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+ - Python Trademark Filer Ignorant Of Python?->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "Is it possible that the CEO of the company that's trying to file a trademark on "Python" was unaware of Python's importance as a programming technology? That's what he claims — despite running a hosting company that's trying to break into cloud computing, where Python is used extensively. Still, he also regards the Python Software Foundation as a hostile American company and thinks that getting attention from half the world's geeks is a DDoS..."
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Microsoft

+ - Microsoft Shipping GPLv2 Code->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "It was remarkable enough that Microsoft chose to implement Git rather than inventing its own DVCS in Visual Studio this week. But they have done so using libgit2, which is licensed under GPLv2 and developed by GitHub. Microsoft are not only shipping it; they are also contributing to the project. Remember, the GPL was what made Steve Ballmer call Linux a "cancer" and has been the focus of Microsoft's fear of FOSS for a decade. Has hell frozen over?"
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Microsoft

+ - Does Microsoft have the best app store for open source developers?-> 2

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "Microsoft seems to have been in combat against the GNU GPL throughout the history of free and open source software. But that may be changing. They have recently updated the terms of use for software developers in their Windows Phone app store to allow any OSI-approved open source license — even the GPL. They include extraordinarily broad language that gives the open source license priority over their own license terms, saying:

if your Application or In-App Product includes FOSS, your license terms may conflict with the limitations set forth in Section 3 of the Standard Application License Terms, but only to the extent required by the FOSS that you use

Could it be that the most open source friendly app stores will be the ones run my Microsoft?"
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Science

+ - Crumpled Graphene and Rubber Combined to Form Artificial Muscle->

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes "Despite its numerous wondrous properties, a propensity to stick together and be difficult to flatten out once crumpled can make working with graphene difficult and limit its applications. Engineers at Duke University have now found that by attaching graphene to a stretchy polymer film, they are able to crumple and then unfold the material, resulting in a properties that lend it to a broader range of applications, including artificial muscles."
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+ - Half of GitHub Code Unsafe To Use->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "GitHub is a great open source hosting site, right? Wrong. There's no requirement that projects on GitHub provide any copyright license, let alone an open source one, so roughly half the projects on GitHub are "all rights reserved" — meaning you could well be violating copyright if you make any use of the code in them. And GitHub management seem just fine with this state of affairs, saying picking a license is too hard for ordinary developers. But if you're not going to give anyone permission to use your code, why post it on GitHub in the first place?"
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Chrome

+ - Ditching a MacBook for a ChromeBook->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "Just how good is Google's Chromebook? It's selling well on Amazon (#1 selling computer today) but is it actually any use? Turns out it's surprisingly good, providing everything necessary for mobile working — to the point of leaving a Macbook Pro gathering dust. Could this be the first commercially viable Linux laptop?"
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Patents

+ - Research Proves Patent Trolls Harming The Economy->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "It used to just be speculation, but the numbers are now in — patent trolls are costing America jobs and economic growth. Newly-published research using data commissioned by Congress shows big rises in patent troll activity over the last five years — from 22% to 40% of all patent suits filed, with 4 out of five litigants being patent trolls. Other papers show that jobs are being lost and startups threatened, while VC money is just making things worse by making startups waste money filing more patents. Worst of all, it's clear this is just the tip of the iceburg; there's evidence that unseen pre-lawsuit settlements with patent trolls represent a much larger threat than anything the research can easily measure.

At least there is a little good news though; the fact Congress commissioned research on patent trolls means there are legislators taking the problem seriously at last,"
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Censorship

+ - "New Statesman" Pirates Its Own Magazine->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "Knowing that its explosive special edition on China this week will be blocked by censorship, UK political magazine "New Statesmen" has taken the unusual step of posting its own torrents of the PDF of the Mandarin edition on the magazine. Looking at the content of the issue they are probably right to expect censorship — there's an article from the former newspaper editor Cheng Yizhong about media censorship, and Ai Weiwei interviews a member of the "50 cent party" — a commenter paid half a dollar every time he derails an online debate in China. "Essentially, these people are paid internet trolls; their job is to stop any meaningful discussion online about the government." The magazine asks us to share the PDF, .torrent file and magnet link widely, so where better than Slashdot?"
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Oracle

+ - Calling Time on Oracle's Claims of MySQL FUD->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "Last month, the wider MySQL community called foul on Oracle's failure to publish test cases with the most recent MySQL release. But Oracle claimed this week at a conference in Brussels that talk of it winding in control of MySQL is "just FUD".

