DOCSLIB.ORG

Government Preferences for Promoting Open-Source Software: a Solution in Search of a Problem, 9 Mich

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review Volume 9 | Issue 2 2003 Government Preferences for Promoting Open- Source Software: A Solution in Search of a Problem David S. Evans NERA Economic Consulting Bernard J. Reddy NERA Economic Consulting Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.law.umich.edu/mttlr Part of the Commercial Law Commons, Computer Law Commons, and the Science and Technology Law Commons Recommended Citation David S. Evans & Bernard J. Reddy, Government Preferences for Promoting Open-Source Software: A Solution in Search of a Problem, 9 Mich. Telecomm. & Tech. L. Rev. 313 (2003). Available at: http://repository.law.umich.edu/mttlr/vol9/iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Michigan Law School Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GOVERNMENT PREFERENCES FOR PROMOTING OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE: A SOLUTION IN SEARCH OF A PROBLEMt David S. Evans* BernardJ. Reddy" Cite as: David S. Evans and Bernard J. Reddy, Government Preferencesfor Promoting Open-Source Software: A Solution in Search of a Problem, 9 MICH. TELECOMM. TECH. L. REV. 313 (2003), available at http://www.mttlr.org/volnine/evans.pdf PART I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 315 PART II. SoFTwARE DESIGN AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION ........................................................................ 318 PART III. THE ECONOMICS OF COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE ............................. 324 A. Overview of the Commercial Software Business....................... 324 B . ProductionM ethod ..................................................................... 327 C. Commercial Business Model and Nature of Competition................................................................. 329 1. Performance of Commercial Software ............................... 331 2. Lessons from the Vertical Disintegration of the Com puter Industry ..................................................... 335 3. Sum m ary ...............................................................................337 PART IV. THE ECONOMICS OF GPL OPEN-SOURCE SoFTwARE ................. 337 A. InstitutionalArrangements ......................................................... 338 1. Free Software Foundation is the Ideological Heart of the M ovem ent ........................................................ 338 2. Copyleft and the Viral Aspect of the GPL Promote the Goals of the FSF ............................................. 339 B. Productionof Open-Source Software ........................................ 341 C. Incentives for Participatingin Open-Source Projects.............. 342 1. Why Individuals Work on Open-Source Software ............ 342 2. Business Models Based on Open Source ........................... 344 t © 2002 by David S. Evans and Bernard J. Reddy. All rights reserved. * Evans is with NERA Economic Consulting in Cambridge, MA and the Center for the New Europe in Brussels, Belgium. ** Reddy is with NERA Economic Consulting in Cambridge, MA. We are grateful for financial support for our research from Microsoft. We also thank Robert Hahn and Anne Layne-Farrar for helpful comments and James Hunter, Bryan Martin-Keating, and Irina Danilkina for exceptional research assistance. 314 Michigan Telecommunicationsand Technology Law Review [Vol. 9:313 D. The Performance of Open Source .............................................. 351 1. Successes and Failures of Open-Source Software ............. 352 2. Open-Source Projects under Development ........................ 354 E . Sum m ary ...................................................................................... 355 PART V. COMPARISONS OF PROPRIETARY AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE ................................................................... 356 A. Advantages and Disadvantagesof Each Approach .................. 356 1. O pen Source ......................................................................... 356 2. Proprietary Software ............................................................358 B. Open Source: Innovation and Imitation .................................... 359 C. The Future Evolution of Open Source without Government Favoritism................................................. 363 PART VI. GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS IN THE SoFrwARE MARKET TO ASSIST OPEN SOURCE ...................................................... 365 A. The Economic Approach to Government Intervention ............. 366 B. Governments Proposalsand Initiatives Concerning Open Source ............................................................ 371 1. Initiatives ............................................................................... 372 2. Rationales Offered ............................................................... 378 C. Economic Arguments for Helping Open Source ....................... 383 1. Claims about the Superiority of Open-Source Software ......................................................... 384 2. Arguments for Promoting Open Source ............................. 386 D. Releasing Software R&D Under the GPL................................. 390 PART VII. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................393 Governments around the world are making or considering efforts to promote open- source software (typically produced by cooperatives of individuals) at the expense of pro- prietary software (generally sold by for-profit software developers). This articleexamines the economic basisfor these kinds of government interventions in the market. It first provides some background on the software industry. The article discusses the industrial organization and performance of the proprietary software business and describes how the open-source movement produces and distributes software. It then surveys current government proposals and initiatives to support open-source software and examines whether there is a significant market failure that would justiy such intervention in the software industry. The article concludes that the software industry has performed re- markably well over the past 20 years in the absence ofgovernment intervention. There is no evidence of any significant marketfailures in the provision of commercial software and no evidence that the establishment of policy preferences in favor of open-source soft- ware on the part of governments would increaseconsumer welfare. Spring 2003] Promoting Open-Source Software PART I. INTRODUCTION Governments around the world are making or considering efforts to promote open-source software (typically produced by cooperatives of individuals) at the expense of proprietary software (generally sold by for- profit software developers).' Proposals include government subsidies of research and development (R&D) for open-source software, standardization on using open-source software, and procurement preferences for open- source software. The European Parliament, for example, adopted a resolution in September 2001 that calls on the Commission and Member2 States "to promote software projects whose source text is made public., The German Bundestag is considering legislation that would require government agencies to use open source.' Former French Prime Minister Jospin created an agency whose mission will be to "encourage administrations to use open source software and open standards.' 4 The U.S. government has supported R&D efforts that create software that must be released under restrictive open-source licenses.' Leaders of the open-source movement are naturally spurring these efforts.6 But so are academics such as Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford Law School.7 1. We use the term "open-source" to refer to software that is made readily available in the form of source code. See infra Part II. 2. European Parliament resolution on the existence of a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications (ECHELON interception system) (2001/2098(INI)) (Sept. 5, 2001) [hereinafter European Parliament resolution], at http://www.europarl.eu.int/ meetdocs/commnittees/itre/20020325/449496EN.pdf (last visited May 17, 2003). 3. Deutscher Bundestag 14 Wahlperiode [German Bundestag 14th Election Period] (Jun. 20, 2001), http://dip.bundestag.de/btd/14/063/1406374.pdf (last visited May 17, 2003). This legislation differs from the Bundestag's decision in March 2002 to use open source programs such as Linux for some of its own IT needs. See Part VI below. 4. Law on the Establishment of the Agency for Information Technology and Communica- tion in the Administration, Law No. 2001-737 of Aug. 22, 2001, J.O., Aug. 23, 2001, p. 13509 n.194, available at http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/citoyen/jorf-nor.ow?numjo=PRMX0105055D (last visited May 17, 2003). 5. See, e.g., Thomas Sterling, Beowulf Linux Clusters, at http://beowulf.gsfc.nasa.gov/ tronl.html (last visited May 17, 2003). 6. See, e.g., Press Release, Free Software Foundation, Richard Stallman Inaugurates Free Software Foundation-India, First Affiliate in Asia of the Free Software Foundation (Jul. 20, 2001), at http://www.gnu.org/press/200l-07-20-FSF-India.html; Press Release, Free Soft- ware Foundation, Richard M. Stallman Addresses Brazilian Congress on Free Software and the Ethics of Copyright and Patents (Mar. 20, 2001) [hereinafter Stallman
Recommended publications
  • Study of File System Evolution

