101 lines
4.2 KiB
HTML
101 lines
4.2 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<title>Announcements by Sun and Troll Tech LG #36</title>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#A000A0"
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ALINK="#FF0000">
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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</H4>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<font color="navy">A <I>Linux Journal</I> Preview</font>:
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This article will appear in the February 1999 issue of <I>Linux
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Journal</I>.
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<P> <HR> <P>
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<center>
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<H1><font color="maroon">Announcements by Sun and Troll Tech</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">Marjorie Richardson</a></H4>
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</center>
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<P> <HR> <P>
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On December 8, Sun Microsystems made two announcements of interest
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to the Linux community. One was the completion of the Linux port to the
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UltraSPARC architecture; the other was the new, more open licensing of Java.
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<p>
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<h3>UltraSPARC</h3>
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<p>
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When Sun joined Linux International back in May, it was with the expressed
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intention of joining the Linux community to do the UltraSPARC port. This
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has now become a reality. In addition, they have announced their intention
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to allow vendors to sell the UltraSPARC preloaded with Linux as well as
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Solaris.
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<p>
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Every machine sold preloaded with Linux is another win for Linux. An even
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bigger win is having yet one more of the ``big guys'' acknowledge that
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computers with Linux pre-installed are more attractive to potential buyers,
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especially those new to Linux. I for one am happy to see Sun following in the
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footsteps of Corel Computer and Cobalt Networks in making this decision.
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<p>
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<h3>Java Licensing</h3>
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<p>
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The new, open licensing for Java has been speculated about for some time.
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Will Sun make it open? If so, when? Well, they did it with this
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announcement-another big win for the Open Source movement. Source
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code has always been free for non-commercial use and the binaries have been
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freely available for use in tools developed by others. Here's how it has
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become more open, according to the press release:
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<p>
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<ul>
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<li> Allows commercial entities to use and modify the source
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code for commercial software product development without charge.
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<li> Allows innovation of the source code without
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requiring that innovation be returned to Sun.
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<li> Allows commercial entities to modify and share
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compatible source code with other commercial entities without charge
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and without mediation from Sun.
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<li> Allows licensees to package for resale Sun's Java
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platform class libraries with virtual machines from other licensees.
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</ul>
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These are major changes, but not quite the GPL. Developers who actually
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incorporate the code into a commercial product will still be required to
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pay a fee to Sun. Still, it's a step in the right direction and others are
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sure to follow suit.
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<p>
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<h3>Troll Tech</h3>
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<p>
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In a similar vein, Troll Tech announced in November that it plans to
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release version 2.0 of the Free Edition of the Qt graphical interface under
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an Open Source license. This will eliminate any worries and controversy
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regarding inclusion of the KDE desktop in commercial products.
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<p>
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Good news, indeed, to everyone who has wished for a user-friendly desktop for
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Linux. KDE has come a long way toward providing that option for those who are
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shy of the command line.
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1999, Marjorie Richardson <BR>
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Published in Issue 36 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, January 1999</H5></center>
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