open source & free software news

"Acquiring, using and defending software patents has become big business — sometimes playing a vital role in a company’s success — but that could all change if the Supreme Court decides software can no longer be patented. If the justices make that decision, following oral arguments that begin Nov. 9, the ruling could drastically alter the competitive landscape of the Washington area’s software industry and other sectors of the local economy as well. The case, Bilski v. Kappos, marks the first time in more than 25 years that the Supreme Court will look at the criteria used to determine whether a business method or process — such as the series of actions that software performs — can be patented. Lawyers say the court case means change is inevitable and probably won’t favor software developers seeking the security of patents." - ovigia from Bookmarklet

"This is a feature unique to the Mandriva installation. Once you have partitioned the hard drive the installation will compare the available hardware against the installable packages. Any packages that would not be used by the available hardware are not installed. This ensures your kernel will not be loading unused modules which will only slow down boot process, take up space, and use battery. Figure 2 shows the this screen. Just click Next and allow this process to happen. This will take some time (depending upon the speed of your hardware and the amount of packages that will not be installed)." - ovigia from Bookmarklet