Apache Software Foundation: Disputed Code Not from Harmony

Legal 62 Comments
Yesterday, we discussed the claims made by Oracle about Google allegedly copying their code, and quickly enough, the web - I included - concluded that it looked like the code in question originally came from Apache's Harmony Project - although no one could find it in the current code repository. Earlier this morning, I contacted the Apache Software Foundation, and they cleared everything up: the contested class library does not, and did not, come from the Apache Harmony project.
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Third Release of Linux SCHED_DEADLINE Available

Linux No Comments
The third version of the SCHED_DEADLINE patchset has been released to LKML: SCHED_DEADLINE is a real-time scheduling class for Linux with bandwidth isolation (a.k.a. 'resource reservation') capabilities based on the EDF algorithm. This version adds support for global/clustered multiprocessor scheduling through dynamic task migrations. This means that tasks can migrate among (a subset of) CPUs when this is needed, by means of pushes & pulls. Moreover, (c)group based task admission logic and bandwidth management has been removed, in favour of a per root_domain tasks bandwidth accounting mechanism." The code is being jointly developed by ReTiS Lab and Evidence S.r.l in the context of the ACTORS EU-funded project. Development takes place right here.
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Google Docs Users Stranded by Bug

  Submitted by Dan Warne Web 2.0 13 Comments
Cloud apps can be a godsend -- until they stop working, taking all your data with them. Google Docs users worldwide have learned this the hard way this week, locked out of their documents by a bug which Google says is currently its #1 priority to fix, but hasn't been able to resolve for six days and counting. The bug, associated with Google's new multiple account login feature, causes an endless redirect when people try to open a document. Microsoft has been quick to jump on the opportunity to promote its forthcoming Office 365 service, which caches files locally, as a better solution than the all-cloud solution Google is offering. Google has been apologetic about the bug but says since it is not actually an outage it will not honor its 99.9% uptime guarantee for Google Apps Premier users.
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Intel Announces The Yocto Project

OS News 9 Comments
Embedding Linux can apparently become a bit messy. This is set to change. With the support of Intel, the Linux Foundation has recently launched the "Yocto Project" This project is not a linux distribution or platform but a complete embedded Linux development environment with tools, metadata, and documentation. The project currently targets four architectures: ARM, MIPS, PowerPC and x86 (32 and 64 Bit). Intel's support for the project can best be summarized from its own press release: "Intel is supporting the Yocto Project with code and resources to help provide high-quality developer tools assisting companies with the creation of custom Linux-based systems for embedded products on any hardware architecture."
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Microsoft Profit Jumps 51 Percent with Record Q1 Revenue

Microsoft 13 Comments
"Microsoft profit jumped 51 percent year over year and recorded record quarterly revenue during Q1 of its fiscal year 2011, the company said today, killing Wall Street estimates as skepticism surrounded Microsoft's cash cows. Net income skyrocketed from $3.57 billion in Q1FY10 to $5.41 billion in the quarter ending Sept. 30, launched by strong sales of Windows 7 and Office 2010. The year-ago period, however, was a low point as Microsoft weathered the poor economy. Earnings per share was 62 cents, eclipsing the Wall Street consensus estimate of 55 cents. And while analysts had expected revenue of $15.8 billion, Microsoft reported $16.2 billion - up 25 percent over the year-ago period."
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Adobe Shows Off Flash-to-HTML5 Conversion Tool

  Submitted by poundsmack Internet 12 Comments
"Even though its Flash technology is used as a punching bag by Web standards fans, Adobe has been building tools that embrace HTML5. The company recently released its own HTML5 video player, and Adobe Illustrator and Dreamweaver CS5 now contain a number of new HTML5 export tools. Now it seems Flash might be joining the party. At Adobe's MAX conference this week, Adobe engineer Rik Cabanier showed of a demo of tool that converts Flash animations to HTML5 (well, technically it looks like a combination of HTML5, CSS and images)."
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Oracle Claims Google Copied Java Code – Not So Fast, Though

  Submitted by poundsmack Legal 74 Comments
Now, this is an interesting development in the ongoing war against Android. Oracle didn't just sue Google for allegedly infringing its Java patents; it also claimed copyright infringement. Oracle has amended its complaint, and, fair is fair, they've got the code to prove it: indeed, Android contains code that appears to be copied verbatim from Java - mind you, appears. However, the code in question comes straight from Apache's Harmony project, which raises the question - would a respected and long-established cornerstone of the open source world really accept tainted code in the first place?
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Microsoft Tries to Prevent Asus, Acer from Using Android, ChromeOS

  Submitted by viator Legal 92 Comments
If you can't compete, litigate. This train of thought has been quite prevalent among major technology companies as of late, most notably by Apple and Microsoft, who both cannot compete with Android on merit, so they have to resort to patent lawsuits and FUD. Both Asustek and Acer have revealed that Microsoft plans to impose royalty fees upon the two Taiwanese hardware makers to prevent them from shipping Android and/or Chrome OS devices.
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Russia To Create ‘Windows Rival’

  Submitted by sawboss In the News 44 Comments
"The Russian state plans to revamp its computer services with a Windows rival to reduce its dependence on US giant Microsoft and better monitor computer security, a lawmaker said Wednesday. Moscow will earmark 150 million rubles (3.5 million euros, 4.9 million dollars) to develop a national software system based on the Linux operating system, Russian deputy Ilia Ponomarev told AFP, confirming an earlier report in the Vedomosti daily." Right. I guess this has absolutely nothing to do with this. Want to buy a unicorn?
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The FreeBSD Status Report, July-September

  Submitted by Daniel Gerzo FreeBSD 7 Comments
"This report covers FreeBSD-related projects between July and September 2010. It is the third of the four reports planned for 2010. During this period, we were victims of one of the biggest BSD events of the year - EuroBSDCon. We hope that the ones of you who have been able to attend it have enjoyed your stay. Another good news is that work on the new minor versions of FreeBSD, 7.4 and 8.2, is progressing well."
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Google’s Android Market Reaches 100000 Applications

Google 13 Comments
Google has confirmed on the official Android Developer Twitter account that the Android Market has surpassed the milestone of 100000 applications. In perspective, Steve Jobs said last week that the Apple App Store now contains over 300000 applications. Having said that, the Android Market has now arguably reached a point where the difference becomes almost immaterial in a practical sense, because even with only 100000 applications it is unlikely anyone will be short-changed for choice.
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Java Trojan Attempts to Attack Mac OS X, Fails

macOS 42 Comments
It's one of those days again. A supposed security threat appears, and the internet loses its collective brain and starts panicking like Alpha and Omega's kingdom come. This time around, it's a trojan horse thing (it's a trojan, worm, and root kit all in one, though) that targets Mac OS X and Windows. As it turns out, though, the threat this thing poses is not very large (at this point in time).
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Maemo 5 PR 1.3 released

  Submitted by ebasconp Wireless 6 Comments
Nokia has just announced the availability of the PR 1.3 update of its Maemo 5 OS. This is apparently the last update of the Maemo 5 OS before the Meego Handset UX release. "The update adds Ovi Suite support to your N900 and makes it even easier to access and sync files and messages between your device and your desktop. In addition, we've added hundreds of tweaks and fixes that will make your N900 run faster and smoother than ever."
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