christian.einfeldt - Slashdot User

Submission + - Dell is satisfied with sales of Linux machines (computerworld.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Tuesday April 15, 2008 @09:29PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "According to ComputerWorld magazine on-line, Dell is pleased with its sales of notebook and desktop computers preloaded with Ubuntu Linux. As a result, the number two computer manufacturer is continuing to expand the pre-loaded Linux program to new computer models and markets. 'A [sales] number is not going to validate it as much as our actions to date,' which include adding new models and configurations, said Dell spokeswoman Anne Camden. Dell's decision to offer pre-loaded Linux was the result of suggestions by more than 100,000 people who posted to Dell's IdeaStorm website in February, 2007. Ten weeks later, in May last year, Dell announced that it would begin selling Linux-loaded machines to consumers and businesses."

Submission + - Lessig bets on social networking to clean up gov. (wired.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Friday March 21, 2008 @02:50AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Stanford Law Professor Larry Lessig really 'gets it' when it comes to the efficacy of distributed open source code production, and now he is attempting to use distributed production methods to expose corruption in the US Congress with the launch of another 'cc' organization, this time called 'Change Congress'. CC (as opposed to cc for Creative Commons) would invite users to track whether US legislators are willing to commit to Change Congress' four pledges. CC will rely on users to record and map the positions of candidates who are running for open seats in the US House and the Senate. Change Congress will use a Google mash-up to create a map depicting which legislators have taken the CC pledge, which have declined, and which have signaled support for planks in the Change-Congress platform. The four pledges (which are not numbered 0 through 3) basically call for greater transparency in government, and less influence of private money in shaping legislation."

Submission + - Google calls for unification of OOXML into ODF (blogspot.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Wednesday February 27, 2008 @06:12AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "In an official Google blog, Google's Open Source Programs Manager, Zaheda Bhorat, calls for unification of Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) electronic document specification into the existing ISO standard, the OpenDocument Format. Ms. Bhorat's post, submitted from Geneva, Switerland, is directed to the members of the ISO National Boards there in Geneva who are now in the midst of an intense 5-day Ballot Resolution Meeting aimed at deciding the fate of Microsoft's bid for ISO status for OOXML. Her post is interesting because it articulates a view that seems most likely to get Microsoft over the hump of thousands of objections lodged by ISO members during a prior vote last September, when Microsoft's efforts fell 13% short of reaching the required 67% mark. She suggests using the best of OOXML to improve the current ISO standard, ODF, formally known as ISO/IEC 26300:2006, via a process called 'unification.' As it is, though, according to Ms. Bhorat, OOXML would be 'insufficient and unnecessary' as a stand-alone second standard without unification."

Submission + - Firefox hits 500 million downloads (mozilla.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Friday February 22, 2008 @05:34PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "The official Mozilla blog is announcing that the Free Open Source Firefox web browser has hit the auspicious landmark of 500 million downloads. Of course, this number has tremendous implications for the growth of Free Open Source Software, as the success of this wildly popular browser means that more websites will need to plan for interoperability with Firefox, which in turns blunts attempts by proprietary software vendors from restricting the web browsing experience of users of Free Open Source Software operating systems such as GNU Linux, BSD, and Solaris."

Submission + - Study Proves Squirrels Capable of Deception (discovery.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Friday February 22, 2008 @01:55AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "In a case of science proving what we already knew, it turns out that squirrels really are devious and clever little creatures capable of deceiving other squirrels and even humans with deceptive nut-caching behavior. Biologists at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA, tracked squirrels as they went about hiding their nuts for the winter. The squirrels were able to tell when the researchers were pilfering nuts that the squirrels had cached, and adjusted their behavior accordingly to defeat those same researchers from digging up subsequently-buried treasures. But Professor Lisa Leaver, a senior lecturer of psychology at the University of Exeter, cautioned against concluding that squirrels can 'think' in the human sense: 'no one has yet proven that squirrels can understand the intentions of others, which would mean that they possess "theory of mind," so she [Leaver] thinks it's possible squirrels simply act based on trial and error.'"

