A group of leading independent websites are planning to launch a new Linux cooperative website in conjunction with “wIndependence Day 2002.” The unveiling of the new web site is scheduled to take place early next week.
The Gnome Foundation announced the final release of the much touted, much delayed GNOME 2 desktop environment today. As the desktop of choice for RedHat Linux and Debian GNU/Linux, as well as Solaris and HP/UX, the significance of this release is only rivaled by KDE3's release in April.
OEone, the developer of the internet appliance-like HomeBase Linux distribution, announced that HomeBase 1.5 has been released. The new release adds a number of nice features on to the system we reviewed back in March.
In somewhat of surprise move, Wal-Mart, the United States largest retailer, has started selling PC's pre-loaded with a Linux distribution. The PC's, similar to the ones that Wal-Mart made news with earlier this year by selling them without any operating system, range from $300-$600.
CodeWeavers, a leading contributor to the WINE project, announced today that they had made available an update release to their CrossOver Office product. The new release adds official support of Microsoft Outlook and Internet Explorer to CO Office's repertoire.
Time and again, one of the most common excuses about moving to Linux is that it does not have Microsoft Office. Never mind that OpenOffice.org provides most everything one needs, people are use to Office, and are not interested in changing, thank-you very much.
In an unprecedented move today, Caldera, Conectiva, SuSE, and Turbolinux announced a joint development program known as UnitedLinux. As was expected based on leaks from the companies earlier this week, the foursome will merge their R&D efforts to create one core Linux distribution.
Leading Linux distributor RedHat, Inc. announced today a policy on its much publicized patent registrations. According to the company, “we are forced to live in the world as it is, and that world currently permits software patents. A relatively small number of very large companies have amassed large numbers of software patents. We believe such massive software patent portfolios are ripe for misuse because of the questionable nature of many software patents generally and because of the high cost of patent litigation.”
What is Open Source? It is a simple enough question, yet the answer has become so obscure that it is anything but simple. The phrase is undisputedly at the core of what drives the Linux community even while it eludes nearly everyone as to what its exact definition is.