The Proliferation of Linux

I’m pleased to announce that I will soon be launching a new, easy to use web application for sending Wake-On-LAN MagicPackets to computers.  The site will be known as Wakify and it will be completely free.

All users can send MagicPackets and registered users will have the advantage of being able to store their computers together with their associated host and hardware addresses.  The site also allows users to ping hosts to see if they have come up or not.

Wakify was created using the wonderful Ruby on Rails framework and its source code will be available under a GPLv3 license.

Wakify.com

Digi International will update its RJ-45 jack-sized Connect ME device server. Available in December with Linux cross-development tools, the Digi Connect ME 9210 offers a faster ARM9 processor and serial data rates, while adding a serial peripheral interface (SPI), I2C, and cryptography hardware.

Yes, that is a server. And no, you most likely won’t be seeing one of those in your home office. This little devices are destined for “OEMs who want to network-enable small-format industrial equipment, says Digi. Specific examples include programmable logic controllers (PLCs), power distribution units (PDUs), and building environment controls.”

LinuxDevices.com

Andrew Bartlett from the Samba development team has published an article titled “A year since Microsoft’s EU appeal failed” describing Samba’s recent efforts for interoperability with Microsoft.

As JP puts it on Slashdot: “In brief, it would seem that the sky is falling, as Microsoft’s engineers seem to be really committed to making Samba fully interoperable with AD. They have organized interoperability fests and have knowledgeable engineers answering technical questions without legal or marketing drones getting in the way.”

Andrew Bartlett, Samba Team [via Slashdot]

Sun Microsystems have lauched a new site for hosting open source projects.  The primary goal of Project Kenai is to host open source projects and to encourage collaboration on them.

[Project Kenai is] More Than Just a Forge! [It] is the foundation for the connected developer of tomorrow. Freely host your open source projects and code. Find and collaborate with developers of like mind and passion from around the globe.

Project Kenai [via O Static]

A tiny island in the South Pacific has ordered and received laptops from the OLPC initiative for all its school children.  Mind you Niue has a total population of only about 1700, I couldn’t find any figure for how many children they have in school.  No word on whether they have the Linux or the Windows version, for their sake, I hope Linux.

Interestingly “in 2003, it became the first territory to offer free wireless internet to all its inhabitants.”

BBC News

Dell’s entry into the sub-notebook market, the Inspiron 910, will ship with Ubuntu preinstalled. This was confirmed this morning when Gizmodo published (leaked) specifications for the Inspiron 910.

The specifications also show that the device includes an 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, up to 1GB of RAM, and an 8.9″ screen with support for a resolution of 1024×600. It will also include a built-in camera, solid-state drives ranging between 4GB and 16GB, a VGA port, a media card reader, WiFi, and 3 USB ports. Rumors indicate that the base model could be priced as low as $299.

Gizmodo [via Ars Technica]

Canonical, the main sponsor behind the popular Ubuntu distribution, ha become a member of the Linux Foundation, “the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux.”

Read on for the full press release.
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The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) have given the green light to publish the Microsoft-backed Office Open XML (OOXML) specification after organization leaders rejected appeals from four countries to protest the vote that approved OOXML as a standard.

Now all we can hope is that Bob Sutor’s (IBM’s vice president of open source and standards) predictions come to fruition.

InfoWorld [via Slashdot]

Via has announced the “lowest profile nano-ITX board ever”, the Epia N700.

The Epia N700 includes Via’s 1.5GHz C7 or 500MHz Eden ULV processors, gigabit Ethernet, two SATA ports, four USB ports, four COM ports, plus Compact Flash and Mini PCI expansion, the company says.

LinuxDevices.com