BuzzBites: Linux and Lenin; Booting Up

Linux and Lenin

Linux versus Microsoft has always been a clash of ideology as much as technology. Now communists are getting involved, giving the debate an air of a global socio-economic struggle. The Indian state of Kerala, which is communist, recently announced it plans to promote Linux in its 2,724 high schools.

"We are against monopolies of multinational companies in any sectors," the Agence France-Presse quotes Kerala's education minister, M.A. Baby, as saying. "Ideologically I support Linux and free and open operating systems." Baby promised Microsoft won't be banned from the schools, but it makes you wonder if there's deeper meaning to the name "Red Hat." --Andrew Conry-Murray, [email protected]

Booting Up

What do technology and the art of throwing rubber boots have in common? More than you might think, at least in the United Kingdom. British scientists have constructed a robot that hurls Wellington boots, which apparently qualifies as a sport in the British Isles.The scientists, who study artificial intelligence, robotics and computers at Aberystwyth University, say their robot can throw rubber boots, six at a time, a distance of 262 feet. And lest you think they're just mucking around, the scientists say getting the various computer programs to communicate and interact with the hardware was quite a challenge. Next up? Robot caber tossing. --Andrew Conry-Murray, [email protected]