A second hat in the ring. The Cornell and Virginia Fedora Project is an important open-access initiative. The Red Hat Fedora Project is an important open-source initiative. The OA initiative came first, by about five years. The OS initiative came second, but was the first to apply for trademark on the name "Fedora". The OA initiative has tried negotiation, to no avail, and is considering legal action. For more, see the OA-Fedora's press release. (PS: Note to Red Hat. This is a case of good guy v. good guy. Don't make us take sides. And don't make us associate Red Hat with a company that takes out a trademark on name with pre-existing usage in a similar arena and then tries to assert a right to its exclusive use. Is that in the spirit of OS?) [Open Access News]
6:58:01 PM    

Web services: Users say they're proceeding cautiously. More companies are using Web services, but their level of commitment remains measured as they wait for vendors to solve interoperability, security and reliability issues. [Computerworld News]
6:55:26 PM    

EMANI moves to the web. The Electronic Mathematical Archiving Network Initiative (EMANI) now has a web site. EMANI's mission is to digitize mathematics journals and assure their long-term preservation and accessibility. The project includes both the back runs and future issues of participating journals, some of which are open-access and some priced. EMANI focuses on journal literature, and should not be confused with the Distributed Digital Library of Mathematical Monographs, even though they are sponsored by some of the same institutions (notably, Cornell and Göttingen Universities). However, Cornell's partnership in EMANI does seem to imply that EMANI subsumes or at least embraces Project Euclid. (Thanks to UKSG Serials eNews.) [Open Access News]
10:32:30 AM    

Open-access repository at EPA. On November 18, the US Environmental Protection Agency launched Science Inventory, an open-access repository of EPA-funded research projects, their results and data. The repository is several years old, but until now access was limited to EPA employees. The November 18 ceremony opened it to the public. Quoting EPA Acting Deputy Administrator Steve Johnson from the press release: "Americans invest hundreds of millions of dollars every year in EPA's human health and environmental science. Now that very science is easily accessible to anyone with a link to the Internet. The public launch of the Science Inventory is another example of open, transparent government." (PS: This is exemplary. Every funding agency, or at least every taxpayer-supported funding agency, should launch a similar repository.) [Open Access News]
10:31:59 AM