OStatic

The Software Freedom Law Center and Red Hat's CEO rag on the patent system. Nobody can write software without risking a lawsuit.

Ingres goes after Sun's customers. The company is promoting a migration path from the MySQL database.

Apple's iPhone now has one-third the market share of desktop Linux. NetApplications measured how much Linux and the iPhone are used to access the Internet.

FOSS sexism claims stir up the pot. Bruce Byfield's recent article on the topic has people talking.

ARMing desktop Linux. ARM-based netbooks are on their way and they can't run Windows.

Will more iPhone apps go open source?.....

Extentech announces OSS Java alternative to Sharepoint and Google Docs.....

Benefits of a commercial open source arm.....

6 best personal finance apps for Linux.....

14 of the best free Linux file managers.....

How to run Linux from a USB drive.....

Sometimes porting a bit of code to another platform or piece of hardware isn't about the ported code delivering new features to the device. Sure, sometimes it's about opening the device to a specific application, and sometimes it's just about opening the device up to a new development approach. Sometimes the idea is to push the code (and the device) further, to learn -- because you can.

Sometimes these ports don't get all that far. Four years ago I managed to get Linux running on an iPAQ through online tutorials. I've long since sold the hardware, and running Linux meant a command line, and a basic X windows environment. Functional? Not really. Fun? Wouldn't have done it otherwise.

More recently, the 2.6 Linux kernel has been ported, and is running with some basic functionality on the iPhone. The Linux on the iPhone Project says that while this port is a first draft missing many drivers, the kernel boots on first and second generation iPhones and first generation iPod Touches.

There were a few reasons I bypassed iPods when I was in the market for an MP3 player a while back. One of those reasons hasn't changed -- I've never been a fan of iTunes. I wasn't impressed with its performance, generally.

Since I primarily use Linux, the lack of a Linux iTunes client was a problem. Previously, iTunes was almost required for access to the new hotness. The new devices, though not tied to any one format, don't play as nicely with Linux as earlier models.

PwnPlayer is an application (currently in beta) for the iPhone and iPod Touch. One feature of interest is file system playback, allowing easy access to the device's music files on Linux.