"...The method which finally worked was to download a prepared QEMU image and run GNU from QEMU. The image I used can be found here. [...] Now I'm up and running it's time to do some exploring. I will report back soon with my first impressions."

"...Microsoft's proposal is for web developers to opt-in to Internet Explorer 8's standards mode by adding in a new meta tag (or HTTP header) [...] Microsoft are demanding that we web standards developers favour them with time, cost and effort, while they continue to abrogate their responsibilities to their half a billion clients. [...] Microsoft on the other hand are now expecting us web developers to carry the burden of their responsibility. Instead of Microsoft abiding by the responsibility of rendering pages according to the open defined standards, Microsoft are intent on making standards-based pages second class citizens. [...] We web developers should not be paying for Microsoft's mistakes.

Ohloh, a community site for open source developers, is making its tools open source, including the Web site itself.

MICROSOFT PLANS an open source project to write a translator from binary document formats into Office Open XML (OOXML) formats.

Yes, you read right, Microsoft will be represented at the next SLUG meeting. More info can be found in the following mailing list email:

I have collected 50 of my favorite "Linux quotes" of all time. Feel free to add yours. Enjoy!

On Friday, January 18th, Aaron Seigo, President of the KDE e.V. gave the keynote at the KDE 4.0 Release Event in Mountain View, California about KDE 4, presenting KDE to the world and the world to KDE. Aaron started with an introduction to KDE 4, beginning with the history of the project and expressing how far KDE has come in the last 11 years. Then, Aaron explored what KDE is, and what the community is based on - freedom and openness. Freedom to do work, have fun, and connect with others. Further, Aaron moved on to KDE 4, and discussed the near-future plans and ideas. The vision of KDE 4 is based upon three principles: beauty, accessibility, and functionality. He ventured into the many areas that KDE has improved upon, and pointed to the roadmap for the KDE 4 cycle.

"The latest volume of the magazine Index on Censorship focuses on issues related to free speech online. I'm among the contributors. Here's a snip from the issue overview: «The Internet was supposed to spell the end of censorship – instead governments now have unprecedented possibilities for controlling what we do and what we read. But this is a revolution in free expression that can’t be stopped. Index examines the explosion in communication, the rise in new forms of censorship (and the ways to get round them) and the impact on social attitudes.» ..."