Comment It depends (Score 4, Insightful) 306
It depends on the license of the software. Always.
Submission + - Google Partners with OIN "To Help Linux Thrive (groklaw.net)
lymeca writes: "Groklaw reports that Google has become the Open Invention Network's first end user licensee. The OIN was established by companies such as IBM, Red Hat, and somewhat ironically Novell to accumulate patents and license them royalty free to any company who promises not to leverage their own patent portfolio against key applications available on GNU/Linux, including many GNU projects as well as Linux itself. As Chris DiBona, Google's open source programs manager puts it:
This marks an important and symbolic step forward in the battle between Free/Open Source Software and the looming specter of software patent infringements in nations which recognise them. Google's support bolsters the OIN's effectiveness as a shield against patent attacks against GNU/Linux and many popular applications which run on it."Linux plays a vital role at Google, and we're strongly committed to supporting the Linux developer community. We believe that by becoming an Open Invention Network licensee, we can encourage Linux development and foster innovation in a way that benefits everyone. We're proud to participate in OIN's mission to help Linux thrive.
Submission + - Microsoft Drops GPLv3 Like a Hot Rock 1
pilsner.urquell writes: "Microsoft yesterday issued a statement proclaiming that is isn't bound by GPLv3. Grolaw has a very humorous article about Microsoft's statement."
Submission + - Theo de Raadt details Intel Core 2 bugs
Eukariote writes: Recently, Intel patched bugs in its Core 2 processors . Details were scarce, soothing words that a BIOS update was all that was required were spoken. OpenBSD founder Theo de Raadt has now provided more details and analysis on outstanding, fixed, an non-fixable Core 2 bugs. Some choice quotes: "Some of these bugs (...) will *ASSUREDLY* be exploitable from userland code.", "Some of these are things that cannot be fixed in running code, and some are things that every operating system will do until about mid-2008".
Submission + - Linux finally getting XBMC
B47h0ry'5 CuR53 writes: XBMC is getting ported to Linux. A few developers of Team-XBMC have begun the porting of XBMC to Linux using OpenGL and the SDL toolkit. In this effort, they are recruiting developers. XBMC is, by far, one of the finest projects to come out of the open source community; and to think it is homebrew. XBMC is a massive project, with the current SVN branch weighing about 350M before compilation. Porting it will be a big effort and any hackers willing to contribute should check out the Linux port project.
Submission + - Google talks about future of Google News
Stony Stevenson writes: One of Google's most popular and controversial services, Google News, is the aggregation and search site that media companies love to hate because it has become a major source of Web traffic and frustrations for many of them.
In this interview, Nathan Stoll, a Google product manager involved with Google News, discusses the future of Google News and a possible marriage with YouTube.
Some of the future additions: "In an ideal world, Google News would show you who broke the story and the other articles that built on that. There are places where we're not doing that perfectly today."
In this interview, Nathan Stoll, a Google product manager involved with Google News, discusses the future of Google News and a possible marriage with YouTube.
Some of the future additions: "In an ideal world, Google News would show you who broke the story and the other articles that built on that. There are places where we're not doing that perfectly today."
Feed Collabnet fills its boots (theregister.com)
Acquires Sourceforge
Collabnet has acquired VA Software's Sourceforge enterprise edition business.
Submission + - Google's own MySQL enhancements
Anonymous Coward writes: "Google released its internally developed enhancements to MySQL to the open source community this week. Changes include improvements in replication, high availability configuration, and performance. It's nice to see big G contributing to SysAdmins and coders everywhere this code which it could easily have kept to itself as a competitive advantage...."
Feed BA edits Branson from Casino Royale (theregister.com)
Virgin boss excised from in-flight version
Virgin supremo Richard Branson is "somehow missing" from the version of Casino Royale shown on British Airways flights, the Telegraph reports.
Submission + - Star Wars, the lost interviews
smooth wombat writes: Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Release of Star Wars, Ballantine Books is publishing J.W. Rinzler's "The Making of Star Wars", which bills itself as "The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film."
The book is the result of Rinzler's discovery of interviews that Charles Lippincott, Lucasfilm's VP marketing and merchandising in the mid-'70s, conducted with the film's principals between 1975 and 1978. A tidbit from the book includes Lucas' reaction to the lines of people lined up to see the movie on opening day:
"Remember, science-fiction films do really great the first week, then they drop off to nothing. It's a good sign, but it doesn't mean anything. Let's wait a couple of weeks."
The book is the result of Rinzler's discovery of interviews that Charles Lippincott, Lucasfilm's VP marketing and merchandising in the mid-'70s, conducted with the film's principals between 1975 and 1978. A tidbit from the book includes Lucas' reaction to the lines of people lined up to see the movie on opening day:
"Remember, science-fiction films do really great the first week, then they drop off to nothing. It's a good sign, but it doesn't mean anything. Let's wait a couple of weeks."
Feed Google beats Microsoft, Coke in brand stakes (com.com)
Second time in a row a tech brand has beaten household name in ranking based on each brand's dollar value, market researcher says.
Feed Gordon Ramsay mashes up small businesses for BT (theregister.com)
'F*ck off 2.0'
BT has fingered marathon-running potty mouth Gordon "b*llocks, a*se, sh*t" Ramsay as the ideal Michelin-starred gourmet to extol the virtues of social networking to Britain's small business owners.
Journal Journal: Google definately has a sense of humor
The guys at Google definately have a sense of humor. Go to http://maps.google.com/. Click on "Get Directions". Make your starting point New York City and your destination London. You will find detailed directions to one of New York's wharfs, and the next step in your journey is a nice 3400+ mile swim. I found this quite amusing.
Vendor Enterprise Client 16
Hi all, my name is Alan and I would like to introduce John and John (no relation). It is our turn in the barrel this week as we dovetail from the recent discussion around Core Microarchitecture and focus on enterprise laptops and desktops. We work in Intel's IT department and want to spend the week relating our experiences, direction and challenges in managing a large and diverse client environment.
Manhunt 2 Confirmed for Wii 65
Of all the licenses I expected to see on the Wii, the ultra-violent Manhunt title was not one of them. Coming to the 'next-gen alternative' trifecta of PSP, PS2, and Wii this summer is Manhunt 2 (not to be confused with the Sierra Manhunter adventure game series). The followup to the violent Rockstar title from 2003 will 'push game design and storytelling forward', sticking close to the original's dark suspense/stealth motifs.
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