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• Towards interoperability for European public services
  Landmark publication of the European Interoperability Framework by the European Commission. Of course, this is only guidance, and the political context is very complex as evidenced by the language around “FRAND” and patents. Let’s see if they can stick to this better than they can stick to their own procurement guidelines.
• Freedom to compete: Fixing software procurement
  As if to provide caution for those welcoming the EIF publication, FSF Europe continues its very rational and well-argued assault on the European Commission’s failure to follow its own rules.

Also:

• EFF Location Privacy Victory at Third Circuit Stands, With Implications Far Beyond Your Cell Phone
  Second EFF win of the week establishes the important principle that your location data is protected by the 4th amendment and can’t be obtained
• Marwell Wildlife: Adopt a Penguin
  If you’re stuck for a gift idea for a Linux fan in the UK (or elsewhere actually), consider giving a Marwell animal sponsorship…

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• An FBI backdoor in OpenBSD?
  If this is true, it punches a massive hole in the integrity of software that the whole hacker community relies upon. Evidence suggests it is a malicious rumour though.
• Appeals Court Holds that Email Privacy Protected by Fourth Amendment

  “In a landmark decision issued today in the criminal appeal of U.S. v. Warshak, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the government must have a search warrant before it can secretly seize and search emails stored by email service providers.”

  The EFF continues to help create a just framework for the meshed digital society, at least in the USA.

Also:

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager
  Cisco have OpenAM embedded in their product.

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• Australia Government Report Warns Against Including IP In Trade Agreements
  It ought to be obvious that concessions to create a copyright and patent regime that favours foreign corporations is a bad concession to make in a trade agreement. It amounts to selling your future industrial strength to buy temporary benefit for your legacy industries.
• Open source government needs open-minded procurement
  The number one reason why all those bold words abut adopting open source by the UK (and most other governments) is that the procurement policies aren’t updated to match the rhetoric. So it’s good to see a Conservative publication calling for change.

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• WikiLeaks: Stop the crackdown
  As I said in the “Voltaire Moment” article I posted here yesterday, the attacks on our collective freedom resulting from Wikileaks need opposing whatever we think of Wikileaks. This Avaaz petition is worth signing as a way to speak out against extrajudicial actions against internet freedom, rather than in support of Wikileaks, and I’ve signed it. Please consider doing so too.

Also

• Easy expense tracking with Plendi’s mobile app
  A friend from Ireland has launched this expenses management company and the app that is its gateway.
• Lego Antikythera Mechanism
  Hitting many geek targets in one superbly produced video, this shows a Lego recreation of the Antikythera Mechanism, an astronomical calculator of great complexity built by the ancient Greeks which demonstrates their abilities went far beyond sculpture and philosophy.
  (tags: YuoTubeComputerAstronomyHistoryGreek)

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