    Study of File System Evolution

    Study of File System Evolution Swaminathan Sundararaman, Sriram Subramanian Department of Computer Science University of Wisconsin {swami, srirams} @cs.wisc.edu Abstract File systems have traditionally been a major area of file systems are typically developed and maintained by research and development. This is evident from the several programmer across the globe. At any point in existence of over 50 file systems of varying popularity time, for a file system, there are three to six active in the current version of the Linux kernel. They developers, ten to fifteen patch contributors but a single represent a complex subsystem of the kernel, with each maintainer. These people communicate through file system employing different strategies for tackling individual file system mailing lists [14, 16, 18] various issues. Although there are many file systems in submitting proposals for new features, enhancements, Linux, there has been no prior work (to the best of our reporting bugs, submitting and reviewing patches for knowledge) on understanding how file systems evolve. known bugs. The problems with the open source We believe that such information would be useful to the development approach is that all communication is file system community allowing developers to learn buried in the mailing list archives and aren’t easily from previous experiences. accessible to others. As a result when new file systems are developed they do not leverage past experience and This paper looks at six file systems (Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, could end up re-inventing the wheel. To make things JFS, ReiserFS, and XFS) from a historical perspective worse, people could typically end up doing the same (between kernel versions 1.0 to 2.6) to get an insight on mistakes as done in other file systems.
  • Mono for Cross-Platform Control System Environment

