News Bytes
By Michael Conry
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Legislation and More Legislation
European Software Patents
The difficulties and delays dogging the European Union's attempts
to agree on a software patent policy continued in November, this
time to the benefit of anti-software-patent interests.
In September last year, the European Parliament (a directly
elected body, with representatives from all European Union member states)
voted to accept a directive on the "patentability of computer-implemented
inventions". This directive was only accepted subject to a set of
amendments that constituted real and substantial limits on the
patentability of software. This fact was recognised both by
gratified anti-software-patent campaigners
and by
chagrined patent attorneys.
However, following this initial success, May 2004 brought a
setback as the European Council of Ministers (a body composed of
ministerial representatives from EU member states' governments)
instead moved to advance a directive that excluded the
substantial amendments adopted by the Parliament. As well as
disheartening Free Software advocates, this brought howls of
protest from the Parliamentarians who (in a not untypical tug of
war between the branches of EU administration) accused the
Council of flying in the face of democracy. After May, the obstacles
still standing between the Directive and its final ratification
were for the Council to formally adopt the directive, and then
for the directive to pass before Parliament once more. This
brings us to the present day.
The directive has not yet found its way into parliament for an
encore, but instead has floundered in the Council chamber.
Poland, a new entrant into the EU (and apparently relatively
undecided on this issue in May), has
changed the position
adopted by its
representative in the summer Council meeting and
now opposes the directive
precisely because
no effective limits are placed on the patentability of
software.
This heroic about-turn by Poland, as well as similar
pronouncements emanating from Austria should remind us that
this fight is certainly still there to be won.
The efforts of prominent Free and Open Software figures like
Linus Torvalds, Michael Widenius, and Rasmus Lerdorf
who have raised their voices to say
"No to Software Patents"
are welcome, especially as they provide an example to all of us
that if we feel this issue is important then we should make our
opinions known. Those supporting a future software industry
stretched on
a rack of software patents are certainly not shy about
pushing their case.
Truly, can we afford the luxury of silence? Wladyslaw Majewski,
president of the Internet Society of Poland puts the point
starkly:
"The questionable compromise that the EU Council reached in
May was the biggest threat ever to our economic growth, and
to our freedom of communication. The desire of the patent
system and the patent departments of certain large
corporations must never prevail over the interests of the
economy and society at large."
(
quoted in The Inquirer).
Novell vs. Microsoft
During November,
Slashdot highlighted and discussed
a very illuminating
article at Groklaw, written by a retired attorney. Written
in the context of Novell's current anti-trust case against
Microsoft, the article points out that quite apart from the
interest stirred up by the substance of this particular case,
this is also a great opportunity to store up ammunition for
future legal adventures. The key to this opportunity is that the
discovery process will, at least temporarily, move a lot of
Microsoft material into the public eye. The trick is then to
store it up for future use.
Nmap
The Register and Security Focus
have reported
that Fyodor, the author of the
port-scanning network security tool Nmap, has found that his
software writing has brought him into surprisingly close terms
with the FBI. Apparently the Feds have begun to look for access
to his webserver logs in order to identify individuals or
organisations downloading tools like Nmap.
OSRM and Patent Risks
Open Source Risk Management has steered a somewhat
controversial course since arriving on the scene offering to
indemnify open source developers against hostile intellectual
property lawsuits. In a bid to encourage use of its services,
OSRM has at times appeared to over-emphasise the risks open
source software developers and users expose themselves to.
As reported by internetnews.com, this perception has now
resulted in Pamela Jones (of
Groklaw) resigning her position as litigation risk research
director for the group. In particular, Pamela wished not to
contribute to activities that she felt were creating fear and
doubt about Linux, and providing ammunition to anti-open-source
interests.
The potential damage caused by such publicity is demonstrated by
the usefulness of one particular OSRM report to Microsoft's Steve
Ballmer, who used it to claim in front of Asian business leaders
that
Linux violates over 200 patents.
