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• The Document Foundation joins Open Invention Network
  Smart move here – by joining now, they gain access to all those patents belonging to Novell that will leave the pool and belong (among others) to Microsoft and Oracle when the acquisition by AttachMate closes. Given Novell’s software portfolio, there’s a chance some of those are highly relevant. Now OIN needs to update its software list to include LibreOffice.

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• USTR’s Request for Comments on ACTA
  Your holiday project: send USTR at least one comment on ACTA. If you need ideas, let me know…
• The Anonymous WikiLeaks protests are a mass demo against control
  Really excellent article by Richad Stallman points out that the individuals arriving en masse to protest about the treatment of Wikileaks are no different from any othe form of consume protest and would be a great wrong to rac against hem in a way we would not treat a picket lne.
• Observation on hiring from open source
  This describes perfectly the logical endpoint I have repeatedly seen enterprise open source strategies reach.
• The Flawed Legal Architecture of the Certificate Authority Trust Model
  The bottom line is that the CA Trust Model’s legal architecture inures to the benefit of no one. Neither website operators, certificate authorities, nor end-users can be sure of their rights or exposure. The Model’s legal structure may therefore be just as troubling as its security vulnerabilities.”

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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.

Filed under: Links | Comments Off on ☞ Karma Balance

• 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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