2003.02.04 Meeting Notes

News

• Feb. 5th SVLUG will be on OpenMosix - Kernel-level Linux clusters.

• Feb. 10th CVBIG will be on the Composite Genome Project at UC Davis.

• Feb. 24th RoseLUG will be on either Qt or MySQL.

• The Linux Desktop Consortium is being formed by groups and companies including CodeWeavers (CrossOver products), NeTraverse (Win4Lin), Debian, Mandrake, Lycoris, SuSE, DesktopLinux.com, KDE, Ximina, OpenOffice.org, SAMBA, theKompany, Transgaming, and more...

• KDE and Gnome are cooporating on Interface Guidelines.

• KDE 3.1 has been released!

• Microsoft stated they may need to lower software prices due to competition from Open Source software! (This was cautioned in their latest SEC filing.)

• MS Xbox losses doubled in the last quarter. (Now $384 million)

• Microsoft's "trusted computing" platform, Palladium, changes its name to NGSCB (Next-Generation Secure Computing Base).

• The recent Slammer (aka Sapphire) worm that attacked Microsoft SQL servers apparently took only 10 minutes to spread across the globe. At its peak, it was scanning 55 million IP address per SECOND. It infected at least 75,000 victims.

• Remote Root Exploit in CVS version 1.11.4 and older. 1.11.5 corrects.

• IE users beware: "Xupiter" is a self-installing toolbar for IE. (Standard security settings on IE may allow it to install without asking!) It can reset your homepage, redirect your search engine queries, install and launch other software, and blocks attempts to change things back. It's also hard to fight - it downloads auto-updates, to try to get around the latest anti-spyware programs (like "AdWare").

• SBC (aka PacBell) apparently discovered they own the patent to static content that appears on different pages (like sidebars, tab-like navigation, perhaps even standard copyright info. and links!) Fortunately, "I, Cringley" of PBS made this problem apparent, and people have been showing many examples of prior art.

• Obelix vs. Mobilix decision appealed! Mobilix (a website about Unix and Linux on mobile devices) is being forced to withdraw their domain name and pay damages. (Obelix is a French cartoon character. They claim the name Mobilix causes confusion!)

• IBM considers Linux to be the successor of their AIX Un*x.

• The 3D space shooter Parsec is to be released as Open Source.

• Wikipedia (online, Free (as in freedom), user-contributed encyclopedia) has reached its 100,000th article!

• Linux is now running on the iPod. (It's not far yet...)

• The Linux Game Tome announced their readers'-choice-style 'Happy Penguin Awards.' Winners include Frozen Bubble, BZFlag, Flight Gear, Quake 3, SDL, and many other free and commerical titles.

• "America's Army," a first-person 3D game developed by the US Army, is now available for Linux.

• Chris DiBona does a monthly segment on Linux on 'TechTV,' and is interested in suggestions on cool topics to discuss. E-mail him at chris@dibona.com.

• Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act - Copyrights have now been retroactively extended 20 more years! Things from 1923 are still copyrighted!

• Happy Birthday to the term 'Open Source', coined 5 years ago.

Project Reports

• Demo - We're hoping to have a demo on Saturday, February 15th (the day before the next installfest; two days before the next meeting).

• Installfests - The next Installfest is February 16th.

• LERT - No activity.

• Library - We placed the copy of "Linux Music and Sound" that No Starch Press sent us in our library.

Other Business

• Public Kiosk and Newsbeat - KDE 3.1 has been released! Bill will be upgrading the kiosk box to use it, and continuing to tweak the kiosk framework settings.

• PC Super Show expo - We had 4 computers and a PDA across two eight-foot tables, a table of flyers and handouts, and 7 volunteers (Richard Burkhart, Nicole Carlson, Ryan Castelluci, Bill Kendrick, Paul Miller, Rusty Minden and Mike Simons). Paul Miller was there representing OpenOffice.org, and did a presentation on it. Nicole Carlson and Bill Kendrick did a presentation on the benefits of Open Source. Unfortunately, it was just announced that there will be no more PC Super Shows. (This first show didn't draw a very large crowd.)

• Raffle - Some additional books which didn't make it to us for our last (anniversary party) meeting were raffled away:

  From No Starch Press:

  • Linux Cookbook (Mike Simons)
  • Linux Problem Solver (Mike)
  • Overclocking (Doug Barbieri)
  • Steal This Computer Book 2 (Emily Stumpf)
  • Linux in the Workplace (Cordell Newmiller)

  From O'Reilly and Associates:

  • The Linux Web Server CD Bookshelf
  • Designing Embedded Hardware (Richard Harke)
  • Creating Applications with Mozilla

  Winners included Rob, Dmitriy Ivanov, Jeff Rousch, Mike Simons, Emily Stumpf, Richard Harke, Mike, Chris, Doug Barbieri and Cordell Newmiller.

• Financial Report - $27.89 in voluntary dues were collected. $15.00 was spent on the room at the library.

Presentation

• Don Marti, Editor in Chief of Linux Journal magazine did a talk on the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act).

  Presentation notes

Attendance

• Bill Kendrick
• Mike Simons
• Henry House
• Doug Barbieri
• Cordell Newmiller
• Jeff Rousch
• Dave Nelson
• Richard Harke
• Chris DiBona
• Don Marti
• Stephen Helms
• Dmitriy Ivanov
• Nicole Carlson
• Mike
• Rob
• Ray
• Corey
• Troy Arnold
• David King
• Rhonda Bailey
• Chris
• Ryan Castelluci
• Allan Hollander
• ...and at least two others

Quote of the Meeting:

• "I use Linux because I have to at work" - Don Marti, Editor in Chief, Linux Journal magazine