powdermonkey

Overhaul of GPL set for public release

A major revamp of the General Public License is scheduled for public release next week, a move that's expected to kick off a long and vocal debate over the key foundation of open-source programming.

The Free Software Foundation will release and describe the first public draft of version 3 of the document on Jan. 16, at the First International Conference on GPLv3 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the organization said.

Article here.

GAO: Army system for tracking repair shipments substandard

wow...
"The Army does not maintain an accurate accounting of equipment shipped to contractors for repair, leaving it vulnerable to loss or theft, according to a recent report from congressional auditors.

The Government Accountability Office report (GAO-06-209), sent to Congress Dec. 13, 2005, and released publicly later in the month, found that the Army fails to consistently follow Pentagon policy in recording shipment receipts in its inventory management systems.

In analyzing fiscal 2004 shipment data from two of the Army's three inventory control points -- the Army Aviation and Missile Command and the Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command -- GAO found that the Army could not confirm that an estimated 42 percent of the unclassified repair shipments, valued at $481.7 million, and 37 percent of the classified repair shipments, valued at $8.1 million, were actually received by contractors.

Full story 

U.S. Office Joins an Effort to Improve Software Patents

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office plans to announce today that it will cooperate with open-source software developers on three initiatives that it says will improve the quality of software patents.

more here: U.S. Office Joins an Effort to Improve Software Patents

Fractal Military Camouflage

HyperStealth Biotechnology Corp. uses fractal patterns to create better military camouflage designs. Canada changed military camouflage standards by issuing their proprietary "pixelated" CADPAT uniforms as a result of a DND research program.

Now they're moving to planes, etc:

Camo F-16 mock-up

MARPAT (U.S. Marine Corps Pattern) was developed based on research from Lt. Col. Timothy R. O'Neill, Ph.D. (U.S. Army, Ret.) considered to be the foremost expert on camouflage in the world. CADPAT (Canadian Disruptive Pattern) was developed a number of years earlier than MARPAT but also cities O'Neill's work as the basis for the digital pattern. While both patterns and the new ARPAT (U.S. Army Pattern - three color variant of MARPAT) factored in Lt. Col. O'Neill's ideas of the pixalated micropattern, his research on the symmetry disruption of the human target shape with the larger Macropattern was not implemented into any of these patterns.
From: The Science of Stealth Page 

Gullible.info

Information on the silly side:
• A  California-compliant civilian model of the M1 Abrams Tank is scheduled for regular production by 2008.
• The current Iraq war has cost four times more than all energy-related research, worldwide, since 1990.
via Gullible.info

Conferenza: The Weblog

Interesting blog, Conferenza, basically a site for blogging about conferences you can't go to.

New Information Niches

Maybe a good idea to create new organizations with specific products in mind for state and local governments, House Democrat seeks new terrorist information-sharing unit:

"In the latest of a series of proposals for easing exchanges of terrorism information among U.S. federal, state and local agencies, the top Democratic representative on antiterrorism matters is calling for a new office to facilitate "vertical" information-sharing."

Open Source in 2005

I guess when Business Week notices a field the fun's over: A Watershed for Open Source

Open-source software isn't a new phenomenon. It has been winding its way through the tech world for decades, starting with Richard Stallman's Free Software movement in 1980s. But only in recent years have businesses warmed to the promise of low-cost, openly available software. In fact, open-source programs have become so popular, they now pose a legitimate threat to the established software giants.

Google-Zilla

coming into you house: "Google will unveil its own low-price personal computer or other device that connects to the Internet. Sources say Google has been in negotiations with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., among other retailers, to sell a Google PC. The machine would run an operating system created by Google, not Microsoft's Windows, which is one reason it would be so cheap — perhaps as little as a couple of hundred dollars.

Bear Stearns analysts speculated in a research report last month that consumers would soon see something called "Google Cubes" — a small hardware box that could allow users to move songs, videos and other digital files between their computers and TV sets.

more: Industry Feeling Presence of the 800-Pound Google

Blackerry 8700c Review

I've been using the new BlackBerry 8700c the last couple of weeks and its wonderful. The screen for one is gorgeous, allowing one to surf the web on the go. I was on travel recently and was able to search for restaurants and local landmarks, as if I were on my home computer. I also canceled my other cell phone and migrated to the Blackberry. The form-factor for the phone is much better than before.

If your looking to upgrade, get this one! Happy new year!!