    Mono for Cross-Platform Control System Environment

    monomono forfor crosscross--platformplatform controlcontrol systemsystem environmentenvironment H.H. NishimuraNishimura andand C.C. TimossiTimossi,, LBNL,LBNL, Berkeley,Berkeley, CACA 94720,94720, U.S.AU.S.A Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098 .NET.NET FrameworkFramework z MicrosoftMicrosoft ÄÄ ECMA/ISOECMA/ISO z 1.01.0 inin 20022002 z 1.11.1 inin 20032003 z 2.02.0 inin 20052005 z 3.03.0 inin 2006?2006? z WindowsWindows VistaVista isis .NET.NET--based.based. z C#C# andand manymany otherother languages.languages. .NET.NET missesmisses 22 pieces..pieces.. WhatWhat isis Mono?Mono? z AnAn independentindependent implementationimplementation ofof .NET.NET FrameworkFramework byby XimiaXimiann ÄÄNovell.Novell. z Linux,Linux, FreeBSD,FreeBSD, UNIX,UNIX, MacMac OSOS X,X, SolarisSolaris andand WindowsWindows z s390/s390x,s390/s390x, SPARC,SPARC, PowerPC,PowerPC, x86,x86, x86x86--64,64, IA64,IA64, ARMARM z DualDual LicensedLicensed byby NovellNovell HPHP atat www.mono-project.com SearchSearch MonoMono atat www.wikipedia.orgwww.wikipedia.org WhoWho mademade Mono?Mono? z MiguelMiguel dede IcazaIcaza z CreatedCreated GnomeGnome withwith FedericoFederico MenaMena inin 1997.1997. z CreatedCreated MonoMono inin 20012001 atat XimianXimian.. z ““MonoMono andand GNOME.GNOME. TheThe longlong replyreply”” z 0606 FebFeb 20022002 z http://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnomehttp://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-- hackers/2002hackers/2002--February/msg00031.htmlFebruary/msg00031.html z NowNow underunder Novell.Novell. IsIs MonoMono aa CrossCross--PlatformPlatform .NET?.NET? z DefinitelyDefinitely YES!YES! z AsAs .NET.NET RuntimeRuntime EnvironmentEnvironment z AsAs .NET.NET DevelopmentDevelopment EnvironmentEnvironment z AA fewfew yearsyears behindbehind thethe ““.NET.NET onon WindowsWindows””.. z NonNon--graphicalgraphical classesclasses areare basicallybasically OK.OK.
  • Membrane: Operating System Support for Restartable File Systems Swaminathan Sundararaman, Sriram Subramanian, Abhishek Rajimwale, Andrea C

    Membrane: Operating System Support for Restartable File Systems Swaminathan Sundararaman, Sriram Subramanian, Abhishek Rajimwale, Andrea C

    Membrane: Operating System Support for Restartable File Systems Swaminathan Sundararaman, Sriram Subramanian, Abhishek Rajimwale, Andrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau, Remzi H. Arpaci-Dusseau, Michael M. Swift Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison Abstract and most complex code bases in the kernel. Further, We introduce Membrane, a set of changes to the oper- file systems are still under active development, and new ating system to support restartable file systems. Mem- ones are introduced quite frequently. For example, Linux brane allows an operating system to tolerate a broad has many established file systems, including ext2 [34], class of file system failures and does so while remain- ext3 [35], reiserfs [27], and still there is great interest in ing transparent to running applications; upon failure, the next-generation file systems such as Linux ext4 and btrfs. file system restarts, its state is restored, and pending ap- Thus, file systems are large, complex, and under develop- plication requests are serviced as if no failure had oc- ment, the perfect storm for numerous bugs to arise. curred. Membrane provides transparent recovery through Because of the likely presence of flaws in their imple- a lightweight logging and checkpoint infrastructure, and mentation, it is critical to consider how to recover from includes novel techniques to improve performance and file system crashes as well. Unfortunately, we cannot di- correctness of its fault-anticipation and recovery machin- rectly apply previous work from the device-driver litera- ery. We tested Membrane with ext2, ext3, and VFAT. ture to improving file-system fault recovery. File systems, Through experimentation, we show that Membrane in- unlike device drivers, are extremely stateful, as they man- duces little performance overhead and can tolerate a wide age vast amounts of both in-memory and persistent data; range of file system crashes.
  • Retrocomputing As Preservation and Remix

