Help your favorite "public interest" free software project win $10,000

Nominations are now open for the Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest. The winner could be someone you know, or someone whose work you admire, but don’t mull over your recommendation too long — entries must be submitted by September 30.

Nominations are now open for the Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest. The winner could be someone you know, or someone whose work you admire, but don’t mull over your recommendation too long — entries must be submitted by September 30.

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Meet Open Invention Network CEO Keith Bergelt (video)

Linux.com correspondent R. Scott Belford caught up with Open Invention Network CEO Keith Bergelt at the 2008 LinuxWorld Expo and had a pleasant (on-camera) conversation with him.

Linux.com correspondent R. Scott Belford caught up with Open Invention Network CEO Keith Bergelt at the 2008 LinuxWorld Expo and had a pleasant (on-camera) conversation with him.

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Open options for cloud computing

Some cloud computing vendors, such as 3tera and Nirvani, push their own proprietary platforms and tools, which forces adopters to limit their options and work in a restricted or closed architecture. When these established vendors say cloud, they mean their cloud. As a result, Web developers may believe that, in order to use cloud computing, they must accept limitations in the way they write and build their applications. But that view is a misconception; open standards for cloud computing are already in place and are being
tweaked.

Some cloud computing vendors, such as 3tera and Nirvani, push their own proprietary platforms and tools, which forces adopters to limit their options and work in a restricted or closed architecture. When these established vendors say cloud, they mean their cloud. As a result, Web developers may believe that, in order to use cloud computing, they must accept limitations in the way they write and build their applications. But that view is a misconception; open standards for cloud computing are already in place and are being
tweaked.

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Managing MySQL in the Amazon EC2 Cloud (02 Oct 2008)

Join us for this informative technical webinar with Michael Crandell, CEO of RightScale, the most popular management system for MySQL Enterprise on Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). You’ll learn the fundamentals of deploying, optimizing and scaling MySQL in the cloud. We will also discuss the impact of Amazon’s new persistent storage feature, Elastic Block Storage, in deploying durable and portable MySQL-backed applications.

Also included will be a deep-dive into the advanced auto-scaling, load balancing and monitoring features of the RightScale Dashboard. Finally, there will be an introduction to the professional services and production support available for MySQL in the cloud from Sun Microsystems.

Date and Time: Thursday, 02 Oct 2008, 10:00 am PST, 1:00 pm EST, 18:00 GMT
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China takes lead in Linux education

Since the Chinese government began supporting domestic open source communities in 2005, hundreds of thousands of young people in the world’s most populous country have become a part of the open source world.

Since the Chinese government began supporting domestic open source communities in 2005, hundreds of thousands of young people in the world’s most populous country have become a part of the open source world.

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Learn about the Open Source Census (video)

The Open Source Census goes way beyond the traditional, too rarely used Linux Counter. It claims to be "the first collaborative, global project to count the number of installations for each open source software package." A lofty (and possibly unobtainable) goal, perhaps, but in this video, shot at LinuxWorld 2008, OpenLogic’s Kim Wein explains why OpenLogic, along with more than a dozen other companies and groups, is sponsoring the Open Source Census.

The Open Source Census goes way beyond the traditional, too rarely used Linux Counter. It claims to be "the first collaborative, global project to count the number of installations for each open source software package." A lofty (and possibly unobtainable) goal, perhaps, but in this video, shot at LinuxWorld 2008, OpenLogic’s Kim Wein explains why OpenLogic, along with more than a dozen other companies and groups, is sponsoring the Open Source Census.

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Fluendo walks the line between free and proprietary codecs

Despite all its advances, GNU/Linux remains weak in its support for proprietary audio and video codecs. Because these codecs are often encumbered by patents, distributions must choose either to include support of questionable legality or else exclude it altogether. In the middle of this controversy sits Fluendo, a Catalan company of about 50 employees that is a main contributor to projects like GStreamer, and supports open formats, but also offers licensed, proprietary codecs such as Windows Media Video and MPEG4. While many would argue that this dual position is necessary, it’s one that sometimes creates an unasy balance for the company, says Muriel Moscardini, Fluendo’s sale director.

Despite all its advances, GNU/Linux remains weak in its support for proprietary audio and video codecs. Because these codecs are often encumbered by patents, distributions must choose either to include support of questionable legality or else exclude it altogether. In the middle of this controversy sits Fluendo, a Catalan company of about 50 employees that is a main contributor to projects like GStreamer, and supports open formats, but also offers licensed, proprietary codecs such as Windows Media Video and MPEG4. While many would argue that this dual position is necessary, it’s one that sometimes creates an unasy balance for the company, says Muriel Moscardini, Fluendo’s sale director.

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Coverity’s open source code audit efforts are funded by the US government (video)

Coverity famously
helps open source projects audit their code and eliminate
security holes and other bugs, and earns its corporate
income by selling software that does the same thing to
proprietary software companies. Few seem to realize,
though, that Coverity started doing free open source code
audits because it got a grant from the US Department of
Homeland Security. Coverity’s David Maxwell explains.

Coverity famously
helps open source projects audit their code and eliminate
security holes and other bugs, and earns its corporate
income by selling software that does the same thing to
proprietary software companies. Few seem to realize,
though, that Coverity started doing free open source code
audits because it got a grant from the US Department of
Homeland Security. Coverity’s David Maxwell explains.

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Open source technology is hungry for new college grads

Many college graduates are finding it difficult to enter the information technology world with little or no work experience. There is no such thing as an entry-level position anymore, and more and more graduates are finding themselves in a catch-22 situation because of this.

Many college graduates are finding it difficult to enter the information technology world with little or no work experience. There is no such thing as an entry-level position anymore, and more and more graduates are finding themselves in a catch-22 situation because of this.

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Linspire is going away

Linspire, the distribution originally launched as Lindows, is no more, says Xandros CEO Andreas Typaldos.

Linspire, the distribution originally launched as Lindows, is no more, says Xandros CEO Andreas Typaldos.

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