Weekly news wrap-up: New CEO at Caldera, new project for Ogg Vorbis folks

–By Grant Gross –
Big news this week at Linux/Unix company Caldera, where there’s a new CEO, and at Open Source audio project Ogg Vorbis, which gets a code donation from On2 Technologies that will help create an Open Source multimedia suite.
The big announcement from Caldera was that CEO Ransom Love will switch jobs and work purely on the UnitedLinux coalition, while Novell alumnus Darl McBride will take over the CEO’s job. Robin “Roblimo” Miller says the moves make sense on their face, but it’s too early to tell how this all will shake out.

Over at Xiph.org, the non-profit that guides the Ogg Vorbis project, programmers will be working on a multimedia suite during the next year. On2 Technologies has open-sourced its VP3 video codec, plus other software, that Xiph.org will combine with Ogg Vorbis to create a complete multimedia suite that they hope will compete with Microsoft and Real products.

Zipping up Linux

Newsfactor has a roundup-ish story on many of the places Linux is appearing these days, including Toyota, Home Depot and the U.S. Postal Service.

Another company making the move to Linux is YKK, the largest maker of zippers. The company will use a Linux IBM server to run an Internet site to let customers track orders.

While Newsfactor and others see Linux popping up all over, MSNBC wonders whatever happened to Linux. Odd that a site funded by Microsoft would pronounce Linux dead on the desktop.

Odds ‘n’ ends

LinuxandMain.com enters the Linux desktop fray by saying the future belongs to Gnome, while inertia belongs to KDE.

C|Net reports that Red Hat is warming to the idea of Linux on the desktop. Welcome aboard, Red Hat!

Success story of the week

Dan Berkes reports on Linux being used in a new tool that checks for X-ray radiation exposure. It’s part of a move toward more Open Source software being used in the medical field.

Newly released

Gnome 2.0 said hello to the world this week.

OpenSSH 3.4 hit the download sites.

The Linpus Linux 8.2 desktop and server operating system was released by Linpus Technologies.

KOffice 1.2beta2 was also released.

There’s also a preliminary release of GNU Bayonne 1.0, a Free Software telephony server.

Newly reviewed

PCWorld.com calls the Linux distribution Desktop/LX a “friendly alternative to Windows.”

Computerworld.nz looks at Red Hat 7.3 and finds it “slick but fat.”

LinuxOrbit reviews version 1.7e6 of BZFlag, the 3D tank game. The version adds some “nice touches to an already mature game.”

New at NewsForge/Linux.com

Among the other stories we reported first this week:

Tina Gasperson grades the grades that Lindows.com’s CEO is giving his own company so far. Lindows, a Linux-based OS that’s supposed to run Windows apps, has some promise, but the self-graded report may be a little too self-congratulatory.

Jack Bryar gives an alternative view of Microsoft’s proposed Palladium, a computer-within-a-computer that could have the ability to track your every move.

Stock news

The Nasdaq closed Friday at 1,463.21, a lonely up week amid a general down trend since early March. The tech index closed at 1,440.96 Friday, June 21. Our list of 11 Open Source-related stocks reflected that small rally, with five up and six down for the week, most only pennies either way.

Here’s how Open Source and related stocks ended this past week:

Company Name	Symbol	6/21 Close	6/28 Close
Apple	AAPL	16.85	17.72
Borland Software Int’l	BORL	9.7698	10.30
Caldera International	CALD	0.76	0.70
Hewlett-Packard	HPQ	16.46	15.28
IBM	IBM	68.75	72.00
MandrakeSoft	4477.PA	e2.35	e2.30
Red Hat	RHAT	5.20	5.87
Sun Microsystems	SUNW	5.51	5.01
TiVo	TIVO	4.02	3.71
VA Software	LNUX	.94	1.00
Wind River Systems	WIND	5.78	5.01