January 29, 2007
by sjvn01
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PDF to become an open, ISO standard

Adobe Systems Inc. on Jan. 29 announced that it has released the full PDF (Portable Document Format) 1.7 specification to AIIM, the Association for Information and Image Management. AIIM, in turn, will start working on making PDF an ISO standard.

In this release, Adobe is opening up the full PDF 1.7 specification as defined in Adobe’s PDF Reference Manual. According to Sarah Rosenbaum, Adobe’s director of product management, this is the next logical step for Adobe with its PDF formats. In the 14 years since Adobe published the complete PDF specification in 1993, PDF has become a de facto global standard for secure and dependable information exchange and archival storage.

Since 1995, Adobe has participated in various working groups that develop technical specifications for publication by ISO, and worked within the ISO process to deliver specialized subsets of PDF as standards for specific industries and functions. Through these efforts, PDF/Archive (PDF/A) and PDF/Exchange (PDF/X) have already become ISO standards, and PDF for Engineering (PDF/E) and PDF for Universal Access (PDF/UA) are well on their ways to becoming ISO standards.

Additionally, PDF for Healthcare (PDF/H) is an AIIM proposed Best Practice Guide. AIIM already serves as the administrator for PDF/A, PDF/E, PDF/UA and PDF/H.

One reason Adobe is releasing the full PDF 1.7 specification at this time is that so many industry-specific versions of PDF already were ISO standards, Rosenbaum explained. “We see a lot of standards based on PDF format that are specific to industries or archiving. That’s great, but for customers want to do documents in PDF, submitting the entire specification will make it easier for them,” she said.

From here, a joint committee formed under AIIM will identify issues to be addressed, as well as proposed solutions with the proposed standard. This committee will then develop a draft document that will be presented to a Joint Working Group of ISO for development and approval as an international standard.

By opening up PDF in this manner, Adobe’s customers will be more easily able to use PDFs in all their document management programs. Additionally, this move will also “provide an umbrella for the current alphabet soup of Adobe PDF standards,” Rosenbaum added. Another factor in Adobe’s decision was that with the rise of ODF (open document format), “there’s a stronger market trend towards standardizing on open standards … umbrella.”

However, this move by Adobe does not, Rosenbaum asserted, have anything to do with Microsoft’s PDF competitor: the Metro format, aka XPS (XML Paper Specification) print path.

XPS, which is now available in Vista, at one time was described as a “PDF killer.” In Vista, XPS appears as a printer named “XPS Document Writer.” If a user prints to this “printer” from an application, the resulting file will be an XPS Document. XPS is also supported in Office 2007.

Kevin Lynch, Adobe’s chief software architect and senior vice president of company’s platform business unit, stated: “Today’s announcement is the next logical step in the evolution of PDF from de facto standard to a formal, de jure standard. By releasing the full PDF specification for ISO standardization, we are reinforcing our commitment to openness. As governments and organizations increasingly request open formats, maintenance of the PDF specification by an external and participatory organization will help continue to drive innovation and expand the rich PDF ecosystem that has evolved over the past 15 years.”

Interestingly, this announcement by Adobe comes just one day prior to the Jan. 30 public release of both Vista and Office 2007 by Microsoft.

A version of this story appeared in DesktopLinux.

January 23, 2007
by sjvn01
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Linspire’s CNR to go multi-Linux, remain free

Linspire announced today that it plans to expand its CNR (“Click ‘N Run”) digital download and software management service to support multiple desktop Linux distributions beyond Linspire and Freespire, initially adding Debian, Fedora, OpenSUSE, and Ubuntu, using both .deb and .rpm packages. And, the standard CNR service will remain free.

CNR was developed by Linspire in 2002 to allow desktop Linux users to find, install, uninstall, manage, and update thousands of software programs on their Linspire-based Linux computers.

Previously available only for Linspire and Freespire desktop Linux users, the CNR Service will begin providing users of other desktop Linux distributions a free and easy way to access more than 20,000 desktop Linux products, packages and libraries, a Linspire spokesperson said.

Continue Reading →

January 16, 2007
by sjvn01
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Sun to release OpenSolaris under GPL version 3

Sun is going to add the upcoming GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3) to OpenSolaris in addition to its current CDDL (Common Development and Distribution License). This may give OpenSolaris a much needed kick in the pants.

