christian.einfeldt - Slashdot User

Submission + - 1,000 Russian schools using Linux (www.osor.eu)

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christian.einfeldt

on Wednesday December 31, 2008 @07:42PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Linux has been installed in over one thousand schools in Russia, and is part of a much larger over-all deployment of Linux in the Russian military and other government institutions, according to one IBM official speaking at the Latvian Open Technology Conference in Riga on 12 November:
'The Russian military has been working on its own version of GNU/Linux, parts of which have recently been declassified by the All-Russian Scientific and Research Institute of Control Automation in the Non-Industrial Sphere (Vniins). According to Guriev, many specialised version of GNU/Linux distributions are produced, often in response to requests by local governments. In three Russian regions, most of the PCs in use in about a thousand schools have been switched over to GNU/Linux.'
"

Comment No implementations of Microsoft's OOXML (Score 4, Interesting) 62

by christian.einfeldt on Friday May 23, 2008 @04:13AM (#23514962) Attached to: New York and Minnesota Publish Open Document Studies

It is important to remember that there are no implementations in the real world of Microsoft's OOXML schema, as discussed in Andy Updegrove's blog, quoting David Worthington:

http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20080521092930864

Worthington's story includes quotes from Matusow and Mahugh that provide intriguing insights into how the decisions were made. After noting that saving to the OASIS ODF 1.1 format would now be possible, Worthington writes:

However, the company is not quick to embrace its own creation. Mahugh stated that Microsoft would not implement the final ISO version of OOXML until Office 14 ships at an unstated date in the future. This variant of OOXML was designated ISO/IEC 29500 at the time it was certified as an ISO International standard in April.

"One way to look at it is the prioritization of formats," Mahugh explained. "We reach a point in time where we have to decide whether to continue to invest in a previous version [of Office] or to cut the cord and move forward."

ODF support was a priority for Microsoft, Mahugh noted, adding that "real world" customers say that there is a pressing need for PDF [AU: ODF?] support. "At this point there are no products using [ISO/IEC 29500] in the marketplace."

When will Microsoft support its own file format? Worthingon quotes Gartner Research's Michael Silver on that question as follows:

"Customers that are expecting true document fidelity from XML-based, ISO-standard document formats will continue to be disappointed." Silver observed that the most compatible formats to use today are Microsoft's legacy binaries, and he believes that Microsoft will be unlikely to convince customers to move to OOXML in the foreseeable future.

Submission + - Nations and Organizations that Adopted ODF in 2007 (odfalliance.org)

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christian.einfeldt

on Thursday January 03, 2008 @06:51PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "The ODF Alliance has released a report on 3 January 2008 detailing the state of global adoption of ODF as a governmental policy and in deployments of software applications. The 15-page report (PDF warning) says that 2007 'ended on a high note,' with the Netherlands and South Africa joining 10 other nations that had already adopted the ODF standard, formally known as ISO/IEC 26300:2006. There are now 40 software apps supporting ODF, with dozens of those coming in September and October alone. The ODF Alliance itself now claims just under 500 member organizations in 53 countries."

Submission + - Platforms where Linux gained ground in 2007 (earthweb.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Tuesday January 01, 2008 @05:08PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Computer scientist and media maven Roy Schestowitz takes a look at platforms where GNU Linux gained the most ground in 2007. In a thorough review which is the first of a two-part series, Schestowitz looks at trends in supercomputers, mobile phones, desktops, low-end laptops and tablets, consoles, media players and set-top boxes. Schestowitz finds that GNU Linux solidified its dominant grip on supercomputers; made huge gains in low-end laptops and tablets; won major OEM and retail support on the desktop; gained new entries into game consoles; and also spawned new businesses in set-top boxes while holding its ground in pre-existing product lines. He sums it all up by saying that '2007 will be remembered as the year when GNU/Linux became not only available, but also properly preinstalled on desktops and laptops by the world's largest companies.'"

