Well, golly, it only took what - about 10 years? But finally someone at Sun - maybe its the new CEO, Jonathan Schwartz - has seen the light & will make it far easier for Linux distros to include the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Up to now, Linux users have had to download the JRE, and Sun didn't exactly make that task simple, or they've had to use repositories that did the work for them, but those weren't fully kosher, so that was always non-obvious as well. Now, though, you should be able to install your distro, & the JRE will come with it. Wow, how handy ... just as Java finds itself being eclipsed by gads of other languages and options, now we'll be able to enjoy it in its sunset years. Thanks, Sun! (Check out all of our posts on Sun & Java.) ...

Sun's JDS hasn't made that big a splash in the open source world; maybe because Sun is still ambivalent about open source, even while it's eating their lunch. At any rate, if you're interested in seeing that the JDS looks like, OSDir has 61 screenshots available. If you want to learn how to run & use JDS, then read the review of O'Reilly's Exploring The JDS Linux Desktop, which finds it to be "a well-paced introduction" that includes the JDS on a Live CD. ...

You'll remember that I discussed IBM's gift of 500 or so patents a few weeks ago; now it seems that Sun is following their lead, and one-upping IBM, by giving away not 500, but 1600 patents! Although the press release doesn't give any details as to the nature of the patents, you gotta admit that this is good news for open source developers and users, and certainly a good move by Sun. So let me say this to Sun: thank you. Later …. woops! Bruce Perens just confirmed that these patents are only for developers using the brand-spanking-new Sun open source license, the CDDL! This means that you cannot be assured that using those patents with GPL-based software is copacetic at all. In fact, it appears that you are still in potential danger of being sued if you create GPL (or any other open source licensed) software and violate Sun's patents. Forget it. I take it back. To hell with ya, Sun. Jerks. ...

As I recently pointed out, Sun finally changed its license so that distros like Debian can include the Sun JRE. Thanks, Sun! Here's the command you need to run: apt-get install sun-java5-jre sun-java5-plugin sun-java5-fonts sun-java5-bin That'll do it, fair readers. (Check out all of our posts on Sun and Java.) ...

Due to Sun's licensing of Java & the JRE, the Debian project can't include the JRE in the default APT repositories, which is a PITA, to say the least. However, I found a really good write-up of the best way to install the JRE in a way that uses dpkg. I've tried it, and it works very well. Now I have my own .deb that I can use on any of my other machines, and life is good. For the whole poop & nothin' but the poop, see "Java: Sun JRE/JDK Installation on Debian". If you use Debian, you'll be glad you did. ...

It's simple, really: OpenOffice.org is free & community-developed; StarOffice is based on OOo & sold by Sun (starting at $35 per user: cheap!). What's the big dif? Sun adds features for businesses & offers paid support. Today, StarOffice 8 was announced. What are the new features aimed at businesses? Actually, they're pretty dang cool, at least according to the description provided by eWeek:"StarOffice includes bundled management tools to simplify installation and configuration across a company's desktops. It also includes a Microsoft Office file analyzer. This will enable administrators to estimate the size of a migration from MS Office to StarOffice. The new StarOffice also has a Macro Migration Wizard, which can convert VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) macros." Dang - that sounds really, really useful! Good stuff, Sun! (Check out all of my posts on OpenOffice.org & StarOffice.) ...

Use Debian? Like free books? Then check out the Debian GNU/Linux Desktop Survival Guide, available in HTML format for free, or in PDF for a small fee. Searchable via Google, & full of smart, useful info. Lots of various programs that don't often get covered in a book like this are covered, including Dia, Glade, & LaTeX. Interestingly, there is a huuuuuuuge section that gives advice about installations on specific machines, such as the Compaq XP1000, Dell OptiPlex GX150, Sun SPARCstation 5 (sun4m), & Toshiba Satellite 1800. Cool. (Check out all of my posts on Debian & books.) ...

Sun has open sourced Solaris finally, so some Linux users may be tempted to try it out. I certainly encourage that, but you need to realize that while some things will be familiar - Solaris is a *nix variant, after all - much will be very alien. Fortunately, a fella name of Ben Rockwood has written a 2 part "Accelerated Introduction to Solaris 10" that you really ought to peruse if you're thinking about playing with the new Solaris. Read Part 1 and then mosey on over to Part 2. You'll learn something, even if you never play to actually use Solaris, and that's always a good thing. (Check out all of our posts on Solaris and Sun.) ...

About a month ago I mentioned some of the good & some of the bad we can expect in the upcoming release of OpenOffice.org 2.0. Bruce Byfield has followed up with another article at NewsForge titled "Java fallout: OpenOffice.org 2.0 and the FOSS community" that does a good job discussing the ramifications of the OOo developers' decision to increase OOo's dependencies on Java. Since Java isn't really open source, that decision is causing a lot of headaches and issues throughout the open source world, as certain distros promise not to include OOo and certain others pledge to continue shipping it. Of course, all this could be avoided if Sun would just open source Java, but they're too busy trying to craft a strategy to save their behinds right now to keep their eye on that ball. Instead, it appears that the strong presence of Sun developers among the OOo community has led to the increased use of Java, and now it may blow up in everyone's faces. This really is not good at all. At this time, I ...

K/Ubuntu is awesome - it's the distro I use - but it doesn't come with every ol' program under the sun. EasyUbuntu is an ... uh, easy way to add oodles of goodies to your K/Ubuntu installation, like Windows multimedia codecs, libs for playing DVDs, RAR support, a better repository list, and official ATI & nVidia drivers. It's all GUI-based, so it's realllll simple to use. Wanna add more to your K/Ubuntu? Check this one out. (Check out all of our posts on Ubuntu and Kubuntu.) ...

This is kind of short notice, but for those of you who are in NYC this weekend, NYCBSDCon, soponsored by the NYC BSD User's Group (NYCBUG) is happening this Saturday, September 17th, on the campus of Columbia University. Registration is $40 at the door and includes refresments throughout the day. Doors open at 8:30 and the program starts at 9:00. The confirmed sessions are: Dru Lavigne In addition to being a prominent author and BSD advocate, Dru is an instructor at Marketbridge Technologies in Ottawa. Talk: "Update on BSD Certification" Dru will provide a progress report on the BSD Certification effort, including the milestones which have already been achieved and what work still lies ahead. She will also provide an inside perspective on what it is like to be involved in a project that requires the coordination of hundreds of volunteers spanning the globe and dozens of languages. Michael W Lucas is the author of "Abolute BSD," "Absolute OpenBSD," and ...

The Weblogs, Inc. network features over 100 independent, unfiltered bloggers producing over 1,000 blog posts a week across over 75 industry-leading blogs. Each week we ask our bloggers to choose their top posts, which we bring to you in one easy-to-read weekly post. You'll find links to the hottest posts from the second week of July after the jump. Enjoy! ...