"Sun today announced that Java Platform, Standard Edition 5 is now available for redistribution by GNU/Linux and OpenSolaris operating system distributors under the new Operating System Distributor's License for Java (also known as the 'Distro License for Java' or DLJ). Developed in consultation with, and for use by, the various GNU/Linux communities, the new license allows distributors to ship Sun's Java SE 5.0 Java Development Kit and Java Runtime Environment as installable packages for their operating systems." At the same time, Sun also promised to open-source Java.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2006-04-21
Please don't troll.
Firstly, forking (fragmentation) only works if people support the fork. People may have supported {Free,Open,Net}BSD, even DragonFlyBSD, but many other BSDs (not to mention versions of XFree86 under the new licence) have fallen by the wayside, and the future of some (PCBSD, DesktopBSD) is at best unclear.
Secondly, what is clear is that choosing the GPL is the best way to prevent forks. Yes, there are plenty Linux distros, but they all take the Linux kernel from the same codebase, GNU binutils from the same codebase, and so on.
Member since:2005-07-06
Member since:2005-07-06
Secondly, what is clear is that choosing the GPL is the best way to prevent forks. Yes, there are plenty Linux distros, but they all take the Linux kernel from the same codebase, GNU binutils from the same codebase, and so on.
That isn't necessarily true. In fact, I don't see how the GPL prevents forking at all. It seems to encourage it, just look at the hundreds of Linux distributions that exist. Not only are they different in what they package, many of them have different patches applied, etc. They may have the same sources for code, but that doesn't mean anything.
In fact, I'm not sure how the GPL ensures that people will obtain it from the same source, when obviously, the different kernel patches they use often don't come from the same source.
I think the correct thing to say is that the GPL is *one* of many open source licenses that can *encourage* a centralized project. However, I'm not aware of any that would actually *prevent* forking.
Member since:2005-07-07
The GPL might be the best way of preventing forking, but IMHO it opens a totally different can of worms. What would happen to my code that was written and compiled by a fully GPL JVM? The compilation itself shouldn't be an issue, but if the entire JVM was GPL'ed, that would mean that my code was linking to GPL'ed code, which would then require me to release the source code to my programs.
Unless I am mistaken in my interpretation of the GPL, using such a license would spell death for Java. Instead a different license like the BSD (very unlikely) or the LGPL (more likely) would be more suitable.
Member since:2006-01-01
"Vendor asking for community input on how to balance open source with preventing fragmentation"
they want to ask the linux community for input to prevent fragmentation? if that is the case. i thought they were discussions about the linux community being fragmented, and that was one of the problems for linux not being able to succed in the desktop.
Edited 2006-05-16 23:47
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing."The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run."There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Member since:
2005-07-06
From the second article:
"Vendor asking for community input on how to balance open source with preventing fragmentation"
Open sourcing it is definitely not the answer for that. Sun is getting desperate it would seem.