Submission + - Microsoft's View of Standards as Tools of War (boycottnovell.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Tuesday February 19, 2008 @02:20AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Tech media maven Roy Schestowitz and Pamela Jones of Groklaw have unearthed 1997 documents from the Iowa anti-trust case of 'Comes v. Microsoft,' in which Microsoft Technical Evangelist James Plamondon talks about the importance of stacking seemingly 'neutral' panels to assure that Microsoft platforms are adopted as de facto standards. In a 'Highly Confidential' document entitled 'Evangelism is War', Plamondon justifies his step-by-step strategy for stacking 'neutral' panels as a necessary act of 'war.' He suggests ways to enhance the apparent popularity of Microsoft platforms as standards for the purpose of convincing 'enemies' that adoption of the Microsoft platform as a standard is inevitable, and 'surrender' is the only option. Groklaw's Pamela Jones draws a parallel to the current-day work of Technical Evangelist Rick Jelliffe, who says that he has been hired by Microsoft to act as a 'Devil's Advocate' for the National Board of Australia in Microsoft's upcoming bid to have Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) accepted as a second international electronic document format ISO standard. Recent efforts by Microsoft to change the composition of the ISO national panels have resulted in some controversy and have spawned a new EU probe into potential anti-trust claims based on the way that Microsoft influenced the composition of some of the national boards to vote in the upcoming ISO ballot."

Submission + - SCO to obtain $100 million investment (groklaw.net)

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christian.einfeldt

on Thursday February 14, 2008 @05:43PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "SCO Group Inc. said private equity firm Stephen Norris Capital Partners and partners in the Middle East will provide up to $100 million to finance SCO's efforts to go private and get out of bankruptcy. Groklaw notes that the press release says that this investment will allow SCO to 'to see SCO's legal claims through to their full conclusion', which Pamela Jones interprets as more courtroom attacks on Tux."

Submission + - Microsoft standing firm on OOXML ISO vote (fanaticattack.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Monday February 11, 2008 @10:29PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Microsoft has responded via the industry trade goup ECMA to some of the thousands of criticisms of its submission of Office Open XML (OOXML) as an ISO standard. Open standards advocate Russell Ossendryver takes a look at those responses to see if Microsoft has made significant changes in either the substance of OOXML or the manner in which the OOXML specification will be maintained going forward. Ossendryver concludes that Microsoft's position has not siginficantly changed, but only hardened in place in advance of the Ballot Resolution Meeting which is to occur from February 25 through 29 in Geneva, Switzerland. While no one can say for certain whether Microsoft will succeed in having its OOXML specification win the nod from the international community, Ossendryer thinks that Microsoft's firm stance will actually backfire."

Submission + - Why a live Linux CD? (fanaticattack.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Tuesday February 05, 2008 @03:00AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Regular Slashdot readers know that one of the best uses of a live Linux CDs is to rescue a crippled Windows box, but now Free Open Source Software advocate Russell Ossendryver has written a newbie-friendly tip sheet that will resonate with Windows users who are the first to call in a panic when Microsoft Windows gives up the ghost. Ossendryver's tip page offers pleasing screen shots which step the new user through the process of using the Live CD to bring that crippled Windows box back to life with a new (GNU) operating system. Printing out Ossendryver's article and wrapping it around a live Linux CD and leaving it in easy reach of that end user's Windows machine might save a few hours of tech support later on."

Submission + - Internet failure hits two continents (cnn.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Friday February 01, 2008 @12:13AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "CNN is reporting that Internet services have been disrupted across large tracts of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Industry experts are blaming damage to two undersea cables. It is not known what caused the damage, but an errant boat anchor is thought to be the cause of the problem. There are no reports suggesting terrorism at this time. The two cables damaged are FLAG Telecom's FLAG Europe-Asia cable and SeaMeWe-4, a cable owned by a consortium of more than a dozen telecommunications companies. Until the cables are repaired, an international consortium will try re-routing traffic around the globe or using an older undamaged cable that has less capacity — both of which would cause usage delays. There were concerns in India that an Internet slowdown could affect trading patterns at the country's two major exchanges, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Delhi and the SENSEX exchange in Bombay. The nations of Israel, Lebannon and Iraq were apparently not affected, as their traffic uses a different route."

