PR: First Mandriva Release Announced

Moreno Valley, Ca; Paris, France - April 13th 2005 - Mandriva (pronounced “Man-dree-vah”!), the company formerly known as Mandrakesoft, today released Limited Edition 2005, a special new version of its operating system that blends the most up to date popular open source applications, including Firefox 1.0.2, with specific customisations resulting in advanced multimedia, internet and development capabilities. These features include out-of-the-box Web content RSS reading and software sound mixing (so multiple applications can play sound at once). Limited Edition 2005 is the only Linux system to allow the trouble-free coexistence of 32-bit and 64-bit applications. It also offers enhanced hardware support for removable devices, including the ability to boot from USB keys.

The BitKeeper Example: A Bad Development Model

To say one could see a train wreck coming from hundreds of miles away when the Linux kernel development process switched to using BitKeeper to manage development is to make an understatement of the largest kind. The idea that the best known Free Software kernel would be developed with the aid of a non-Free development tool just seemed peculiar at best and dangerous at worst. OfB's Timothy R. Butler asserts that the moral of this story is one that every business ought to pay attention to.

Stallman on the State of GNU/Linux

The Free (as in freedom) Software movement has changed a lot in the past two decades. During that time, there has been one constant that has kept the organization created to promote Free Software on the straight and narrow: Richard M. Stallman. Known around the community as simply "RMS," Stallman is the founder of the movement and continues to argue the advantages of totally non-proprietary computing. RMS kindly agreed to be interviewed again by OFB's Timothy R. Butler on what he is up to, where the Foundation's popular GPL license is heading and his perspective concerning various changes in the GNU/Linux community since his last interview here.

Desktop FreeBSD Part 8: Updating the Core System

Now that we have everything installed and setup the way we like it, it's important to keep an eye on updating the system. The emphasis is not so much slavishly chasing the cutting edge of BSD technology. Instead, our focus will be on security updates and optimization.

Edging Toward the Ninety/Ten

It is a cliché worth recalling when designing software. Ninety percent of users, it is said, use ten percent of the features in a software package. For that vast majority of “average users,” the other ninety percent of the features only add needless complexity that make the key ten harder to learn. These extra features simply serve to increase the TCO of software deployments and headaches at the helpdesk, not productivity of the business.

Calling for a Console Distro

How often do you hear it: "There are too many Linux distros!" What is the count now? Almost 400 and growing daily. Aside from the Linux kernel, what do they all seem to have in common? The only ones missing a GUI are the security/server distros. What about the console as the desktop?

In the Black and Moving Forward: Gaël Duval on Mandrakesoft in 2005

Going into 2005, Mandrakesoft is a company that has gone against everything that was predicted. It has survived the dot-com bust, become profitable and continues to frown on the idea of moving away from Free and Open Source Software development in favor of the proprietary approach advocated by many of the newer GNU/Linux distribution developers. To catch up on the changes since their last full interview, Mandrakesoft co-founder Gaël Duval recently agreed to talk with OFB's editor-in-chief, Timothy R. Butler, about where the company is heading and the state of the industry at the present time.

Speakeasy DSL to Distribute Custom Firefox

Broadband ISP Speakeasy said it will offer its subscribers a version of the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox Web browser in hopes of appealing to a more tech-savvy crowd.

PR: Sun Grants Usage of 1,600 Patents to FOSS Community

Sun Microsystems, Inc. [NASDAQ: SUNW] today announced the largest single release of patent innovations into the open source community by any organization to date, marking a significant shift in the way Sun positions its intellectual property portfolio. By giving open source developers free access to Sun OpenSolaris related patents under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), the company is fostering open innovation and establishing a leadership role in the framework of a patent commons that will be recognized across the globe.

Desktop FreeBSD Part 7: Terminal Emulator Settings

To really take advantage of the best tools in computing requires that you become quite comfortable with using the command line interface (CLI). In general, nearly every task -- aside from graphical work itself -- can be accomplished from the CLI. Once the user becomes more adept at CLI work, these non-graphical tasks can be done more quickly, with more fine-grained control, and with less demand on computer resources.