Kernel release: 2.4.22-rc2-ac1, Aug 09, 2003

2.4.22-rc2-ac1 has been released today.
See changelog for full details.

Files added: 304
Files changed: 759
Files removed: 21

Webmaster's note: This has got to be the best quote I've seen in any article we've posted about this: SCO is a toad about to face a steamroller

Software analysts worry that SCO's lawsuit will put the big chill on Linux development. This would be a bad thing, not least because it would leave Microsoft in a stronger position than ever. But there's another, more stout-hearted way of looking at it: SCO's legal action is the first harbinger of the corporate makeover of Linux. Open-source advocates are outraged at the audacity of the lawsuit. They should instead be thankful. Linux must inoculate itself against the nasty legal toxins that are endemic in the corporate environment. And if we were to perversely pick a poison, the SCO suit has a lot going for it. SCO is strong enough to provoke a strengthening of Linux's defences but not so strong that it poses any real danger.

One way or another, rights to the core coding behind the Linux operating system (OS) ultimately will be decided by several federal court lawsuits stemming from SCO Group's claims on the popular "open source," or freely distributed software.

A trio of authors—including LinuxWorld Magazine Contributing Editor Dee-Ann LeBlanc—is looking for your biggest Linux annoyances for an upcoming book of annoyances and how to solve them. Now's your chance to share your stories of past and current frustrations. From newbie to pro, sharing your annoyances could help build a book that will not only help your fellow users and administrators (and maybe even point out solutions you hadn't considered before), but might help to point out to the Linux development community where they might want to clean some things up.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a trade group representing Microsoft rivals, including Sun Microsystems and Oracle, plans to form a lobby group to urge governments to use the Linux operating system.

"We want consideration for Linux; we want a nice, level playing field," Minchak said. "The primary focus is not to go after Microsoft at all." He declined to disclose members of the proposed lobbying group, which hasn't been formed officially.

"Linux has been absorbed as a technology in their overall framework. I actually think that in five or 10 years we will not be meeting here on the topic of Linux because the technology will become so embedded and embraced in business IT that it will not even be a question to use it," Weiss said.

People forget that the copyright laws were created for the common good, and if you accept the fact that copyrights and patents were created for the common good, and if you accept the fact that open-source software was created for the common good, then maybe open-source software deserves more protection than other types of software.

2.6.0-test3 has been released today.
See changelog for full details.

Files added: 223
Files changed: 2327
Files removed: 392

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