Is your pinkie ring glowing? That means someone is trying to page you. Earring blinking? You’ve got mail. If you can press a button on the pocket of your denim jacket to hear your favorite MP3, this must be the year 2000, reports Reuters at Excite.

By Grant Gross

Managing Editor
New releases, new life

In the news this past week: Mozilla released a roadmap for its browser project. ZDNet called it a “bumpy road.”The roadmap itself is at Mozilla.org.

Red Hat prepares to release its 7.0 version this week. Maximum Linux offered a preview, saying increased security and ease of use would be among the big changes. The company also announced a new subscription-based service; eWeek, among others, reported. (See our own Jack Bryar‘s column, too.)

Maybe not a new release, but a new beginning? Corel got some much-needed help from an anonymous investor, to the tune of $56 million, reported Reuters. Yes, count ’em, that’s six zeros behind the 56.

Linux: The worldly OS

An interesting story from Wired.com: Africans are embracing Linux because of its cost. “The free software model makes sense for Africa. It puts Africa and the rest of the world on an equal level,” says software researcher Githogori wa Nyangara-Murage. “Under the proprietary software model, Africa is just investing in unattainable dreams because we cannot afford to pay all this money that the continent is paying proprietary software.” In a semi-related story, AllAfrica.com reported that the newly formed GNOME Foundation will have a large impact on the South African IT industry.

And now for something completely different. Salon.com takes readers through the “boring and obtuse” but important issue of Open Source licensing. Linux World supplied its own take on the issue: that programmers may soon need to hire lawyers just to get through the mess.

Who’s afraid of the big, bad RIAA?

Early in the week, the Recording Industry Association of America said that during the first half of 2000, it had notified more than 4,500 U.S. music Web sites that they were offering “illegal” downloads, reported Reuters. Several universities responded with a big yawn, refusing to ban the music download service Napster from student computers, reported IDG.net and others.

New at NewsForge this week

Columnist Jack Bryar takes issue with Red Hat stock being downgraded partly because of its Linux services business model. Jack examines the pros and cons of trying to make money by providing Linux services.

Columnist Julie Bresnick profiles iCast vice president of technology Jack Moffit. No, he’s not a private eye, although his name sounds like a character out of a pulp detective novel.

Finally, the NewsForge “discuss the news” page is working. Read about the rules (or lack thereof).

Those are just a few of the 320 stories posted on NewsForge this past week.

The Seattletime’s Userfriendly column laments the glut of information available on the Internet. “Today the talk is of smart agents that traverse the Web in search of meaningful information tailored to each user’s needs. Bravo. But I would also like to see levels of privacy and guarantees of security that enable me to use my Internet time in a way I deem important.“

Slashdot brings us news and discussion of OpenSource flight simulator projects that have formed recently.

ZDNet reports that the US is introducing anti-privacy measures aimed at catching criminal activity.

Wired news has an article discussing Linux’s penetration into Africa, and some of the challenges it may face. “Big businesses are also growing curious about using Linux in Kenya, with giants such as Kenya Airways and Kenya Power & Lighting already evaluating its merits“

Amazon tried selling DVDS at different prices to different customers and got slammed for it, but if this SiliconValley.com story is correct, more online retailers may soon be pulling the same trick. Will buying anything at all online become as tedious a haggling process as buying a car or an airline ticket? A good question, still unanswered.

Bill Gates is now giving away money faster than he’s making it, and whether you like the man or not, this is a good pattern to establish. This Nando Times story expresses the hope that other computer industry richies will follow in Gates’ footsteps and become mega-donors to various charities both while they are still alive and in their wills.

A (too) short, just-updated list of books not published by the GNU people themselves but that meet their licensing standards.

AMD has been written off as dead many times, but may now be poised to give Intel a serious run for the #1 spot in the PC uP business, says SiliconValley.com