OStatic

Most people who attend an open source conference typically walk away with t-shirts, stickers and other accessories branded with the logo of their favorite distro or open source project. If you don't go to those events, you can still buy cool stuff to show your support or to give as gifts this holiday season.

Here are some Web sites to check out:

The Ubuntu project says that the initial alpha release of Ubuntu 9.04 (the Jaunty Jackalope ) could be available for testing in less than twenty-four hours. Yes, that's a little less than a month after the current, stable version, Intrepid Ibex was finalized and formally released.

Ubuntu 9.04 is gearing for an April 2009 release (in keeping with the project's six month development cycle). Phoronix reports that one focus is faster boot times through kernel optimization. This release will also be the first Ubuntu version to support ARM processors.

Canonical has announced that because of increased demand from hardware manufacturers, it will begin supporting ARMv7 processors (used in many smaller and system-on-a-chip (SoC) devices) with an optimized, commercially supported, full version of the Ubuntu desktop.

Motorola is betting the farm on mobile open source and Android.....

Is Canonical overly paternalistic with Ubuntu?.....

Version 3.0 of the Alfresco Enterprise Edition content management system is out, and adds Alfresco Share for online team collaboration.....

Three scripts for package management on Debian and Ubuntu systems.....

Notable open source innovations.....

Last week, I had the pleasure of getting some unique insight into the Ubuntu 8.10 release ( Intrepid Ibex ) from Canonical's marketing manager, Gerry Carr. The finalized server and desktop editions of the 8.10 release will be available for download October 30th, and host a variety of new tools and features.

The Linux Plumbers Conference may have ended last Friday, but the discussions -- and one discussion in particular -- will be analyzed, deconstructed, and argued for quite a bit longer.

Greg Kroah-Hartman's assertion is that Canonical doesn't contribute significantly to kernel development and the packages that make up the core of a Linux system. Canonical CTO Matt Zimmerman responded to this assertion. It seems at that point, much of the community, developers and users alike, took to examining their particular parts of the open source elephant.

Herein lies the problem.

This week, Canonical opened sales of legal multimedia codecs and DVD playback software to all Ubuntu users, regardless of whether the distribution was pre-installed on a purchased system or downloaded gratis from an Ubuntu mirror.

Fluendo handles the bulk of the codecs using the GStreamer framework. CyberLink offers DVD playback through a Linux version of its PowerDVD software.

It feels the most positive word that can be applied to this announcement is bittersweet. There are many more colorfully negative words that are applicable, as well.

Mark Shuttleworth, the man at the helm of Canonical and Ubuntu, went into greater detail last week about his thoughts on making future Ubuntu releases more user-focused. In the past, Shuttleworth has made no pretense that he feels Apple has, historically, offered a superior user experience.

Shuttleworth's comments have elicited striking reactions, ranging from enthusiastic support to concern about what innovation really means.

Canonical funds Linux in a bid to overtake the Mac.....

Asia set to give back to open source.....

10 interesting open source software forks and why they happened.....

Simplexo launches open source enterprise search tool.....

Virginia begins open source physics textbook.....

Anxious to go to the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Mountain View, CA this December but lack the funds to get there? Canonical is accepting requests for sponsorship and a lucky few will receive travel, entrance, and accommodations at no cost. It's not a free ride, though. Event organizers will definitely put the winners to work.