I spent some time this week looking into the various public software licenses, such as the GPL, but they are all so complicated. I have been working on some software over the last couple of weeks and I want to distribute it with a valid license. Today, I read a weblog post about the Creative Commons License [Scott Loftesness]. So, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and I am now distributing my weblog under this license. I like how Creative Commons has made it easy to tailor a license for a particular need. I have always felt that the GPL is too restrictive for my tastes, so I like having the option of relaxing the requirements on intellectual property that I create, without having to go to the trouble of hiring a lawyer.
12:16:33 PM    

For the last few years, "digital convergence" has been touted as the next big thing in technology. Companies like Microsoft and Real have tried to build software that would make good on the hype by building all-in-on media software. Cell phone manufacturers have added features such as digital cameras and multimedia messaging to their phones. However, none of these approaches has really attacked the problem of true digital convergence. The GNU Radio project may be the first project to really go after this prize full force. By building software that can do anything that is currently in the domain of hardware, GNU Radio hopes to turn all "hardware problems into software problems" [Salon].

You can think of it as a set of building blocks," Blossom says. "Mixers, phase lock loops, filters: All the things you build into an ordinary radio device can be built using software. You just need a way to tie them all together.

The project has started with the modest goal of building an AM/FM radio with software. With that project a success, they are currently working on an HDTV tuner. Ultimately, they hope to build a platform of tools that would work on any device much the way Linux works on any computer.

MIT's Oxygen project has the much larger goal of "Bringing abundant computation and communication, as pervasive and free as air, naturally into people's lives." But, part of their mission has been to build a convergent device the works much like the one GNU Radio is working on [Oxygen].

Moore's law mandates that hardware become generic and capable of running any type of software. GNU Radio should accelerate that process. It will be impossible for industry to sit idly by and watch a bunch of hackers pull the convergence rug right out from under them. Keep your eyes on this project.
10:56:48 AM