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Comment PDA (Score 2, Interesting) 168

Um, I know in 2003 I had a palm pilot which had a touchscreen in which I entered commands, possible with my finger if I lost my stylus. I'm sure PDAs have been around for a few years prior to 2003 if I had one in 2003. I could record voice, play music, and perform other functions covered by the broad definition of a portable electronic device (remote control was awesome for messing with people).
Windows

Submission + - Windows Vista Service Pack 2 released

An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft has finally released the final build of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. "The installers will work on English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish versions of either Vista or Server 2008. Other language versions will arrive later. Those interested in slipstreamed versions of Vista and Server 2008 with SP2 will need to get an MSDN or TechNet subscription. There are a few significant additions that are included in SP2: Windows Search 4.0, Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack, the ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Vista, Windows Connect Now (WCN) is now in the Wi-Fi Configuration, and exFAT file system supports UTC timestamps. The service pack contains about 800 hotfixes." Download links included below,

32bit: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=a4dd31d5-f907-4406-9012-a5c3199ea2b3
64bit: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=656c9d4a-55ec-4972-a0d7-b1a6fedf51a7
ia64: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=e890b3cf-972b-483f-a2ff-03f6aefac6f8
ISO: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=9f073285-b6ef-4297-85ce-f4463d06d6cb
Government

Submission + - Norway mandates government use of ODF and PDF

siDDis writes: Earlier this year Slashdot mentioned that Norway moves towards mandatory use of ODF and PDF. Now it's confirmed that the Norwegian government has mandated the use of open document formats from January 1st, 2009.

There are three formats that have been mandated for all documentation between authorities, users and partners. HTML for all public information on the Web, PDF for all documents where layout needs to be preserved and ODF for all documents that the recipient is supposed to be able to edit. Documents may also be published in other formats, but they must always be available in either ODF or PDF.
Linux Business

Submission + - Dell release Ubuntu 7.10-powered PCs (desktoplinux.com) 1

sjvn writes: "The official word will be out any minute now, but in the meantime DesktopLinux has learned that Dell will be releasing Ubuntu 7.10 (http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7924076658.html) on a laptop and desktop with immediate availability. And, as an extra added bonus, they're tossing in legal DVD-playback capability. In a word: "Neat!""
The Courts

Submission + - Verizon Being Sued for GPL Infringement (internetnews.com)

darthcamaro writes: Guess who is infringing on open source code now? According to the SFLC it's none other than Verizon. They filed a law suit in New York yesterday. Today the SFLC spoke to the media to lay out its case.
From the article:
"We sent initial communications to Verizon three weeks ago," SFLC Legal Director Dan Ravicher told InternetNews.com. "They never responded. Thus, there are no negotiations underway with them. That is what forced us to file the lawsuit, because it was our only last option to get Verizon to address our clients' concerns." The SFLC is seeking an injunction against Verizon as well as damages. At this early stage, the SFLC had not yet put a figure on the amount it's seeking.

Patents

Submission + - USPTO wants to stop bad patents from issuing (linux.com)

Down-with-the-patents writes: As reported by Slashdot earlier, the US Patent and Trademark Office is collaborating with the Peer-to-Patent program to stop bad patents from issuing. Brigid Quinn, spokesperson for the USPTO explains the motivation of the USPTO to open a behind-closed-doors process to public. Groklaw's Pamela Jones admits "that when it comes to software, there is more knowledge outside of USPTO than inside it." While some of Jones' readers are stayong away away from the pilot program, to let the patent system collapse, Jones says that's a goal she understands but don't view as realistic. The project seems to doing pretty well with over a 1,000 active contributors and plans to replicate it in other Patent Offices starting with the UK Patent Office next year.

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