I have never liked the CDDL. Like many other open source licenses, which are based on the MPL (Mozilla Public License), the CDDL artificially restricts the intellectual freedom that makes open source such an incredible powerhouse of software development.

As Larry Rosen, a partner in the technology law firm Rosenlaw & Einschlag and author of “Open-Source Licensing: Software Freedom and Intellectual Property Law,” told me a while back, “My biggest concern about the proliferation of reciprocal license such as the CDDL is that we end up not with one commons of free software but multiple islands of it that can’t be interchanged for creating derivative works. We get some of the benefits of the open-source paradigm but — as the Apache foundation is so fond of reminding us — reciprocal licenses prevent free software from being available to absolutely everyone for modification and reuse.”

He’s right, of course. What I find even more disturbing is that the CDDL has been followed by many other MPL-based licenses — like Scalix, Socialtext, SugarCRM, and Zimbra — that add even more restrictions. For example, the SugarCRM Public License, has now added a logo to its license. If you write an application based on Sugar’s code, Sugar insists that you display in your user interface a 106 x 23 pixel logo that states “Powered by SugarCRM.” This new, and I think annoying, trend is dubbed “badgeware.”

Thankfully, though, Sun hasn’t done this, and they’re now backing off a bit from the CDDL by placing OpenSolaris under the GPLv3, as well. This can only be good news for OpenSolaris and its developers.

This will enable programmers to share code among OpenSolaris and other GPLv3 open-source software projects. While it still looks very doubtful that Linux will go GPLv3, we can be certain that the Free Software Foundation Gnu Project’s 5,000 plus programs will be available under the GPLv3. In addition, the Samba Team has announced that it will be making its popular Samba CIFS (Common Internet File System) software GPLv3.

What all this adds up to is that by going GPLv3, OpenSolaris is building bridges to the other open-source islands. This can only benefit both OpenSolaris and the other GPLv3 programs.

At the same time, having a major operating system under GPLv3 will help with the acceptance of this revised license. I have long worried that the GPLv3 would be dead on arrival. Now, however, I’m sure that it will become a major open-source license.

I still believe that the GPLv2, thanks to the loyal support of Linus Torvalds and the other Linux core developers, will continue to be the single most important open-source license. I now think, however, that the GPLv3 will soon become a strong number two.

A version of this story first appeared in Linux-Watch.

January 12, 2007
by sjvn01
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Can Java become an important Linux language?

When you think programming languages and Linux, the languages that tend to come to mind are C, C++, Perl, PHP, Python and, lately, Ruby. But, Java probably doesn’t enter your mind at all — that’s because until recently Java was a proprietary language.

Sun, however has now liberated Java under the GPLv2 open-source license. I think that will help, but I think the fact that the Eclipse Foundation, with its Eclipse IDE (integrated development environment), and the JCP (Java Community Process), with its NetBeans IDE, are making nice will help a lot, too.

Developers didn’t need yet another standards battle, but that’s what they got. Both groups have long lists of companies supporting them, but what it really came down to was IBM (Eclipse) versus Sun (NetBeans): winner takes first the Java IDE kingdom, and then the Java application world.

On one side, we had Sun representatives making faces at the IBM-sponsored Eclipse and saying things like, IBM wants to corrupt Java by forking it. To give their claims bite, they’d point at things like Eclipse needing its non-Java SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit) library to run.

On the other side, IBM made catty comments about how Eclipse does more, and works far, far faster than NetBeans.

What was really going on, though, was an old-fashioned business standards fight. IBM and friends were impatient with what they saw as Sun’s slow pace and tight control of NetBeans.

One of the ironies of this fight is that both NetBeans and Eclipse are open-source projects. Anyone who’s thought that just because a project was open-source meant there wouldn’t be fierce competition just hasn’t been paying attention.

The downside of all this, of course, is that while these two sides were busy pounding on each other, Microsoft was continuing to gather up developers with its Microsoft Visual Studio IDE family and its proprietary .NET language families.

That isn’t just Windows, by the way. Thanks to the Mono Project, we now have .NET server and client applications running on Linux. Some of those applications are darn good, too. You can argue that F-Spot, the GNOME photo management program is the best Linux photo program around and Beagle is my favorite Linux search utility. On the other hand, they are based on a Microsoft technology. I, for one, would like to see Java become at least as important to Linux development as Mono.

