her unborn child in spite of their own belief that there was "no immediate risk to your child from yourselves"
Windows

Submission + - Exiting PC Magazine Chief Blasts Vista On Way Out (robotsrule.com)

Submitted by
robotsrule
robotsrule writes: "Just before he passed on the reins of one of the leading Windows PC publications in the world, Jim Louderback, the exiting editor-in-chief of PC Magazine has thrown in the towel on Windows Vista after 9 months of trying to live with it. Criticisms of Microsoft's latest operating system included "(problems with) sleep mode, unreliable networking, and general slugishness when compared to the older Windows XP versions". His closing comments included two very powerful statements. The first was a final shot at Vista where he said "The litany of what doesn't work and what still frustrates me stretches on endlessly". Second, and even more interesting was "I might move to Linux". For more information read the original MacNN article."
Microsoft

Submission + - Alienware: CableCard Not Ready for Mass Market

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Alienware doesn't think CableCard is ready for the mass market. The Dell subsidiary is coming out with some high-end Media Center PCs but won't sell them directly to consumers because the HD-enabling CableCard "requires the expertise of a reseller and installer." CableCard was supposed to be the savior for Windows Media Center, which has been inhibited by its inability to support high-def content. Alienware made its fortune by selling tricked-out computers to gamers, so it's telling that the company doesn't think its traditional geeky customer can handle CableCard without professional help.
Operating Systems

Submission + - SCO loses - finally 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The one summary judgement that puts a stick into SCO's spokes has just come down. SCO doesn't own the Unix copyrights. With that one decision, a whole bunch of other decisions will fall like dominoes. As PJ says, "That's Aaaaall, Folks!".

Hot off the presses: Judge Dale Kimball has issued a 102-page ruling [PDF] on the numerous summary judgment motions in SCO v. Novell. Here is what matters most: [T]he court concludes that Novell is the owner of the UNIX and UnixWare Copyrights. That's Aaaaall, Folks! If anyone can please put this into text for us, that'd be simply great.
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=200708101 65237718#comments
Quickies

Submission + - Digging Dinosaurs Made Underground Dens

Submitted by anthemaniac
anthemaniac writes: Scientists have long puzzled over how some dinosaurs and other creatures survived the asteroid impact that supposedly caused the KT mass extinction 65 million years ago and wiped out all the big dinos. One idea has been that smaller animals, including mammals, could have endured the fallout, the big chill, the subsequent volcanoes, and whatever else by burrowing. Now scientists have come up with the first evidence of burrowing dinosaurs. They speculate that underground dens might explain how some dinosaurs got through long, dark winters at high latitudes, too.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Open source video editing still has a long way to go 1

Journal by ThePhilips

Here is Roblimo's take on Linux video editing state of affairs:

Kino captures video (although not high-definition video) competently through a FireWire port, and Cinelerra can do most video editing tasks if you are willing to spend three to ten times as long doing them as you would with Vegas or Final Cut.

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