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Open-source programmer alleges Linux misuse | Tech News on ZDNet
“An open-source programmer stopped by the CeBit trade show in Hannover, Germany, this week to tell Motorola and 12 other companies he believes they’re using Linux in violation of the license that governs the software.

Harald Welte said the companies have embedded Linux in their products but haven’t released the underlying source code, as required by the General Public License, or GPL, that governs the operating system. He tried to notify 13 companies of his complaint at the sprawling trade show, but three companies refused to accept it, he said in an e-mail interview.“

Boston College, Calif. State University computers hacked – Computerworld
“The break-in at BC is the second such incident to be reported this week by a university. On Monday, officials at California State University in Chico disclosed that hackers had broken into a housing and food service system containing personal information — including the names and Social Security numbers — of about 59,000 current, former and prospective students, faculty and staff.“

Colleges and universities will certainly be spending more on security going forward.

Developers Prolong Visual Basic Protest
“Microsoft may have hoped that the backers of the Visual Basic “classic” code would just roll up their petition and go home.

But it doesn’t look like that’s about to happen. In fact, the Visual Basic 6 faithful seem to be gaining momentum.“

Seems that MSFT intends to EOL VB6 on March 31, 2005. MSFT wants VB developers to switch to Visual Basic .NET.

Zend / PHP Conference & Expo 2005
“The Zend/PHP Conference is the only US-based PHP conference this year and the only place where PHP and business come together. Come hear from the experts and from the companies that have deployed real PHP applications to solve real business problems. There will be a range of tutorials and sessions for both technical and business attendees evaluating or using PHP. Come away with a better understanding of how and why PHP can be used to power your business. “

Internet Week > > Patent Ruling Presents Stiff Challenge To EBay > March 16, 2005
The controversy over Internet patents is about to heat up again. An appeals court on Wednesday decided in favor of MercExchange in its legal fight with eBay Inc., the online auction powerhouse.

The court affirmed one of MercExchange’s patents, threw out a second, and reinstituted the most controversial patent, which had been struck down by an earlier court, over the process of conducting online auctions.

The affirmed patent covers Ebay’s ‘Buy It Now’ feature and the reinstated patent covers online auctions. It is not clear what Ebay’s reaction will be, though MercExchange is seeking an immediate injunction to enforce the ‘Buy it now’ patent.