To make that happen, though, NetBeans and Eclipse need to get on the same page. Now that Eclipse has joined the JCP — which is something like a McCoy marrying a Hatfield — we may finally see some progress in that direction.

I hope so, anyway.

When Mike Milinkovich, the Eclipse Foundation’s executive director, spoke to Daryl Taft at eWEEK, however, he said, “Eclipse is “still evaluating how deeply we can participate in the organizations, as we have limited resources to invest in their expert groups and task forces.” Come on guys! Get off the stick, and work together already!

Milinkovich also suggested that Sun should join Eclipse. OK, fair enough, I think Sun should do that. Sun has considered joining the Eclipse Foundation in the past.

Here’s what’s really important: both groups — IBM and Sun — need to work together to hammer out their differences. A united Java IDE will only benefit all Java development. And, it just might make Java an important language for Linux, as well. If not, well, am I the only one who sees the irony of Microsoft’s .NET being more important on Linux than open-source Java?

Come on guys, let’s get with the open-source, open-standards program, shall we?

January 8, 2007
by sjvn01
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Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols Resume

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
40 Sourwood Dr.
Mills River, NC 28759
828-890-3393 work
sjvn@vna1.com
Practical Technology

OBJECTIVE:

I’m a top business/technology writer/editor seeking a senior-level position with a technology or business publication. I’m a well-known author with 3,000+ articles and a half-dozen books to my credit. I’ve been on the launch team for several Ziff Davis and CMP publications. I’ve frequently spoken and keynoted at technology trade shows and conferences. My combined writing, editing and speaking talents offer a major advantage to any publication.

EXPERIENCE:

Editor-at-Large: 2007–present
Ziff Davis Enterprise

Editor: 2005–2007
Ziff Davis Internet

As an editor, I write the majority of content and manage Ziff’s core Linux news site: Linux-Watch, write the lead stories and manage DesktopLinux, and help set overall editorial direction of eWEEK.com, LinuxDevices, and Windows For Devices. In addition, I write features, news, technical feature and op/ed pieces across the Ziff Davis publication line. During the past two years the two sites which are my primary responsibility, Linux-Watch and DesktopLinux, saw year-to-year growth of over 50% in hits and unique readers.

Senior Editor: 2004–2005
eWEEK

As Senior Editor, I managed both the eWEEK Linux and Channel Insider and help set overall editorial direction of eWEEK.com. In addition, I wrote features, news, technical feature and op/ed pieces across the Ziff Davis publication line.

Linux & Open Source Site Editor: 2003-2004
eWEEK

As the Linux and open source site editor, I wrote twice-a-week columns, news and features on these topics. I also assigned, ediedt and managed freelancers, spoke at seminars, and run the eWeek Linux online discussion areas. During my tenure, I’ve increased section readership by over 500%.

Channel Watch Editor: 2004
Channel Watch

As editor of this reseller/integrator news Web site, I wrote stories and columns and edited the work of half-a-dozen freelancers.

Editor: 2002-present
Practical Technology

Practical Technology is my personal technology and business news site. Here, I cover issues that interest me but don’t appear in my usual publications. Recently, that means I have been covering consumer entertainment technology.

Editor at Large: September 1997 – June 2001
Sm@rt Partner/Ziff Davis

I oversaw this value-added reseller/system integrator magazine’s technology sections and its staff of four editors. I also wrote a very popular weekly column, Cyber Cynic, about how technology and business all too often fail to deliver on their promises and what you can do about it. Additionally, I wrote technology and business news and features.

Freelance Writer–1989-present

I am a successful freelance writer specializing in business and technology.

As a freelancer, I’e served as a contributing editor for NetGuide, Computer Shopper, EnterprisePlanet, ZDNet, Interchange, Object Magazine, NewsForge, Personal Workstation, PrintMedia, Internet World, and Windows User. I’ve also been a columnist for Computer Shopper, I-Way, Interchange, Linux Magazine, Mobility, SD Times, WebWeek, and ZeroDownTim. I have also written numerous for PC Magazine, PC/Computing, InternetWeek, Smart Business, IEEE Computer, The Washington Post, and dozens of other publications. I also helped launch Sm@rt Partner, Inter@ctive Week, Interchange, and WebWeek (Now Internet World).

