Forgent sues Microsoft, alleging JPEG patent infringement – Computerworld
“Forgent Networks Inc. has added Microsoft Corp. to the list of companies it has sued alleging infringement of a patent for a data compression technique it claims is used in the JPEG digital image standard.The lawsuit, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, comes after Forgent was unable to negotiate a licensing agreement with the software maker, said Michael Noonan, director of investor relations at Forgent.“
Remixing the Desktop
Remixing how we use the Open Source desktop
“To understand how to design for proper integration, you need to first explore what people actually use their computers for. Aside from recreational use, the majority of businesses users, and those who actually work on their computers all utilise them within the concept of a project. Within this context, you find users who mentally hook together different applications with the intention of satisfying criteria to achieve a project or goal. This can be demonstrated with a simple use case.“
Open Source Methods Make the World Go Round
Slashdot | Open Source Methods Useful Way Beyond Software
“Former head of policy at the British Prime Minister’s office, Geoff Mulgan, has co-authored a paper on uses of Open Source methods in arenas far beyond the normal Sourceforge universe. The paper is jointly written with Tom Steinberg, head of UK civic hacking fraternity mySociety and explores the use of open source methods to improve academic peer review, drafting of legislation and even media regulation.“
Interestingly enough, this is a position that CALI holds and it is reflected in this year’s conference theme.
Open Law Review ‘Bad’ List Removed
Open Access Law: Open Law Reviews
“The left column has changed. Details on why soon…“
Over at Open Access Law, Dan Hunter has removed the listing of ‘Good and Bad Law Reviews‘
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I would wonder if it is just a layout issue as alluded to earlier,or if he is getting heat from some of the ‘Bad Law Reviews’? FWIW, I agree with Dan that Law reviews should be more open with access to their articles. I guess we’ll just wait and see.
NBC Analyst Admits Taking Payola
BetaNews | NBC Analyst Admits Receiving Tech Payola
“Details of a payola scheme by NBC tech analyst Cory Greenberg surfaced Wednesday, in which he was receiving upwards of $15,000 a piece from technology companies to positively promote their products on NBC’s Today Show. The news underscores an emerging trend of questionable review practices, both online and off.“
Adobe Buys Macromedia
Ben Chapman lets teknoids know that Adobe is buying Macromedia. As one can imagine, there is lots of press on this.
The deal is pure stock, valuing Macromedia at $3.4 billion, a healthy premium over its current value. The combination will bring together a varied catalog of products with an emphasis on rich document development and deployment.
Rater of Change in Linux 2.6 Kerenl Sparks Debate
Kernel Changes Draw Concern from Open-Source Community
“Members of the open-source community are expressing concern over rapid feature changes in the Linux 2.6 kernel, which they say are too focused on the desktop and could make the kernel too large.“
The inclusion of features for gamers and music, as well as uncertainty about the future of virtualization in the kernel are causing concern for some of the large corporations feeding off of Linux. This will certainly get worse before it gets better. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see a fork in the code in the not to distant future with the BigCos taking on the development of an ‘enterprise’ kernel and the volunteer developers continuing on with a kernel for the rest of us.
CODEC – NYLS CODEC Wortkshop Update
CODEC – NYLS CODEC Wortkshop Update
We’ll be getting together with about 40 faculty and administrators at New York Law School on April 22. The agenda is here. I’ll certainly be willing to talk about some CODEC features and Classcaster.
IBM Seeks Firefox Talent
Slashdot | IBM to Hire Firefox Developers
“According to news.com, IBM has placed an employment ad for a developer who would be responsible for ‘enhancing the Mozilla Firefox Web browser with new features complimentary to IBM’s On Demand middleware stack.’ IBM might possibly be interested in FireFox integration with their Workplace software. The job is not for just anyone, however, as those who wish to apply for the job should have some cred with the Mozilla development community.“
Solaris Out, Linux In @ Duke
Slashdot | Linux to Replace Solaris at Duke
“At the end of the 2004-2005 academic year, the Sun Solaris computers available in public computing labs at Duke University will be replaced. The replacement computers in these spaces will be Dells, running a version of Centos 3.3 as supported by Linux@DUKE. Pragmatic and technical considerations have driven this change, as Linux continues to gain a greater userbase and more third-party commercial software is made available on the platform. Are other universities eliminating Solaris in favor of a Linux distribution?“