OStatic

In response to Joe Brockmeier's recent post Four Things Linux Needs, several readers weighed in saying that the dearth of drivers creates too many headaches for those who are running, or would like to run Linux. Others disagreed, pointing out that the Linux Driver Project has made good headway in providing drivers that solve many of Linux's perceived compatibility woes. Now, the top news out of the Linux Foundation's Collaboration Summit is that a much more far-reaching effort to provide needed drivers is underway. Dell, HP, Lenovo, and others made key commitments.

Macs are great for working with desktop publishing applications, but unfortunately the commercial software options like Quark and InDesign are pretty pricey. Scribus is a terrific open source alternative that will take your ideas from concept all the way to print without missing a beat.

This application will produce brochures, flyers, booklets, and more on your Mac, Linux, or Windows box -- all for the low, low price of free.

Mac-based open source enthusiasts had plenty of great reading material to find around the Internet over the last few days. From free alternatives to expensive Mac applications and patched bugs, to free BitTorrent options and an open computer that ships with the latest version of Mac OS X, there has been much buzz.

Here's what you need to know.

Word is expected Wednesday on whether Microsoft's OOXML will be approved as an international standard, but there are charges of voting irregularities.....Mac OS X and Windows Vista fell easily in a money-backed hacking contest but Ubuntu was unscathed.....Adobe has released an alpha version of its AIR application for Linux, and is joining the Linux Foundation.....Does the world of open source need a new breed of business matchmakers to spread adoption?.....

As the InfoWorld Open Source Business Conference in San Francisco gets underway this week, the tech publication is posting a series of interesting transcripts from roundtable discussions on open source topics. The roundtables include a number of well-known pundits, including CNet writer Matt Asay, Bruce Perens (credited by many as coining the term open source), Sam Ramji (senior director of platform technology at Microsoft), Zack Urlocker (vice president of products at MySQL) and many others. Much of the talk surrounds the trend toward commercialization of open source products.

Does widespread commercialization of open source software create unique pressures on those doing open source projects?.....

Is Apple stonewalling open source developers?.....

Check out some interesting predictions about the future of open source from the Open Source Business Conference.....

ProcessMaker and KnowledgeTree, both open source document management solutions, are working together in a new mashup.....

Apple announced today that it's releasing the Software Development Kit (SDK) for the iPhone. We all know what that means for consumers (more apps!), but what does it mean for open source developers?

Well, that depends on who you talk to. ZDNet's Dana Blankenhorn says the move is simply a way to forestall bigger market share losses to Google.

The Google Android SDK, released yesterday, confirmed what had been long been rumored: Google's mobile platform uses WebKit, an open source browser engine . We have been working on our mobile implementation of WebKit for quite some time, ...