    Retrocomputing As Preservation and Remix

    Retrocomputing as Preservation and Remix Yuri Takhteyev Quinn DuPont University of Toronto University of Toronto [email protected] [email protected] Abstract This paper looks at the world of retrocomputing, a constellation of largely non-professional practices involving old computing technology. Retrocomputing includes many activities that can be seen as constituting “preservation.” At the same time, it is often transformative, producing assemblages that “remix” fragments from the past with newer elements or joining together historic components that were never combined before. While such “remix” may seem to undermine preservation, it allows for fragments of computing history to be reintegrated into a living, ongoing practice, contributing to preservation in a broader sense. The seemingly unorganized nature of retrocomputing assemblages also provides space for alternative “situated knowledges” and histories of computing, which can sometimes be quite sophisticated. Recognizing such alternative epistemologies paves the way for alternative approaches to preservation. Keywords: retrocomputing, software preservation, remix Recovering #popsource In late March of 2012 Jordan Mechner received a shipment from his father, a box full of old floppies. Among them was a 3.5 inch disk labelled: “Prince of Persia / Source Code (Apple) / ©1989 Jordan Mechner (Original).” Mechner’s announcement of this find on his blog the next day took the world of nerds by storm.1 Prince of Persia, a game that Mechner single-handedly developed in the late 1980s, revolutionized computer games when it came out due to its surprisingly realistic representation of human movement. After being ported to DOS and Apple’s Mac OS in the early 1990s the game sold 2 million copies (Pham, 2001).

  • What Is Project Management Software?

    HOW TO SELECT & IMPLEMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE Considering a new PM solution? Don’t forget: Picking a product is only half the journey—getting your team to actually use the software is the ultimate goal. To help you reach your implementation destination, we’ve created this road map, and we’re guiding you through the process from tool selection to user adoption. Each stop along the path represents an important step in the process—skipping ahead will only jeopardize your chance of success! StartStart HereHere CHANGE This team’s They should meet MANAGEMENT responsibility? with teams and leaders to understand Establish an Organizational Identify the need workflows, goals and Change Management Team for change. pain points. BACK TO START If you haven’t established HINT: a change management team. A need for change might be a process that can be improved, a pain point that can be mitigated or a near-term goal you hope to achieve. STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS Perform a Stakeholder Analysis Use these requirements 2 SPACES BACK to create a list of must-have capabilities. Identify end users and If you haven’t identified their requirements. the needs of your team. These will drive your search & selection process. SOFTWARE HINT: EVALUATION Create a Shortlist Identifying “must-have” vs. “nice-to-have” capabilities will help focus your search on products that are most valuable to your team. Read reviews to see how peers rate each tool for qualities such as: ease of use and support. Set up a vendor demo for each stakeholder group. Users can evaluate how the tool aligns with Keep the following existing workflows, meets Ease of Use considerations in mind immediate needs and when evaluating Timeline for drives near-term goals.
  • APR1400-Z-J-NR-14003-NP, Rev 0, "Software Program Manual."

    APR1400-Z-J-NR-14003-NP, Rev 0, "Software Program Manual."

    Non-Proprietary Software Program Manual APR1400-Z-J-NR-14003-NP, Rev.0 Software Program Manual Revision 0 Non-Proprietary November 2014 Copyright ⓒ 2014 Korea Electric Power Corporation & Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved KEPCO & KHNP Non-Proprietary Software Program Manual APR1400-Z-J-NR-14003-NP, Rev.0 REVISION HISTORY Revision Date Page Description November 0 All First Issue 2014 This document was prepared for the design certification application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and contains technological information that constitutes intellectual property. Copying, using, or distributing the information in this document in whole or in part is permitted only by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its contractors for the purpose of reviewing design certification application materials. Other uses are strictly prohibited without the written permission of Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. KEPCO & KHNP ii Non-Proprietary Software Program Manual APR1400-Z-J-NR-14003-NP, Rev.0 ABSTRACT This technical report (TeR) provides the software engineering process for digital computer-based instrumentation and control (I&C) systems of the APR1400. This report describes the processes which ensure the reliability and design quality of the software throughout its entire life cycle. By implementing the processes in this report, the digital I&C system software achieves the following: Desired level of quality and reliability required for nuclear power plants (NPPs) Safety-related I&C functions for protecting and securing the safe operation of the NPPs Satisfactory conformance to nuclear codes and standards KEPCO & KHNP iii Non-Proprietary Software Program Manual APR1400-Z-J-NR-14003-NP, Rev.0 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................
  • OFFICE the Text in the Main Editing Window and Italicize It

