If you've used open source software or Linux for a while, you probably already know about VLC Media Player. If not, you're in for a treat. In both Linux and Windows, VLC is the way to go. It's also available for OS X. You can throw almost any video or audio file at it and it'll just work. No tinkering is necessary. This article is a review of just how easy VLC player is:

VLC does not need external codec packs installed. Everything is also standard fare. This alone makes it invaluable. Playing video and audio files along with Internet radio and podcasts in this hassle-free app is what Linux computing should be all about.

A cool feature you may not be aware of is “the built-in streaming server. VLC Media Player streams in unicast and multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. You will not find this combination in most other media apps.”

More in the review at TechNewsWorld.

You can download VLC Media Player with most Linux distributions. Just check your package manager. With other operating systems, you can download it at http://videolan.org.

Busybox's developer, Erik Anderson, with representation from the Software Freedom Conservancy, has been engaged in a lawsuit against a dozen electronics companies for violating the GPL. The companies have been distributing hardware that includes Busybox but not licensing it under GPL-compatible terms.

In late July, the judge in the case issued a summary judgement against one of the defendants, Westinghouse Digital Electronics, which stopped participating in the case when it entered bankruptcy protection. The ruling isn't a sweeping victory for the GPL, but it does show that the GPL is compatible with the standards for summary judgement.

The damages, $90,000, weren't large when considered with those sharing music on P2P sites ($675,000 and $1.92 million, in the first two cases to go to trial) however, because the company only shipped a single software package (although I'm presuming they shipped more than one unit).

More details at the ars technica article. The actual ruling can be found in PDF format at sfconservancy.org here.

This morning, I received an email from Robert P. J. Day about an introductory online course he has created in Linux kernel programming. Day has been a Linux instructor for many years and only recently decided to try online delivery. Day emphasizes that the course “is not just explanatory content -- it's an actual course, with real exercises that students are expected to do, as in writing and loading modules, and eventually writing a simple character device driver and doing some basic kernel and module debugging.”

He also says that users can check out the first few lessons for free but the entire course costs only $39 Canadian. And each course comes with a mailing list exclusively for registered students, so that students can ask questions and exchange ideas about each lesson.

When I contacted Day by email and asked if students would need C programming skills he replied back(within minutes):

“Having some userspace C programming experience would definitely be handy but the first few lessons are free so one is welcome to work through them and decide afterwards whether or not they think they're ready for the rest of the course. Also, there's no time limit on the course -- if you register, you can take as long as you want, so if you need to take a break for a week or two to brush up on your C, do that and come back when you're ready, the lessons will still be there.  it's all self-paced.”

If he receives enough registered students to make it worthwhile, he plans on offering future follow-up courses such as How to write a PCI driver or How to write a USB driver, again at absurdly cheap prices.

You can find out more about the course at http://crashcourse.ca/introduction-linux-kernel-programming/introduction-linux-kernel-programming where you will also find a course overview. You can also contact him at http://crashcourse.ca/contact .

And, from what I can tell, he's Canadian!