LinuxDevices year-end review: BR Top industry standards stories of 2006
Dec 20, 2000 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 1 viewsEXECUTIVE INTERVIEW: BILL WEINBERG OF THE MOBILE LINUX INITIATIVE
LinuxDevices.com recently caught up with OSDL spokesperson Bill Weinberg, to discuss the organization's new Mobile Linux Initiative (MLI). Weinberg, who serves as the OSDL's representative to the MLI, filled us in on the initiative's early progress, strategy, and tactics for the year ahead. Find out more about the MLI by reading our comprehensive interview. Details
INDUSTRY ALLIANCE PROMOTES OPEN TELECOM SPECIFICATIONS
Six global network equipment providers (NEPs) have allied to promote open carrier grade base platforms. SCOPE, founded by Alcatel, Ericsson, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, and Siemens, intends to create subsets of existing standards, such as Carrier Grade Linux, with the aim of promoting open platforms among constituents' service provider customers. Details
GPL VERSION 3 DRAWS EARLY PRAISE
A draft third version of the GNU GPL (general public license) released this week is no more complex than it needs to be, despite the addition of language to deal with threats posed by software patents and DRM (digital rights management), columnist Steven J. Vaughan Nichols writes. The draft GPLv3 license is now expected to undergo a year of scrutiny, discussion, and possibly modification, before being finalized and released early next year. Details
LINUX PHONE, VOIP SPECIALISTS JOIN FIXED-MOBILE CONVERGENCE GROUP
An industry association devoted to fixed-mobile convergence has grown from 21 to 29 member companies. New members of MobileIgnite (Mobile Integrated Go-To-Market Network IP Technology) include Linux smartphone pioneer e28, and Linux VoIP stack vendor HelloSoft, along with a variety of other convergence software and testing specialists. Details
ALLIANCE AIMS TV AT US MOBILES
Several large chip and handset makers are backing an alliance chartered to bring high-quality television to mobile devices in the US. The Mobile DTV Alliance initially comprises representatives of Intel, Texas Instruments (TI), Motorola, and Nokia, along with US DVB-H (digital video broadcast — handhelds) operator Modeo. Details
TORVALDS NIXES GPL 3 FOR LINUX KERNEL
In a message to the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) on January 25th, Linus Torvalds made it clear that the Linux operating system is going to stay under GPL (General Public License) 2 and not migrate to GPL 3. Details
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR CGL 3.2
The first “registerable” release of the Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) 3 specification has been made. Linux distributions can now be registered as compliant with CGL 3.2, which includes a variety of changes based on feedback from specification users, according to the OSDL (Open Source Development Labs), the member-funded industry group that maintains the specification. Details
GPL VERSION 3 TO MANDATE DEVICE HACKABILITY?
Draft GNU GPLv3 (General Public License version 3) language would require embedded systems and devices incorporating GPLv3-licensed software to be user-modifiable, stated license author Richard Stallman in a recent speech. The draft license's “anti-tiVoization” rider drew criticism early on from Linus Torvalds, who called it “insane.” LinuxDevices readers are invited to comment on this issue using a talkback thread provided at the end of the article. Details
FIRST DRAFT OF 802.11N SPEC VOTED DOWN
The first draft 802.11n standard failed to win a simple majority, let alone the 75 percent needed to finalize it, in voting among IEEE 802.11 working group members this week. Several products claiming 802.11n draft compliance have already reached market, but the standard may not be ratified prior to mid-2007, an online article suggests. Details
NEP GROUP SPECIFIES CARRIER GRADE LINUX NEEDS
Right on schedule, an alliance of NEPs (network equipment providers) formed last January has published its first Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) “profile.” The SCOPE Alliance profile shows what top NEPs care about most, the group says. Details
LINUX PHONE STANDARDS GROUP DOUBLES MEMBERSHIP
The LiPS (Linux Phone Standards) Forum — an industry group devoted to standardizing Linux for mobile phones — has announced three highly influential new members, and nine new members overall. Among the new members are number-one mobile phone chip vendor Texas Instruments, top Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer ZTE, and global carrier/operator Telecom Italia. Details
GPLV3 DRAFT MOVES FORWARD, TORVALDS UNIMPRESSED
On July 27, the FSF (Free Software Foundation) and the SFLC (Software Freedom Law Center) released the next discussion draft of the GNU GPL (General Public License) version 3. In addition, the groups released the first draft of the revised GNU LGPL (Lesser General Public License) version 3. Linux creator Linus Torvalds, after reviewing the draft, reportedly was less than impressed. Details
EMBEDDED LINUX AT HEART OF GPLV3 DEBATE
The current draft of GPLv3 includes controversial language forbidding DRM-locked embedded operating systems, but compromise remains possible, suggests ExtremeTech columnist Victor Loy in an insightful look at the GPL's role in device development. Loy's story includes quotes from Eben Moglen's LinuxWorld BoF (birds-of-a-feather) session. Details
OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPMENT LABS REORGS, REFOCUSES
The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), the self-proclaimed “center of gravity” of Linux, is re-aligning priorities and changing leadership. CEO Stuart Cohen has departed, and various personnel have been laid off, but the organization continues to offer “safe haven” for Linus Torvalds and other key developers, among other stated priorities. Details
NEP GROUP REFINES CARRIER GRADE LINUX REQ'S GUIDELINES
The Scope Alliance has updated its Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) “profile” paper, which aims to guide Linux standards bodies, distributors, and application providers in meeting NEP (network equipment provider) requirements. Operating System Profile, Version 1.1, prioritizes CGL 3.2 requirements and roadmap items in greater detail than did the first version. Details
OPENKODE OFFERS OPEN ALTERNATIVE TO DIRECTX
The Khronos Group is launching an open set of royalty-free, cross-platform APIs aimed at standardizing the way native applications deliver media, games, and graphical user interfaces on mobile devices. OpenKODE, due early next year, combines several pre-existing open audio/visual APIs with an OS abstraction layer. Details
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