    OFFICE the Text in the Main Editing Window and Italicize It

    ic or bold to the text you type in the Insert Endnote window, so if you W'ant to itali- cize a book title in a note, you have to insert the note with no italics, then edit OFFICE the text in the main editing window and italicize it. EasySpreadsheet handled our complex sample worksheets reasonably well, although it did not even try to open the charts. Our 4MB Microsoft Excel spread- sheet opened slowly but accurately. Easy0ffice7.0 labeled Filel and File2. Each of those EasySpreadsheet makes life simple for be- E-Press Corp, www.e-press.com. menus contains more than 20 items, in- ginners by displaying a vortical Totals ••COO cluding PDF and HTML export and items column on the right edge, showing the EasyOffice 7.0 packs more applications that store and search backup, grandfather, sums of all rows, and a horizontal Totals and utilities into one freeware package and great-grandfather versions of your column at the foot, with the sums of all than you'll find in any high-priced suite. A files—features you won't find in better- columns, it supports about 125 functions, <?6MB installer expands into a word known suites. Some menu items have but none as advanced as pivot tables, pn'cessor, spreadsheet, calculator, picture shortcut keys that let you access them by array formulas, conditional formatting, fil- editor. PDr editor, presentation program, typing an underlined letter; others are ac- teritig, and macros. You cannot customize and e-mail client. EasyOffice also contains the built-in number several applications that no other office formats.
  • Shareware Solutions II

    Shareware Solutions II

    SharewareShareware SolutionsSolutions IIII An Exciting Apple II Journey Into The Future Volume 3, Issue 1 Spring, 1996 Heard It Through The Grapevine Hard Drive Give Away following e-mail message: The There was also quite a bit of dis- winner of the HD is Keith Saga- cussion about Brutal Deluxes Everyone whose subscription low. We threw all of the papers System 6.0.2 update, and Oliv- was current at the end of Febru- into the air, then we threw a ier admitted that his program- ary, 1996 was automatically en- dart at one. There were three ming partner suffered from a tered into the Hard Drive Give names hit by the dart, but only hard drive crash and that much Away Contest, and the winner one was legible, so Keith was of the work had been lost. of that contest is Keith Saga- the winner. low, a IIGS owner from Central The freewheeling online chat Valley, New York. Keith is now Thanks to Tony Diaz for do- session was attended by more the proud owner of a 120 Mega- nating the drive. Thanks to Auri than 30 people, and a good time byte Focus Hard Drive. for acting as an intermediary to seemed to be had by all. Steve Wozniak. Thanks to Woz From the time the contest was for choosing the winner. But Upon his return to France, Oliv- announced in the last issue un- most of all, thanks to all of you ier started work on the next Bru- til the time that Keith received for supporting Shareware Solu- tal Deluxe release, a IIGS game his hard drive, several unexpect- tions II.
  • Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media

    Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media

    Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media Collide n New York University Press • NewYork and London Skenovano pro studijni ucely NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress. org © 2006 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jenkins, Henry, 1958- Convergence culture : where old and new media collide / Henry Jenkins, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8147-4281-5 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8147-4281-5 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Mass media and culture—United States. 2. Popular culture—United States. I. Title. P94.65.U6J46 2006 302.230973—dc22 2006007358 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America c 15 14 13 12 11 p 10 987654321 Skenovano pro studijni ucely Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction: "Worship at the Altar of Convergence": A New Paradigm for Understanding Media Change 1 1 Spoiling Survivor: The Anatomy of a Knowledge Community 25 2 Buying into American Idol: How We are Being Sold on Reality TV 59 3 Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling 93 4 Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars? Grassroots Creativity Meets the Media Industry 131 5 Why Heather Can Write: Media Literacy and the Harry Potter Wars 169 6 Photoshop for Democracy: The New Relationship between Politics and Popular Culture 206 Conclusion: Democratizing Television? The Politics of Participation 240 Notes 261 Glossary 279 Index 295 About the Author 308 V Skenovano pro studijni ucely Acknowledgments Writing this book has been an epic journey, helped along by many hands.
  • Understanding Code Forking in Open Source Software

