Bill Day: Penguiniana

On the move again . . .

Sat, 04 Jan 2003 04:21:01 GMT

A Web Undone 2 is moving again, but will hopefully stay put for a while in its new home at http://www.williamsonday.com.

Data-loss bug afflicts Linux - Tech News - CNET.com

Sat, 07 Dec 2002 03:10:37 GMT

"Though this bug slipped through the cracks for a time, Linux programmers are working to create a less freewheeling process for tracking and fixing problems in their code. The Linux community, a self-directed group of programmers who collectively develop the Unix clone, doesn't have a suit-and-tie dress code, but it is becoming more formal."

I wanna hold your hand: Linux for PDA's

Sun, 17 Nov 2002 04:30:38 GMT

"In the past year, there have been numerous announcements of Linux-based handheld computers and PDAs for both general purpose and specialized mobile computing applications, that are either newly released or in various stages of development. "

Thu, 14 Nov 2002 11:59:18 GMT

Bracing for MS Patent Suit Attack. With the Microsoft antitrust settlement more or less settled, open-source advocates worry the company may renew its assault on free software by filing patent lawsuits. By Robert McMillan. [Wired News]

Sun, 06 Oct 2002 15:47:31 GMT

Music Industry Targets Net Swappers [New York Times: Technology]

This decision could apparently go either way. I hope that the Judge sees fit to protect the privacy rights of Internet users. The music industry should not be allowed to arrogate extraordinary enforcement powers to itself in order to protect a failing business model.

The Real Battle

Sat, 05 Oct 2002 16:02:47 GMT

"But I feared no evil. No, not only because Linux was with me but because Linux was with the audience--whether they knew it or not. Technologists--of which there were approximately none in attendance--put it there."

Searls makes the point that what people do matters as much as what they say.

Fri, 04 Oct 2002 12:34:43 GMT

Gosling: Microsoft's Java threat is financial, not technical. C Sharp is 'obvious clone' [The Register] [[ t e c h n o c u l t u r e ]]

A Word to the Wise

Fri, 04 Oct 2002 04:32:28 GMT

The Book on Mitnick Is by Mitnick. The social-engineering hacker whose name is synonymous with computer fraud has a new book and a nearly new lease on life. By Michelle Delio. [Wired News]

Looks like one for the reading list. Mitnick apparently describes the importance of the "human factor" in security. According to the review, he gives multiple examples of how human beings' best instincts can be manipulated so that they will reveal sensitive information, and also explains how having the common sense to say "no" to strangers can prevent many security breaches.

Thu, 03 Oct 2002 12:31:13 GMT

Microsoft Reports Progress in Averting Computer Crashes [New York Times: Technology] Hey, what more can you add to this? [grin] [[ t e c h n o c u l t u r e ]]

What the story doesn't mention is that Microsoft's error reporting software is a technique borrowed from the "open source" community that Microsoft so reviles.

Thu, 03 Oct 2002 12:29:10 GMT

Linux heavies play version name game. <> [CNET News.com] [[ t e c h n o c u l t u r e ]] A Rose by any other name . . .

Fri, 27 Sep 2002 19:01:44 GMT

Mac OS X Rapidly Catching On With *nix Geeks : Although there is still plenty of controversy around Mac OS X, Apple seems to have made the right choice by using NeXTstep and BSD Unix as the foundation for OS X. (Low End Mac via MyAppleMenu) [MyAppleMenu]

Red Hat 8.0 To Launch This Month With Enhanced Linux Desktop - CRN.com - 9/17/02 2:40:03 PM

Fri, 27 Sep 2002 03:52:14 GMT

"You will see a corporate desktop and a single-person desktop," said Erik Troan, senior director of product marketing for Red Hat Linux. "We cleaned up the look and feel with themes, and Red Hat developed a clean look and that is unified across KDE or GNOME applications. It will be announced reasonably soon."

Let Freedom Ping

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 04:49:05 GMT

"As a working (and consuming) class hero, Ralph is right up there with Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg and César Chavez. No other individual has had more influence on the biggest industry in the United States--automobiles--than Ralph Nader. The man has single-mouthedly saved thousands of lives. We owe him. So why can't I listen to him? Because he has already won and doesn't know it."

Doc Searls has a fascinating essay from late 2000 in which he argues that the rise of the Free Software movement coincides with the restoration of a decentralized craft-based industrial model to the modern economy. As a result, the control of large centralized corporations over workers and consumers is eroding. Written at the height of the high tech bubble, this essay is fascinating but unduly optimistic. Ultimately, Ralph Nader is more in tune with the true nature of today's economy than Doc Searls.

Where the Jobs Are

Mon, 16 Sep 2002 03:02:59 GMT

"While today it's still true that Linux/UNIX administrators may find jobs faster than Microsoft NT/2000/XP administrators--one mid-2002 study found a proportionally stronger demand for UNIX skills--the job climate has changed dramatically with the technology meltdown."

Lessig on Freedom: Use It or Lose It

Mon, 16 Sep 2002 02:47:50 GMT

"Lessig then described the gradual displacement of unregulated and "fair" use by endlessly extended copyright terms, as well as by a now-common assumption, driven by Hollywood, that copyright is an absolute form of property ownership. Then he chided the audience--a concentration of technologists who uniquely understand the nature of freedom and openness--for losing the battle with Hollywood for control of the copyright argument:"

Senator pulls support for copyright bill - Tech News - CNET.com

Sat, 07 Sep 2002 04:58:02 GMT

"Opening this legislation to the digital realm has caused the virtually unanimous industry support behind it to evaporate, and it has raised a host of troubling liability issues that cause substantial harm to Internet service providers," Allen, who chairs the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force, said in a statement.

An Alternative to Microsoft Gains Support in High Places

Fri, 06 Sep 2002 05:24:24 GMT

"Microsoft worries that some governments may all but require the use of Linux for their powerful servers, which provide data to large networks of computer users. For the most part, the battle does not involve the kind of software that runs on the typical computer user's desk.

"To curb such moves, Microsoft is backing an industry group called the Initiative for Software Choice. The group lists 20 members -- besides the chip maker Intel, a close ally, most of them small foreign companies or organizations. (Illegally stifling choice, of course, was precisely what the federal courts in the long-running antitrust case ruled that Microsoft did in the market for personal computer software.)"

Sat, 31 Aug 2002 17:04:54 GMT

Breathwork and open source. You might think one has nothing to do with the other. But someone on a mail list devoted to breathwork, that I subscribe to, has constructed an amazing argument, fantastic in its boldness, with elements of truth, but quite misleading. [Scripting News]

As Dave Winer says, worth posting and pondering.

Sat, 31 Aug 2002 06:37:16 GMT

The New SCO: Lessons for Linux in Business. It turns out that SCO was bigger than Caldera after all. What can we learn from a former "Linux company" whose UNIX business is 90+% non-Linux? [Linux Journal]

Fri, 23 Aug 2002 04:30:23 GMT

The Linux developer lifestyle, exposed. Are open-source developers all sandal-wearing geeks? A new survey reveals a detailed picture of free software developers' motivations and expectations--and even their personal lives. [CNET News.com]