However, one should not be too critical of OSRM, since quite
apart from any
FUD there does
appear to be a real and growing likelihood that open source
software will in the future be attacked using patents.
Microsoft's statements on the issue of intellectual property
point in this direction, as does its policy of substantially
increasing its own patent portfolio. This portfolio can be used
either defensively, or offensively, but either way its existence
and rapid growth indicate a messy time ahead,
and it seems the lawyers can already smell blood in the water.
Highlighting this threat can lead to some bad publicity, such as
Ballmer's showboating in Asia, but it is also useful for
generating awareness. And as pointed out by Ballmer,
and highlighted by The Register,
our current framework of international agreements governed by the
WTO means that these issues will have ramifications right across
the globe. How any possible patent-war will pan out is still an
open question, but having good awareness in the Free Software
ranks of the risks and dangers that are faced is sure to be a
good thing.
The FSF is already taking steps aimed at protecting Free Software
from hostile parties armed with heavy patent portfolios.
The GPL, which is currently being redrafted towards a 3rd
revision
(considered
overdue by some),
may yet offer some protection against patent attacks.
Clever legal manoeuvres, however, are not necessarily a
sufficient condition for safety, so it is important to
be aware of opportunities for practical action, and to try to
spread awareness of these risks as widely as possible.
Linux Links
Linux Insider has some
interesting comments from Andrew Tanenbaum
disputing findings in Kenneth Brown's report for The Alexis de
Tocqueville Institute.
John C. Dvorak
writing at CBS MarketWatch
thinks Microsoft is planning to make an entry into the Linux
marketplace, and that this explains the effort invested in the
Lindows trademark lawsuit.
Vnunet.com
interviews OSDL boss (and Linus's employer) Stuart Cohen.
NewsForge reports on the launch of
LinuxFoo, a GNU/Linux
discussion site.
The Register presents an outsider's view
of technology in China, and opportunities for GNU/Linux.
O'Reilly on
Knoppix for Windows users.
The Inquirer
reports on Linux's position
in the Japanese 3G mobile phone market.
Solaris is from Venus, Linux is from Mars.
A look at the Geronimo project, from the Apache Software
Foundation.
Round up of
hard real-time options under Linux.
Inside Memory Management.
Boot managing your Linux and Windows box, and in particular
recovering from the Windows installer's boorish overwriting of
your original bootloader.
Linux Weekly News has
published interesting articles on binary-only firmware, and
on the current state of play in the BSD arena.
Linux Weekly News
roundup of PowerPC GNU/Linux distributions.
News in General
Intel
Intel has announced an initiative that shows a growing interest
in Linux. The new
quick-start kit
for systems-integrators, launched in the Asian market, is
intended to facilitate the building of Linux-based desktop PCs.
This is a small move towards providing the kind of support
Windows PC integrators have grown used to.
Netherlands
The European Union
Interchange of Data
Between Administrations Project
has publicised the decision of the local government in the Dutch
city of Haarlem to
switch 2000 desktops to OpenOffice.org. As well as currently using
GNU/Linux in server applications, the local government is
exploring the feasibility of migrating desktops to the operating
system, with initial estimates indicating that 20% of desktops
could be migrated without causing particular difficulties or
inconvenience to employees.
The Dutch prime minister and the office of the Irish prime
minister have also
encouraged European governments to consider open source software
in the spirit of inter-agency collaboration. Now, while such
pronouncements are good to hear, this writer is relatively
familiar with Irish government policy on these matters, and it is
anything but coherent. If this is the case elsewhere, then
if your elected representative pays lip-service to open source
and Free Software, then perhaps it would be helpful to follow up
on this with a letter, to let them know you paid attention, that
you'll remember what they said, and that if they do a U-turn on
it then they'd better knock on somebody else's door come election
time!
Intel
SSC, publisher of
Linux Journal
and former supporter of
Linux Gazette, will be
launching a new magazine in February 2005.
