![[UKUUG Logo]](/images/ukuug.gif)
Copyright © 1995-2004 UKUUG Ltd
Copyright © 1995-2004 UKUUG Ltd
This article is somehow missing from the online edition. I'll add this section later. If you need to read it you can find it in the printed edition.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
There have been some interesting events in the computing world since my
last report - AOL have bought Netscape, the Qt toolkit will go Open
Source helping the spread of KDE, Microsoft have had to stop selling
their altered Java, and Linux was used as heralded at the Microsoft
trial as a competitor to Windows (by Microsoft of course). Whilst none of
these may have exactly shaken the ground beneath your feet, they are all
symptoms of changing times, with a definite resurgence in interest in
all things UNIX. Several council members have been interviewed by the
press for UNIX related articles - even the Financial Times called me up,
so the interest is spreading.
This issue we have our usual mix of reviews and comments - let me again ask you to send in reviews of any interesting software packages that you come across. Gone are the days when there was only one package that would solve your problem, and informed comment based on experience is still the best way to find out what's what - it's definitely easier than downloading 150M of source and compiling it just to try out a new mailer!
Get your bookings for our Winter Conference. Ideas for how to soak up all those spare cycles you have are always going to be useful and we have (as always) some excellent speakers lined up. Not only that, the venue looks excellent and a good time will be had by all, I can assure you. Be there or be somewhere else!
I'm keeping this short since my hands are hurting from too much typing (anyone got any good voice input software for Linux?), but keep watching slashdot for the latest news and of course don't forget to read User Friendly everyday.
In the last issue of news@UK I wrote a piece called
"It's War Boys"
that chronicled the sudden upturn in the fortunes of UNIX/Linux/Open
Source software (coupled with a distinct downturn in
Microsoft's)...
If you have been following the news on the net then just treat this as a summary and personal view of the events of the last couple of months. If you have not had the time to follow the unfolding story then this will get you up to speed although in the space available here should not be considered any more than the briefest of summaries.
The DOJ vs Microsoft case has been unfolding in the expected way. We in the UNIX community have had reason to dislike the Microsoft 'Borg' now for ages but the case brings home just how many other enemies they have made over the years. There is always a problem in writing something about current events but the trend for news to only get worse for Microsoft shows no end of stopping. When the DOJ case stared its importance was downplayed. Now commentators are openly discussing remedies such as the breakup of Microsoft or even the enforced publishing of all APIs, a software equivalent of the 'Plug Compatible' constraints put on IBM.
The last couple of weeks have been very bleak for Microsoft.
Firstly, loosing the Java case to Sun (an appeal is pending but in the meantime Microsoft have 90 days to remove the illegal 'extensions' to Java from their products). The judgment does not go as far as a recall - just imagine the fun of having to persuade people to modify millions of copies of IE4 :) but has angered many companies developing new software in Java that they were 'lead up a blind alley' by Microsoft. There is even talk of third party Java developers launching a class action suit against them for millions of dollars of wasted development time in being persuaded to develop to a technology they are not permitted to use. Those of you who remember as far back as Microsoft's sudden abandonment of OS/2. That too left many developers with worthless developments.
Having to admit that Linux is a superior competitor to NT Server - in the leaked 'Halloween' memos. Some people believe that the sudden recognition that Linux is a threat is a ploy to lessen the strength of the DOJ arguments that Microsoft has a monopoly hold over the PC marketplace. However the tactics discussed in the memos, such as 'enhancement' of standard Internet protocols like DNS to freeze open source software out are themselves very damaging to Microsoft's case.
The latest news as I write this is AOL's 4.21 billion dollar acquisition of Netscape. AOL have also stated that they are interested in pursuing the steps that Netscape made towards Open Source computing, (presumably including the investment in RedHat made so recently). AOL has declared that future AOL technology will be Java-based (and not Microsoft flavoured Java either). AOL being a mostly Windows users-only club at present will be undergoing some radical changes in the near future. AOL has a history of being a closed, proprietary system. However as they say in the financial services ads... "Past performance does not necessarily indicate future performance". AOL has in place a service- rather than product-based business model so is in an excellent place to be able to profit from the Open Source way of doing things, and grow the Open Source marketplace for others at the same time just by being there.