Submission + - Linux / Unix boxes sweep Amazon's 'best of" 20 (businesswire.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Friday December 28, 2007 @07:43PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Computers and handheld devices running default GNU Linux or Unix OSes have swept Amazon's 'best of' list for 2007, according BusinessWire.com for 28 December 2007. Best selling computer? The Nokia Internet Tablet PC, running Linux. Best reviewed computer? The Apple MacBook Pro notebook PC. Most wished for computer? Asus Eee 4G-Galaxy 7-inch PC mobile Internet device, which comes with Xandros Linux pre-installed. And last, but not least, the most frequently gifted computer: The Apple MacBook notebook PC. Microsoft makes only one appearance on the list, and it wasn't in games, but in the best selling software package: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007. Microsoft fans will point out that 'all of these computers are capable of running Windows', but in years past, that line belonged to the Linux / Mac crowd."

Submission + - AOL to discontinue Netscape browser (techcrunch.com) 1

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Friday December 28, 2007 @03:53PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "According to TechCrunch, AOL will announce today, 28 December 2007, that it will discontinue the Netscape browser, currently on version 9, on on 1 February 2008. AOL acquired Netscape in November 1998 for $4.2 billion, and subsesquently released the source code for the browser in March, 1998. That code base went on to become the Mozilla browser, which in turn became Firefox, one of greatest challenges to Microsoft's dominance on the desktop. Some have suggested that a moment of silence might be appropriate; while others are saying that it would be better to celebrate Firefox's continued growth by suggesting that Windows-using friends to switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox."

Submission + - Microsoft deprecating some OOXML functionality (fanaticattack.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Thursday December 27, 2007 @10:36PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "According to open standards advocate Russell Ossendryver, Microsoft will be deprecating certain functionality in its Microsoft Office Open XML specification. Ossendryver says the move is an attempt to quiet critics of the specification in the run up to the crucial February vote as to whether Microsoft OOXML will be included as a second standard for e-documents, along with the existing ODF ISO standard. ECMA, the Microsoft-led industry standards group formally offering OOXML to ISO, confirms in a 21 December 2007 announcement that issues related to the "leap year bug", VML, compatibility settings such as "AutoSpaceLikeWord95" and others will be "extracted from the main specification and relocated to an independent annex in DIS 29500 for deprecated functionality." Ossendryver is not convinced that deprecation will work, calling the deprecation proposal a 'smoke screen' and a 'bomb disguised as a standard' because 'every application will need to support the deprecated features in order to read files with the deprecated features.' Ossendryver also points out that legacy formatted Microsoft Office documents will still remain non-standard under the new proposal for deprecation."

Submission + - Stallman shifting his focus to social movements (earthweb.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Sunday December 23, 2007 @03:09AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Free Software visionary Richard Stallman seems to be shifting his fundamental message in subtle but significant ways. He has always talked about the importance of freedom in cyberspace, but he recently seems to have been changing his message slightly to place greater emphasis on the links between social movements and Free Software as a way of connecting the Free Software movement with other current social movements. He still talks about the 'four freedoms' of Free Software, but the new emphasis seems to signal an interest in appealing more to human interests, and a little bit less on geeky ethical issues as seen in this new interview of 19 December 2007, where he cites the success of social movements in Kerala, India, in persuading the local government to migrate to free code as an example of Free Software as social phenomenon."

Submission + - NY State could shape the global OOXML - ODF debate (fanaticattack.com)

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Thursday December 20, 2007 @03:24PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "As was reported first here on Slashdot on 18 December 2007, the State of New York has opened a Request For Public Comment (RFPC) on whether it should adopt ODF (the current ISO standard) or Microsoft's OOXML as a standard for electronic documents for the State's government agencies. The public comment period will end on 28 December 20007. In response to that Slashdot article, open format advocate Russell Ossendryver has updated a previous open letter that he had penned to the National Boards of the countries eligible to vote in the upcoming February Microsoft OOXML ISO contest. In the update, Ossendryver urges New York State CIO Melodie Mayberry-Stewart to consider the impact that her report could have on the subsequent ISO vote: Says Ossendryver,

'The timing of the due date for the release of the report, 15 January 2008, places New York State in a position to have an impact on the international vote in late February, a mere 40 days or so later. The eyes of the world will be watching you, New York! '
Scroll to the bottom of the page to see that update."

