Month: December 2003

This is great: Microsoft is circulating a survey asking Linux users how Microsoft can improve its operating systems.

More coverage in the Globe of the Massachusetts open-source policy debate.

Great story about two Iraqis trying to make the country Linux-friendly. You can send them some money here.

Ettore Perazzoli, the Ximian developer with the best weblog, passed away last week. 🙁

Here’s something cool everyone should know about: Google now tracks packages and other numbers.

UPS tracking numbers example search: “1Z9999W999999999”
FedEx tracking numbers example search: “fedex 999999999999”
Patent numbers example search: “patent 5123123”
FAA airplane registration numbers example search: “n199ua”
FCC equipment IDs example search: “fcc B4Z-34009-PIR”

[via Boing Boing]

Bruce Sterling writes about the Spanish autonomous region of Extremadura’s push for free software.

The features may be mundane, but they add up to something quite new: a patriotic regional operating system. The emailer’s logo is a stork, Extremadura’s most beloved bird. The word processor is named after a famous local poet. The desktop is crammed with hallowed symbols of the homeland. Extremaduran schoolkids could stand up and pledge allegiance to this thing.