An insider to Oracle's thinking suggests that the community's grievances are indeed real but Oracle's motivation is internal politics and not malice towards the community. Could the hurt be healed by taking an idea from Apache?"
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Education

+ - Gates and others offer $150,000 to start open source community->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "With an impending deadline for America's schools to satisfy new federal reporting requirements on academic achievement, a new alliance of state educators is creating a system of open source software to help schools gather and submit the data that the rules require. To get the whole thing started, the Gates Foundation and Carnegie are funding two $75,000 awards for the open source developers who create the in-school software. The winners could also become the lynchpins of a new industry in academic software."
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Iphone

+ - iPhone 5 Scorns Standards Promise To European Commission->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "Back in 2009, Apple signed an agreement aimed at reducing electronic waste resulting from mobile phone accessories. But this week's launch of the iPhone 5 shows them reneging on that commitment. Instead of including a micro-USB connector on the iPhone, as they agreed to do along with the rest of the phone industry, they created yet another proprietary connector. At a stroke, they have junked earlier iPhone accessories, forced a new industry in Apple-only accessories to arise and broken their promise to the EC. It's a huge missed opportunity both for their customers and for the environment."
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Patents

+ - Easy Fix For Software Patents Found In US Patent Act->

Submitted by
WebMink
WebMink writes "What if there was an easy, inexpensive way to bring software patents under control, that did not involve Congress, which applied retrospectively to all patents and which was already part of the US Patent Act? Stanford law professor Mark Lemley thinks he's found it. He asserts that the current runaway destruction being caused by software patents is just like previous problems with US patent law, and that Congress included language in the Patent Act of 1952 that can be invoked over software patents just like it fixed the earlier problems. All it will take is a future defendant in a patent trial using his read of a crucial section of the Patent Act in their defence to establish case law. Can it really be that easy?"
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Comment: Re:Facts From OSI (Score 2) 158

by WebMink (#40930851) Attached to: Open-Source Movements Bicker Over Logo

The only questions remaining - why didn't the OP check with you, why didn't Slashdot editors check with you, and why hasn't there been an article update already?

Actually the IDG journalist involved did contact me; the text I posted above was copied from my reply to him! He even quoted the "build bridges" bullet...

Comment: Facts From OSI (Score 5, Informative) 158

by WebMink (#40930421) Attached to: Open-Source Movements Bicker Over Logo

I'm OSI's current president. Here are the facts that are missing from the OP:

  1. OSI has not sent any legal notice to OSHWA, does not want to and has no plans to do so.
  2. OSHWA approached OSI last year to ask about the relationship between the OSHW and OSI logos, which their internal discussion had identified as a problem.
  3. Since then, there has been an ongoing conversation between OSI & OSHWA. It's not been perfect, but everyone involved is a volunteer doing their best in a complicated situation.
  4. Last week OSHWA decided to consult its members/stakeholders about the matter before next steps with OSI.
  5. The template trademark agreement from OSI that they published was not a proposal or demand, it was just an example document to assist them in making a proposal to OSI. It was requested by OSHWA prior to a meeting between OSI & OSHWA on June 29.
  6. The discussions are ongoing and it's unhelpful to treat this as a conflict; neither OSI's Board nor (as far as I have been told) OSHWA's board do.
  7. OSI is very keen indeed to devise an approach that brings maximum benefit to the whole open source community and which builds bridges to strengthen it.
  8. When OSHWA's data-gathering ends (August 16) OSI will be ready with a strong proposal that fixes things.

They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps. -- William Shakespeare, "Love's Labour's Lost"

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