Submission + - Linux changing lives in San Francisco's skid row (sfsu.edu)

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christian.einfeldt

on Thursday December 20, 2007 @02:25AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "In San Francisco's skid row, some nonprofits earlier this month sponsored the first "Tenderloin Tech Day." The half-day workshop was open to anyone in the low-income neighborhood with a tech problem. CNET News.com's reporter, Kara Tsuboi, stopped by and chatted with people about their first Linux experiences in this entertaining and heart-warming video. (video warning). Event organizer say that they are planning more events to follow up on this successful workshop."

Submission + - NY State decision on ODF v OOXML approaching (state.ny.us)

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Tuesday December 18, 2007 @06:09PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "In August of 2007, the State of New York passed legislation requiring its CIO, Melodie Mayberry-Stewart, to gather information on the advantages and disadvantages of adopting either ODF or OOXML as a document standard, and to report her findings by 15 January 2007. As part of her duties under that legislation, CIO Mayberry-Stewart issued a Request For Public Comment to get feedback on the topic. The deadline for that public comment is 28 December 2007, so there is still time for the Slashdot crowd to be heard."

Submission + - Microsoft's influence on upcoming ISO vote? (groklaw.net) 2

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Sunday December 16, 2007 @11:46PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Microsoft has experienced some criticism for its handling of its bid to have OOXML accepted as an ISO standard, including the use of financial incentives to affect the Swedish national vote, which resulted in Swedent reversing its pro-Microsoft position; and failing to honor a promise to relinquish control of the OOXML specification if it gained ISO status. Now, Groklaw has published an article that raises questions about Microsoft's influence on the upcoming February vote, citing concerns with the limitation of discussions of patent issues, public accountability of the process, and even irregularities with choosing the size of the room so as to limit the delegates opposed to OOXML ISO status, as had been done in the past."

Submission + - What is Bill Gates learning from Open Source? (zdnet.com)

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Saturday December 15, 2007 @02:14AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "In the world of Free Open Source Software communities, Microsoft is often viewed as the very epitome of the Cathedral-style model of software production. But is Bill Gates learning from the software development phenomenon that he once compared loosely to communism? In commenting on the results of a Microsoft-commissioned survey of approximately 500 board-level executives about the importance of interpersonal skills versus raw IT coding skills, Gates starts to sound a bit more like a member of the Apache Foundation than the take-no-prisoners king of cut-throat competition: 'Software innovation, like almost every other kind of innovation, requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down and talk with customers and get their feedback and understand their needs.' [Emphasis added]. One wonders how long until 'sharing ideas' starts to become 'sharing source' code. Nah. it'll never happen."

Submission + - Dutch government adopts open code and standards (google.com)

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Thursday December 13, 2007 @11:37PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "The Dutch government has set a target date of April 2008 for its agencies to start using open standards-based software, the Netherlands Economic Affairs Ministry said Thursday, according to a 14 December 2007 Associated Press article by Toby Sterling. Government organizations will still be able to use proprietary software and formats but will have to justify it under the new policy, ministry spokesman Edwin van Scherrenburg said. Microsoft Netherlands spokesman Hans Bos claims that Microsoft's Office productivity suite will still be used widely in the Dutch government until April, and that Microsoft Office will comply with the new Dutch rules once Microsoft's so-called "Open Office XML" standard is approved as an international ISO standard in February, as Microsoft sees it. The Dutch policy directs government organizations at the national level to be ready to use the Open Document Format to save documents by April, and at the state and local level by 2009, according to the AP's Sterling."

Submission + - New Zealand Justice Ministry prefers Open Source (nzoss.org.nz)

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Wednesday December 12, 2007 @04:35PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "In a paper dated 11 Dec. 2007, the New Zealand Justice Ministry has taken a position favoring Free Open Source Software if all other aspects of the proprietary competitor are comparable. The policy does not rule out proprietary software; but it does state a clear preference for FOSS where all other things are equal. The nine-page paper (PDF warning) does not purport to express any sort of legal or commercial commitment by the Ministry, but instead 'is believed to be consistent with existing MoJ policies.' The most salient reasons given for the preference are summarized in one sentence: 'Given two equivalent packages, one open and one proprietary, the OSS one would be the preferable choice for reasons of better supportability and lower lifecycle cost.'"

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