Steven Berkowitz

One of our editors signs her e-mail "Lots of things Linux." Here at Linux.SYS-CON.com, our intention is to be nothing less than all things Linux. There was a time when Linux was monolithic, if such a thing can be said about an operating system developed and debugged by thousands of enthusiastic volunteers. These volunteers were joined by a unique sense of purpose, to build a Unix-like operating system, available to anyone anywhere. For free. Linus Torvalds and the developers who caught his itch borrowed from, and in turn shaped, the open source movement. The open source method of software development is directly responsible for the high quality of the operating system to which we are dedicated. Because of that quality, Linux has leaked into mainstream business and has g... (more)

Can Open Source Truly Save The World?

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), convened by the United Nations at the urging of the International Telecommunications Union, intends to address the global economic, societal and political changes being wrought as our information-based society replaces the old industrial one. WSIS is a two-phase summit. Phase One takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, December 10 - 12, 2003.... (more)

Open Source Is Not a Magic Bullet

(May 19, 2003) - Java developers like open source software. To varying degrees, anyway. For some, the attraction is free-as-in-speech; for others, it is free-as-in-beer. None of this should come as a surprise to you, and I'm certainly not the first person to make this observation. Nor will you be surprised when I say that many developers believe the open source software is necessarily be... (more)

To Whom It May Concern

U R G E N T    A P P E A L Distributed Denial of Service Attacks against SCO, or anyone for that matter, are a clearly unacceptable activity. While many in the Open Source community are not pleased with SCO's lawsuit against IBM, or their proposed legal challenges aimed at Linux users, these DDoS attacks do not promote the Open Source cause, and are not consistent with Open Source values. ... (more)

It's Sure Not for Cats Who Walk by Themselves-- Software development. . .it takes a village --

(July 25, 2003) - It's a truism to say that software development is a communal activity. Unfortunately, a lot of newer Java developers don't get it, which works to their own detriment and, potentially, to the detriment of the wider Java community. There's a stereotype of the hacker as a loner bent over his keyboard in a room dark but for the pallid glow of the monitor. This is only partly ... (more)