    Understanding Code Forking in Open Source Software

    EKONOMI OCH SAMHÄLLE ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY LINUS NYMAN – UNDERSTANDING CODE FORKING IN OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE SOURCE OPEN IN FORKING CODE UNDERSTANDING – NYMAN LINUS UNDERSTANDING CODE FORKING IN OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE AN EXAMINATION OF CODE FORKING, ITS EFFECT ON OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE, AND HOW IT IS VIEWED AND PRACTICED BY DEVELOPERS LINUS NYMAN Ekonomi och samhälle Economics and Society Skrifter utgivna vid Svenska handelshögskolan Publications of the Hanken School of Economics Nr 287 Linus Nyman Understanding Code Forking in Open Source Software An examination of code forking, its effect on open source software, and how it is viewed and practiced by developers Helsinki 2015 < Understanding Code Forking in Open Source Software: An examination of code forking, its effect on open source software, and how it is viewed and practiced by developers Key words: Code forking, fork, open source software, free software © Hanken School of Economics & Linus Nyman, 2015 Linus Nyman Hanken School of Economics Information Systems Science, Department of Management and Organisation P.O.Box 479, 00101 Helsinki, Finland Hanken School of Economics ISBN 978-952-232-274-6 (printed) ISBN 978-952-232-275-3 (PDF) ISSN-L 0424-7256 ISSN 0424-7256 (printed) ISSN 2242-699X (PDF) Edita Prima Ltd, Helsinki 2015 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people who either helped make this book possible, or at the very least much more enjoyable to write. Firstly I would like to thank my pre-examiners Imed Hammouda and Björn Lundell for their insightful suggestions and remarks. Furthermore, I am grateful to Imed for also serving as my opponent. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Liikesivistysrahasto, the Hanken Foundation, the Wallenberg Foundation, and the Finnish Unix User Group.
  • Zack's Kernel News

    Zack's Kernel News

    KERNEL NEWS ZACK’S KERNEL NEWS ReiserFS Turmoil Their longer term plan, Alexander Multiport Card driver, again naming In light of recent events surrounding says, depends on what happens with himself the maintainer. Hans Reiser (http:// www. linux-maga- Hans. If Hans is released, the developers Jiri’s been submitting a number of zine. com/ issue/ 73/ Linux_World_News. intend to proceed as before. If he is not patches for these drivers, so it makes pdf), the question of how to continue released, Alexander’s best guess is that sense he would maintain them if he ReiserFS development came up on the the developers will try to appoint a wished; in any event, no other kernel linux-kernel mailing list. Alexander proxy to run Namesys. hacker has spoken up to claim the role. Lyamin from Hans’s Namesys company offered his take on the situation. He said Status of sysctl Filesystem Benchmarks that ReiserFS 3 has pretty much stabi- In keeping with Linus Torvalds’ recent Some early tests have indicated that ext4 lized into bugfix mode, though Suse assertions that it is never acceptable to is faster with disk writes than either ext3 folks had been adding new features like break user-space, Albert Cahalan volun- or Reiser4. There was general interest in ACL support. So ReiserFS 3 would go on teered to maintain the sysctl code if it these results, though the tests had some as before. couldn’t be removed. But Linus pointed problems (the tester thought delayed In terms of Reiser4, however, Alexan- out that really nothing actually used allocation was part of ext4, when that der said that he and the other Reiser de- sysctl (the implication being that it feature has not yet been merged into velopers were still addressing the techni- wouldn’t actually break anything to get Andrew Morton’s tree).
  • The Gnome Desktop Comes to Hp-Ux

    The Gnome Desktop Comes to Hp-Ux

    GNOME on HP-UX Stormy Peters Hewlett-Packard Company 970-898-7277 [email protected] THE GNOME DESKTOP COMES TO HP-UX by Stormy Peters, Jim Leth, and Aaron Weber At the Linux World Expo in San Jose last August, a consortium of companies, including Hewlett-Packard, inaugurated the GNOME Foundation to further the goals of the GNOME project. An organization of open-source software developers, the GNOME project is the major force behind the GNOME desktop: a powerful, open-source desktop environment with an intuitive user interface, a component-based architecture, and an outstanding set of applications for both developers and users. The GNOME Foundation will provide resources to coordinate releases, determine future project directions, and promote GNOME through communication and press releases. At the same conference in San Jose, Hewlett-Packard also announced that GNOME would become the default HP-UX desktop environment. This will enhance the user experience on HP-UX, providing a full feature set and access to new applications, and also will allow commonality of desktops across different vendors' implementations of UNIX and Linux. HP will provide transition tools for migrating users from CDE to GNOME, and support for GNOME will be available from HP. Those users who wish to remain with CDE will continue to be supported. Hewlett-Packard, working with Ximian, Inc. (formerly known as Helix Code), will be providing the GNOME desktop on HP-UX. Ximian is an open-source desktop company that currently employs many of the original and current developers of GNOME, including Miguel de Icaza. They have developed and contributed applications such as Evolution and Red Carpet to GNOME.