Open Protocol

This Mary Jo Foley announcement may well have the greatest impact of all time on Free/Libre Open Source Software...

December 20th, 2007

Microsoft and Samba finally come to terms over Windows protocols

Posted by Mary Jo Foley @ 12:49 pm

After years of public disagreement over ensuring interoperability between their respective software, Microsoft and Samba have come to terms. And not surprisingly, each vendor is offering quite a different spin on the licensing agreement they unveiled on December 20.

It took an intermediary, the Protocol Freedom Information Foundation (PFIF) — a non-profit organization created by the Software Freedom Law Center — to hand off the Microsoft protocol documentation that Samba said it needed to make its Unix/Linux file/print sharing products work properly with Windows.

According to a press release issued December 20, Samba is paying Microsoft a one-time sum of 10,000 Euros, after which the PFIF will make available to the Samba Team, under non-disclosure, “the documentation needed for implementation of all of the workgroup server protocols covered by the European Union decision.” (The EU decision to which this refers is the Microsoft’s loss of its appeal to overturn the European Commission’s 2004 antitrust decision against the company.)

Not surprisingly, Samba and Microsoft had quite different spins on today’s news.

The cynic in me wonders just how much Microsoft will change the protocol when they release MinWin. (I so much so wish for a level playing field and a sense of fair play.)

Open Exposure

Lane Hartwell has turned a great exposure possibility into a "I won't give your work another look" instance.

Let us get a grip on this situation. If...IF... a Hartwell image was being used to create an income stream for a separate party then I can understand Lane's objections. In the instance of the Bubble video there was no attempt to capitalize on the work of any given individual.

I see this as a litigious moment. "I can raise a stink because the letter of the law supports my sanctimonious position." Let common sense take a back seat to my egotistical "concerns".

So here is the laughable part of this whole thing.... if... IF Lane Hartwell had acknowledged the use of her photograph and... AND... didn't make a whiny mess... people would have surfed to her site in droves. Perhaps evens spending a few dollars on her photography.

As it stands now... "I won't give your work another look" regardless of the quality - you see, I can stand on the pinnacle of principle too. (But I won't lose any money on the deal. So sorry.)

Open Blogging (Pt. 2)

In the previous post Open Blogging I echoed a couple of reports about Zhai Minglei. He is a Chinese blogger/publisher who was "visited" by authorities. I became a little concerned when I couldn't find any more information about his circumstances. Then I came across this report posted at Civic China. ..

December 2, 2007

Short Update

Filed under: china, censorship, current events, ngo, personal, politics, blogs — Peter Marolt & Sophia Ong @ 12:21 am

According to the latest post on his Blog named “One Man’s Paper” (一个人的报纸), Zhai Minglei has safely returned home. For now.

After copying it, the authorities have also returned his harddisk.

Mr. Zhai spent long hours trying to convince the police that Minjian has done nothing illegal whatsoever.

We hope that this effort will reach the right ears and eventually bring about some positive development!

...and I am prepared for the worst. This is the price to be paid in struggling for freedom of speech and media freedom. - Zhai Minglei, November 29, 2007

Open Commentary

The Accidental Russophile mentioned...

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Putin Announced as Time Magazine's "Man of the Year"

Perhaps not-so-surprising announcement regarding Time Magazine naming Vladimir Putin as their "Man of the Year" for 2007. Reuters has the story of one of the more negative sounding pronouncements of "Man of the Year" in recent memory.

Whether you like the "Man of the Year" or not you have to respect the man...

To commemerate the occasion, I'm sharing the following Putin cut-out figure. Now you too can have a little Putin, Man of the Year, watching over your desk!

I am folding mine now.

Thirty-one Bullets?

Born December 16th, 1984. Killed on December 14th, 2007.

... Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi was a contributor to the video blog, Alive in Baghdad. He was killed while at home, during a raid by the Iraqi National Guard in his street. Ali took 31 bullets between the chest and head and died immediately. Ali was not the only victim of that raid. Hussain, his neighbour, was found dead. Hussain's brother and nephew have disappeared too.

Ali is survived by his mother and sister. Alive in Baghdad are collecting donations to help the family with the funeral costs.

Thirty-one Bullets?

Open Frustration

Perhaps you have noticed this red block in the sidebar. Originally I was pleased to support the fight against Breast Cancer by displaying a well designed campaign logo/poster design by the Manderin Design group. I finally decided to find out what became of the excellent design and why the block turned solid red. Much to my dismay I find that the Manderin Design group has not renewed it's domain registration - which is tantamount to dissolution of the business. A sad day.

The battle against Breast Cancer remains. The logo is gone, the fight goes on.

[Spelling correction - Mandarin Design]