Cody Taylor

Free open-source software is not so free anymore as more companies — including longtime makers of conventional software — strive to make money on the technology.

jhfry writes “An interesting development by an unexpected source, Phoenix Technologies is releasing a Linux based, virtualization enabled, BIOS based OS for computers. They implemented a full Linux distro right on the BIOS chips, and using integrated virtualization technology it ‘allows PCs and laptops to hot-switch between the main operating system, such as Windows, and the HyperSpace environment.’ So essentially they are ‘trying to create a new market using the ideas of a fast-booting, safe platform that people can work in, but remain outside of Windows.'”

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In one of RIAA’s high profile cases the Free Software Foundation backed defendant Joel Tenenbaum, much to the dislike of the music industry lobby. John Sullivan, Operations Manager at the FSF explains in a guest post why they think these cases impact not just music, but also free software and its technology.

Canonical is preparing to launch Ubuntu One, a new Web service that will offer cloud synchronization and collaboration features. Ars gives you a detailed hands-on look at the service and some of the underlying technology.

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from the Guardian: “Distinctive brain patterns could become the latest subject of biometric scanning after EU researchers successfully tested technology to verify identities for security checks. The experiments, which also examined the potential of heart rhythms to authenticate individuals, were conducted under an EU-funded inquiry into biometric systems that could be deployed at airports, borders and in sensitive locations to screen out terrorist suspects.” The same article says that “The Home Office, meanwhile, has confirmed rapid expansion plans of automated facial recognition gates: 10 will be operating at major UK airports by August.” I wonder what Bruce Schneier would have to say about such elaborate measures.

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DJRumpy writes in to alert us that Apple’s new OS, Snow Leopard, is apparently nearing completion. “Apple this past weekend distributed a new beta of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard that altered the programming methods used to optimize code for multi-core Macs, telling developers they were the last programming-oriented changes planned ahead of the software’s release. …`Apple is said to have informed recipients of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard build 10A354 that it has simplified the`… APIs for working with Grand Central, a new architecture that makes it easier for developers to take advantage of Macs with multiple processing cores. This technology works by breaking complex tasks into smaller blocks, which are then`… dispatched efficiently to a Mac’s available cores for faster processing.”

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Fireworks exploded last week as the government’s four days of hearings on possible DMCA exemptions wrapped up. Rightsholders “insult us by treating us as potential infringers who can’t be trusted to use a technology any 12-year old can download from the Internet,” said one lawyer.

eldavojohn writes “A policy from the Bush era seen as a hurtle to the government prosecuting companies under antitrust laws has been withdrawn by Obama’s Department of Justice. From the article, ‘The DOJ’s Antitrust Division has withdrawn a September report that “raised too many hurdles to government antitrust enforcement and favored extreme caution” toward antitrust enforcement action, the DOJ said. The change in policy could mean that the department looks harder at the actions of technology vendors such as Google, Oracle and IBM, as detractors have raised antitrust concerns about all three in recent months.’ You may recall that Google has come under some antitrust scrutiny recently and the pressure may have just gotten a little more intense.”

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Hugh Pickens writes “A team of Army cadets spent four days at West Point last week struggling around the clock to keep a computer network operating while hackers from the National Security Agency tried to infiltrate it with methods that an enemy might use. The NSA made the cadets’ task more difficult by planting viruses on some of the equipment, just as real-world hackers have done on millions of computers around the world. The competition was a final exam for computer science and information technology majors, who competed against teams from the Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine as well as the Naval Postgraduate Academy and the Air Force Institute of Technology. Ideally, the teams would be allowed to attack other schools’ networks while also defending their own but only the NSA, with its arsenal of waivers, loopholes, special authorizations is allowed to take down a US network. NSA tailored its attacks to be just ‘a little too hard for the strongest undergraduate team to deal with, so that we could distinguish the strongest teams from the weaker ones.’ The winning West Point team used Linux, instead of relying on proprietary products from big-name companies like Microsoft or Sun Microsystems.”

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The Apple co-founder has joined the board of TechForEducators.com, which aims to get technology to all students regardless of income.