COMMUNITY Community Notes

Community Notes LUGS, LIFE, AND THE FBI

hanging out with some of the more well Not a whole lot has been said about known members of our Free Software the GPL case by the community as yet, community. People like Don Becker, who but it’ll be interesting to see how this you may never have heard of, but who affects the efforts of those who take it single handedly wrote much of the upon themselves to enforce the GPL in networking stack. If you didn’t the United States and elsewhere. It’s make it to this year’s convention, con- often claimed that nobody wants to take sider coming along in 2007. You won’t the GPL to court – perhaps that’s true to Jon Masters is a UK-based be disappointed. a certain extent. But when cases such as embedded Linux developer, this one do come up, the community can GPL Tested in Court use them to re-inforce the power of the writer, and consultant. He has Ahead of the LinuxWorld Expo, this au- GPL as a valid and legitimate copyright thor is in Boston for the Free Software license. I’d like to see what the folks at been actively involved with the Foundation’s members-only meeting as the gplviolations. org website have to say, Linux community since starting an opportunity to hang out with some of but that site is down as of this writing. the cool guys who help to keep the GPL his first degree at age 13. Jon is fresh and relevant in a changing and in- On the Mailing Lists creasingly corporate world. A lot of de- If you want to know how the latest currently a member of more bate is expected over the upcoming GPL Linux news is playing around the world, than 50 Linux User Groups version 3.0, especially the more contro- tune in to some international mailing versial aspects relating to software pat- lists. Following are highlights from around the world. ents. Critics have claimed that the patent recent postings. provisions take the GPL too far. Wher- ever you sit on that particular issue – Mumbai, India and if you don’t have an opinion, check Amit Karpe posted a “Call for Developers t’s that time of year again. Spring out http:// www. fsf. org/ for the drafts – for the CSLinux project” to the Mumbai is in the air, the clocks are moving there’s no doubt that the GPL helped (Bombay) . The plan is I forward, and the first of the year’s form the Free Software community that to create a custom major Linux conferences is kicking off we know today, so it’s right that we de- (based on Fedora Core) that will contain in Boston, Massachusetts. LinuxWorld bate these issues now. all of the software packages needed by Expo (LWE) has rapidly become one of While we’re on the subject of the GPL, Computer Science students without the most interesting and talked about it’s interesting to note that it was tested them having to resort to third party CDs mainstream Linux conventions any- in US court over the last month. In the for extra software and plugins, such as a where in the world. I’m certainly not the case of Wallace vs. FSF, the plaintiff at- Java runtime environment. In addition, only person who would rather fly from tempted to use the same Sherman Act he says people regularly mail to say they London to Boston than go to my local legislation used by the DOJ (Department have problems configuring software that LinuxWorld and revel in a tiny conven- Of Justice) against Microsoft in their they may need for short term project tion hall filled with a few carefully cho- anti-trust proceedings. They alleged that work, and he wants to simplify that pro- sen exhibitors. the GPL constituted a contact, combina- cess for them. If it works out, this is If last year’s convention is anything to tion, or conspiracy; that it created an un- doubtlessly something that other Univer- go by, this will be a real blast. This time reasonable restraint of trade and that the sities would want to take a look at too. last year, I hooked up with OLS orga- FSF conspired with others to pool and nizer Andrew Hutton for a 1,000 mile cross-license their intellectual property Sydney, Australia road trip that took us (on a very skewed in a predatory price fixing scheme. The A large discussion (dozens of posts) took route) from Ottawa to Boston. Once judge dismissed every one of the anti- place on the Sydney LUG (SLUG) follow- we’d arrived, we enjoyed three days of trust claims. ing the release of Fedora Core 5. Many

92 ISSUE 67 JUNE 2006 WWW.LINUX - MAGAZINE.COM Community Notes COMMUNITY

people downloaded the latest release using BitTorrent feeds (a legal use for BitTorrent! Someone tell the MPAA, quick!) rather than waiting for regular mirror sites to catch up with the ISO im- ages. This author was amongst those newly installing Fedora over the last month. I then upgraded to the experi- mental Rawhide distribution, which sup- ports my Powerbook perfectly. Oddly enough, many other groups haven’t started discussing the new FC5 release much (yet).