Over the years, I’ve written and edited columns, news, general features, technology features, stand-alone and category reviews. I’ve also written several books including Inside the World Wide Web, which has gone through two editions, and the best selling Intranets, which was translated into German and Greek editions.

In addition, I’ve written technical white papers for IBM, Intel, Motorola, and other smaller companies. Concurrently, I supervised the work of up to seven freelance writers and staffers on writing and editing projects, from PC Magazine features to white papers, to manuals for everything from e-mail programs to children’s games.

Away from the keyboard, I often appeared as a keynote speaker, panel leader and speaker at Comdex, LinuxWorld, NetWorld+Interop, Seybold, and many other technology and business trade shows.

AFFILIATIONS:
Internet Press Guild – Chairman

EDUCATION:

Doctoral work in American and European diplomatic history, history of imperialism, and English Renaissance drama

MA in history (West Virginia University) – Magna cum laude in history specializing in European diplomatic history. .

BA in English and history (Glenville State College) – cum laude, dual majors in English and history with a minor in political science.

REFERENCES:

Available on request.

January 1, 2007
by sjvn01
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The Linux Foundation: The Right Idea at the Right Time

Linux is growing by leaps and bounds, and it only makes sense that the organizations that track and guide its growth are finally getting together. So, if all goes well, sometime this February the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group will be merging to form the Linux Foundation. It really is the right idea at the right time.

The OSDL, based in Beaverton, Ore., has long supported Linux and other open-source programs. Its membership includes almost every significant Linux organization and company. After its reorganization in December in advance of this merger, the nonprofit organization clarified its goals.

The OSDL began shifting its resources to focus on four main areas. First, it will continue to employ key developers, such as Linus Torvalds and Andrew Morton, the organization said. It will also increase its funding of legal support for Linux and open source, and in particular, it will address licensing and patent issues. This expansion will complement current OSDL initiatives such as the Patent Commons, Osapa.org and the Linux Legal Defense Fund.

The group will also support ongoing regional activities such as the Japanese Linux Symposium, and will work to foster closer collaboration among community developers, OSDL members and users to produce more code to advance open-source projects.

A prime example of the OSDL’s actions to foster collaboration among developers, organizations and companies is the Portland Project and its efforts to bring rhyme and reason to the various Linux desktop projects. The Portland Project, which was sponsored by the OSDL’s Desktop Linux Working Group, has brought together KDE and GNOME developers, open-source programmers and software vendors to create the foundations for a standards-based Linux desktop.

The FSG’s membership list looks a great deal like OSDL’s. There’s a reason for that. Both nonprofits have almost identical goals. The main difference between them is more a matter of where they spend their energies rather than any philosophical differences.

A quick look at the FSG’s three major areas makes this clear. While the FSG doesn’t employ developers, its main focus is on the LSB (Linux Standard Base) and its test suite. The LSB is a set of standards meant to enable application portability across all LSB-compliant Linux distributions. The test suite ensures that all LSB Certified distributions and applications comply with the LSB standard.

This is supported in turn by the Linux world’s answer to the MSDN (Microsoft Software Developer Network): the LSB Developer Network. Like the MSDN, this site provides a central place for information, tools and support for developers building applications deployable on multiple Linux distributions.

Finally, the FSG maintains an “LSB Certified” trademark and product directory: a brand and marketplace that enable users who are looking for portable, standards-compliant solutions to find certified Linux applications and distributions. The brand is licensed to products that pass the LSB test suite and represents interoperability for the Linux platform.

Besides these major pushes, the FSG also supports such efforts as an initiative to improve Linux software installation and OpenPrinting that work hand-in-glove with the OSDL’s Portland Project.

When you look at what both groups do, at what both want to do and who supports them, the real question isn’t why the FSG and the OSDL are getting together to form the Linux Foundation, it’s what took them so long.

Be that as it may, they are getting together now under the leadership of Jim Zemlin, the former executive director of the FSG. With Zemlin at the helm, the new organization will continue to operate in all of its current locations with all its present employees. The real change, the change that matters, is that some of Linux’s leading developers and consensus builders will be working together. I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing what some of open source’s best and brightest can do together.