I want Linux to succeed because I believe Linux is an excellent operating system, that the GPL is a cool thing, and that open source in general is something worth building upon. But does success for Linux have to come at the price of ripping down Microsoft? No, it doesn't. But, when they try to distort reality with their perceptions, we need to counter their statements with the truth. Not with scathing flames and rants, but with our own calm and reasonable statements. We have to get the word out beyond our little community and into the mindset of the wider public view.

Patents have been a lightning rod issue in the Open Source/Free Software communities for some time now. This feature looks at the legacy of Jerome Lemelson, who played the patent game to the tune of $1.5 billion and counting in what this article calls "an intellectual land grab." Read about the man who earned almost as many patents as Thomas Edison.

Within the next few days, IBM is slated to open the doors to the new Linux Community Development System (LCDS), giving away free access to a high-end S/390 mainframe with very few strings attached. The aim is to spur development of Open Source applications on S/390 Linux. Many Open Source projects of any size -- can't afford to buy a System/390 or zSeries mainframe to test their code for portability. IBM wants to help small-scale developers test their code on the big iron.

These release notes describe system requirements, installation instructions, and known issues for the Mozilla 0.9 release.

Caldera Systems Inc has announced the completion of the acquisition of The Santa Cruz Operation Inc (SCO) Server Software and Professional Services divisions, UnixWare and OpenServer technologies. Caldera thus becomes the largest Linux company in the world with sales, support and marketing representation in 82 countries.

A file system usually comprises of blocks of data. A typical filesystem volume starts with a `Super Block’, which has all information regarding used and unused blocks as well as availability and location of various inodes. Only the superuser can access super block.

Blocks

Robotics enthusiasts are probably familiar with Nitinol: an alloy that "remembers" its shape when heated electrically. It's the basis of the notorious"Stiquito" robots, which weigh mere ounces and get around on their own power. This article shows how to build a Nitonol-based robot which is control with a Linux PC using the parallel port interface.

So is 'Microsoft Shared Source' a failed attempt at Open Source? No. It is a demonstration of how far Microsoft are from grasping the entire concept of Open Source. The very language they use to describe 'Shared Source' misses the point of Free Software. To them 'Shared Source' remains about control and 'owning code'. Free Software is about generating revenue from doing work the customer wants and will pay for. It recognizes that much of the software world is now commodity and that proprietary software with all its overheads is in fact not a sustainable business for commodity products.

Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening is expected to sign a bill that exempts Open Source software from "mandatory warranties" found in the state's Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act, on the urging of Red Hat and the Open Source Initiative. The bill is part of Red Hat's larger effort to work with UCITA advocates to rework parts of the legislation that are distasteful to the Open Source community.

Lineo decides to call "FUD" in this statement, wherein the company maintains that Microsoft is "clearly intimidated and threatened," and stresses its own advantages in the embedded market, where it's been fairly unabashed over the prospects of respecting intellectual property and cleaving to the letter of the GPL.