Toronto, Canada Members of the Greater Toronto LUG debated the forthcoming SCO city to city tour. One member suggested that members might enjoy registering to be wined and dined, saying “let them cast Figure 1: If you want to learn more about GPL 3, you can start by reading it. The draft license their marketing dollars on barren soil?” is available right now at the Free Software Foundation website. Others agreed, saying that they’d been to previous SCO roadshows and enjoyed make the meeting, check out http:// dows. These people didn’t seem to be the mixture of giveaways and meeting www. . org/ and download the much of a Fedora crowd to me. But there former SCO staff. Not everyone was in- latest episode in ogg or mp3 format. I was, trying not to sound like a super terested in freeloading at SCO’s expense, Regular Linux User Groups aren’t the subversive type whilst explaining that however. One member decided, “in my only way that you can meet many local Microsoft isn’t the be all and end all and highly worthwhile opinion, one could Linux enthusiasts near you. I’ve recently that, just occasionally, some of us get a free meal at the Scott Mission for discovered a large number of interest choose to think different. less mental anguish and with a more groups via meetup. com. There, you’ll What bothered me about the whole interesting crowd?” find not only Linux meetup groups, but situation wasn’t that I’d been quasi-ran- also those dedicated to individual distri- domly selected for the glove treatment Boston, Massachusetts butions or to concepts such as Free Soft- but that these security people seemed to Google have apparently begun Beta test- ware in industry. Check it out. have absolutely no training about tech- ing their hosted Gmail service, at least nology. What’s the point in relying upon that’s according to a member of BLU Linux for Subversives the foreign national to explain what LUG. Google offers to host email for any I learned last weekend that certain for- Linux is and why it’s different? I could domain in return for providing their reg- eign immigration officers don’t like you have said anything and it might have ular targeted advertising. Users are pre- very much when you try to convince been accepted. Until Linux takes over sented with the Gmail interface when them that you’re taking a weekend trip the world, it might be good if someone reading their mail, which Google will across the Atlantic. There I was doing would mention this stuff when training store on their behalf. This might come in one of my crazy weekend trips to visit new security people. handy next time a major sendmail root Linuxy friends when all of a sudden I exploit is discovered, as one was last was getting the full treatment. They And finally… month. Interestingly, no groups dis- went through all of my belongings, try- The City of Tuttle in Oklahoma had egg cussed this exploit, suggesting that few ing to find something to use against me, on its face after filing complaints with people are interested in what happens and even called up one of my friends for the developers of CentOS that they had with sendmail these days. a while, just for fun. When that didn’t hijacked the Tuttle City website. The turn up anything they could use against complaint came about when officials no- Nottingham, England me, they wanted to check out my laptop. ticed that http:// www. cityoftuttle. org/ will be speaking at a forth- That’s the reason I’m writing about was replaced with a single “Apache 2 coming meeting. Jono is well known in this. For the comedy of the situation that Test Page powered by CentOS” web the UK Linux community for his involve- followed. Having been asked to show page. Some folks at the ISP hosting the ment in creating LUGRadio and for orga- them my laptop (and after showing them website had evidently re-installed the nizing the LUG Radio Live event for the my ACLU membership card, just in case web server, but that was enough for city second year in a row later this year. This they wanted to read my personal docu- officials to threaten CentOS with the FBI. author has seen Jono’s talks many times ments) I booted up the laptop and You can’t make this stuff up – perhaps in the past. I’m sure those present won’t watched the reaction when it became someone can send those guys some be disappointed. For those who can’t apparent that it wasn’t running Win- vouchers for free IT training. ■

WWW.LINUX - MAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 67 JUNE 2006 93