Aimed at Linux newcomers,
TUX will be a monthly
print and online publication providing articles of interest to
desktop users.
This new publication has also
received comment on Andy Oram's weblog at O'Reilly.com.
Distro News
Damn Small Linux
OSDir.com has published
a screenshot tour
of
Damn Small Linux 0.8.4.
Damn Small Linux is a business card size (50MB) bootable Live CD
Linux distribution that strives to have a functional and easy to
use desktop.
Debian
Debian Weekly News highlighted
a tutorial written by Falko Timme on
using the 2.6 kernel with Debian Woody 3.0.
gnuLinEx
Linux Journal
has published an interesting article
on
gnuLinEx. GnuLinEx is the Debian-based operating system used
by the government of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura,
Spain. The system is used widely in the region's schools, and
also in local government administration.
Knoppix
O'Reilly has published a book dealing with some of the cool
things you can accomplish with the Debian-based GNU/Linux live-CD Knoppix:
Knoppix Hacks.
This book was
reviewed on Slashdot
(the review was very favourable, to the extent that it was linked
on the press-release advertising this title).
Slackware
Patrick Volkerding, coordinator of
Slackware Linux, has been having
serious health problems in
recent weeks. Patrick has found it difficult to obtain
satisfactory treatment from the doctors that he has visited to
date, so he has solicited help from members of the community.
Topologilinux
Linuxforums.org has published
a review of Topologilinux.
Based on the much respected Slackware, Topologilinux is a free
Linux distribution designed to be run on top of or inside an
existing windows system. Thus, Topologilinux does not require any
repartitioning of the system's hard drive, and instead it uses a
single file as a linux root system.
Software and Product News
Lulu
Lulu, a company that offers people the chance to self-publish
at relatively modest costs (at least for small production runs)
is now aiming to
extend this service to open source software developers.
The intention is to sell boxed sets comprising the software
itself, as well as printed and bound manuals and documentation.
An example of this class of product is the
Fedora GNU/Linux distribution.
O'Reilly
O'Reilly has announced the availability of a new book,
Windows to Linux Migration Toolkit. From the publisher's
website:
It provides migration process planning, automated migration
scripts, anti-virus/anti-spam solutions, and specific
migration and deployment details for all relevant
technologies. The CD includes valuable automated scripts for
migrating any flavor of Windows to Linux.
Another title likely to be of interest to readers is
SELinux.
This book provides a background to SELinux, as well as guidelines
on its installation and subsequent use.
Linux
Marcello Tosatti has
announced the completion of a new release in
the 2.4 series of kernels. You can read the
changelog for 2.4.28 to see all the changes.
Mozilla
The release of a stable version 1.0 of
Mozilla Firefox, tied in with an unprecedented publicity
drive for the open-source application, has been followed by an
exceptionally strong download-demand for the package.
Indeed it seems that the browser is even eating into the market
share of the currently dominant Microsoft Internet Explorer,
which has seen its
share reportedly drop below 90%. The upsurge in demand also
seems to be
creating a good business environment
for Mozilla-savvy developers.
Mick is LG's News Bytes Editor.
![[Picture]](../gx/2002/tagbio/conry.jpg)
Originally hailing from Ireland, Michael is currently living in Baden,
Switzerland. There he works with ABB Corporate Research as a
Marie-Curie fellow, developing software for the simulation and design
of electrical power-systems equipment.
Before this, Michael worked as a lecturer in the Department of
Mechanical Engineering, University College Dublin; the same
institution that awarded him his PhD. The topic of this PhD research
was the use of Lamb waves in nondestructive testing. GNU/Linux has
been very useful in his past work, and Michael has a strong interest
in applying free software solutions to other problems in engineering.
Copyright © 2004, Michael Conry. Released under the Open Publication license
unless otherwise noted in the body of the article. Linux Gazette is not
produced, sponsored, or endorsed by its prior host, SSC, Inc.
Published in Issue 109 of Linux Gazette, December 2004