Submission + - All Major Labels to Stream Free Music on Last.fm (wired.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Wednesday January 23, 2008 @11:33PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Some might call it 'too little too late', but it appears that all four major music labels are now moving toward a plan to distribute music for free (as in beer) across the Last.fm website, which is a social media site acquired by CBS in May, 2007. The plan calls for listeners to be able to play any song three times from the portfolios of the Big Four major labels — Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and EMI Music — plus Ioda, Naxos, The Orchard and about 150,000 indie labels and bands. Cookies must be enabled, or the music won't play — at least until that system is cracked, if it isn't already cracked. The total number of songs available now is 3.5 million, according to Last.fm co-founder Martin Stiksel, who adds that Last.fm will never stop adding content. 'The mission is to have every track available,' said Stiksel."

Submission + - Low-Cost Linux Computers Now on Sears.com (linspire.com) 1

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christian.einfeldt

on Thursday January 17, 2008 @02:19AM

christian.einfeldt writes: "In the wake of reports that low-end GNU Linux computers and devices sold very well on Amazon.com in 2007, now comes an announcement from Linspire that its community distro, Freespire, will come pre-installed on a desktop box offered on Sears.com for under $200.00 USD. Built by long-time Linspire partner Mirus Innovations, the box will ship with a Celeron D 420-1.6Ghz chip, one 1 gigabyte of RAM, and an 80 gigabyte hard drive. With Wal-Mart selling out its low-end Linux offering in weeks, this new offering by the risk-adverse venerable old Sears lends some objective credence to opinions by industry observers who see a trend of Linux occupying the low-end PC market. While the Mirus desktop is at the other end of the spectrum from the high-end MacBook Air, also announced this week, it is nonetheless interesting to compare the power of these two very different products, while contrasting the six to one price differential of the two products."

Submission + - Is OOXML ready for ISO status? (fanaticattack.com)

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christian.einfeldt

on Friday January 11, 2008 @07:53PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "The pre-eminent world standards body, ISO, will be holding a vote in Geneva, Switzerland, from February 25 throough 29 as to whether Microsoft's OOXML should be approved as a second standard for electronic data formats in addition to the current sole ISO standard, the OpenDocument Format. All parties agree that the stakes are high. In September 2007, Doug Mahugh, Microsoft's Open XML evangelist, called ISO status the 'Gold Standard' and said that it was in Microsoft's commercial interest to expedite approval of OOXML as an ISO standard. But open standards advocate Russell Ossendryver writes that there are some lingering questions about OOXML that are as fundamental as why Microsoft chose the name, 'Office Open XML', which Ossendryver notes has created confusion even with some official Microsoft press releases and blogs. Other questions raised go to the feasibility of actually implementing OOXML, and the wisdom of relying on Microsoft's promise not to sue as contained in its 'Open Specification Promise.'"

Submission + - Surprising grassroots opposition to OOXML growing (noooxml.org)

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christian.einfeldt

on Thursday January 10, 2008 @06:48PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "One might think that something as arcane as a data format standard would not generate international outcry, but more than 76,505 people in 45 languages have signed a petition to oppose Microsoft's bid to gain ISO status for its OOXML format, and the rate of new users is accelerating. The ISO vote on OOXML as a standard is coming on February 25-29, and all parties agree that the stakes are high. In September 2007, Doug Mahugh, Microsoft's Open XML evangelist, called ISO status the 'Gold Standard' and said that it was in Microsoft's commercial interest to expedite approval of OOXML as an ISO standard, and, in its haste, actually lost one country when Sweden withdrew its vote for OOXML due to admitted irregularities in the vote, and saw controversy in the votes of New Zealand and Hungary as well."

Submission + - Automated Document Generator Released for ODF (jejik.com)

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Tuesday January 08, 2008 @06:07PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "Lone Wolves, a Netherlands-based non-profit, has announced that it is releasing an XSLT documents generator that will allow users to automatically create complex, powerful documents from templates without human intervention using cron jobs. Lone Wolves claims that its project, simply called the "ODF-XSLT Document Generator" project, allows reports to be generated with any ODF-compliant office suite, not just OpenOffice.org, as is the case with Sun Microsystems' Report Builder, and with any ODF document type, not just OpenDocument Text, as is the case with JODReports. Lone Wolves acknowledges, though, that Sun's Report Builder and Mirko Nasato's JODReports are easier to understand. Still, it appears that Lone Wolves' project brings important extensibility and interoperability to ODF-compliant office suites at a crucial time, as critics are voicing concerns with interoperability of Microsoft's competing OOXML specification, which will be seeking ISO standard status in a vote at the end of February, 2008."

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