Microsoft has been loosing friends (if they ever were genuine friends) rapidly now. Acrimoniously falling out with both RealNetworks and Intel. In RealNetworks' case divesting of the 10% stock holding.
Back in the Open Source community there has been a mixture of good news and bad news. On the good news side is the decision by TrollTech to release the Qt libraries under an Open Source licence. This has removed a big source of discord in the free software community in that the KDE desktop project which depends on Qt was considered by many to be not completely kosher as an Open Source project as it was dependent on a library that was only released in binary form.
The bad news is a falling out over who owns the "Open Source" trademark - see separate article on this - Please get your act together guys, we don't want a rerun of the Linux trademark dispute.
And finally - anyone interested in driving round with the numberplate
L111NUX? Mr Jim Wong has this for sale and is open to offers. You can
contact him as userfriendly98@hotmail.com
or on his portable 0956-260-032.
It is a UK numberplate. A point to note about buying numberplates is
that you must not make a car appear newer than it otherwise is - so you
must have at least an L reg car to put it on.
We are currently working on the UKUUG Winter Conference and this
Newsletter should appear on your desks just days before the event - I
trust you have secured your place by now!.
The new Council of the UKUUG held its second meeting in York on the 11th November, and the subject of Events took much of the discussions - so a full programme should soon be in place for 1999.
The next Council meeting will now be held in January and to keep all the Council members happy - will be held on this occasion in London.
January 1999 brings us to the annual membership subscriptions - these we hope will be sent out around the middle of January and as usual we trust you will make every effort to pay promptly.
We are pleased to announce 2 Honorary memberships to UKUUG - Mick Farmer and Andrew Macpherson, both having served 2 terms of 3 years with the UKUUG Council. Although both resigned from the Council now they both remain active in UKUUG matters concerning the Newsletter and Web site.
Finally, I would just like to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and Peaceful New Year from all of us here at the Secretariat.
To take up this offer contact
phil@parkway.co.uk
(Telephone No: + 44 (0) 1491 875 386,
Fax No: + 44 (0) 1491 875 524),
quoting your UKUUG membership number,
Name,
Magazine,
Postal Address,
E-Mail address and
telephone number.
If you cannot remember your membership number, contact the UKUUG Secretariat (office@ukuug.org).
"Trial copy and provisional subscription" means an invoice will arrive for the subscription. If you return it marked "cancel" you need pay nothing. You can also cancel your subscription later and receive a refund for unmailed issues.
Written by engineers for a technically astute audience, you'll find:
Dr Dobb's is about software development, and written for all programmers. This is the one magazine dedicated to helping you write the most efficient and elegant code possible.
Web Techniques shows savvy web developers the ways of Java, Perl, HTML, and other web techniques, while dishing up opinions about the future of the web.
Web Techniques Magazine is for users and developers that:
Each Month C/C++ User Journal presents:
Written for Windows developers that are developing software for the Windows environment and just can't take the poor documentation and bugs any more! Save hours of staring at the screen and beating your head on the keyboard: Windows Developer's Journal is the perfect way of side stepping incorrect and incomplete documentation.
Each month you get:
In each issue of THE VIEW you will read articles on topics that include:
To take up this offer contact
phil@parkway.co.uk
Telephone No: + 44 (0) 1491 875 386,
Fax No: + 44 (0) 1491 875 524,
quoting your UKUUG membership number,
Name,
Book name and ISBN,
Postal Address,
E-Mail address and
telephone number.
If you cannot remember your membership number, contact the UKUUG Secretariat (office@ukuug.org).
|
Tel: 01763 273 475 Fax: 01763 273 255 Web: Webmaster Queries: Ask Here |
Join UKUUG Today! |
UKUUG Secretariat PO BOX 37 Buntingford Herts SG9 9UQ |