TERRITORIES
TERRITORIES
Dear Linux Magazine Reader,
Votes in the U.S. Congress aren’t always determined by party. For some issues, geography is a more important factor. Farm-state senators like farm subsidies,
and auto-state senators like auto subsidies – regardless of party affiliation. This rule is actually closer to high tech than you think. You can count on legislators from the high tech corridors to deliver critical votes for sweeping initiatives to help the businesses in their districts, and sometimes the aid is much more direct – almost to the level of what you could call “constituent services.” Few software companies are big and important enough to be associated with an entire state, but there actually are a couple of states that are tied in the public mind to software companies in the same way that Florida is tied to Disney World. Those states are Washington (home of Microsoft) and Utah (home of Novell). Whenever Bill Gates goes to talk to the Congress, the Washington senators take very good care of him. Likewise, when a Novell exec arrives, he is treated well by the Utah delegation. This is all fair of course – every senator and congressman looks after the businesses in their district – but it gets even more interesting when elected official contend with other officials representing the competitors of their home-district businesses.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Digital Autonomy
• The Answer Was Already on the Shelf
• Changing the Chip Industry: How Public Investment Has Grown Open Silicon
• United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
• EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
• France Says “Au Revoir” to Microsoft
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux May Soon Work on Snapdragon X2-Based PCs
If you're thinking about buying a Snapdragon X2-based desktop or laptop, Linux may soon be an option.
-
KDE for People Initiative Calls for AI Ban in Plasma
A new community of KDE wants the project to adopt a strict no-AI policy for KDE Plasma.
-
KDE Sets Ambitious Goals for 2026 and Beyond
KDE Connect reveals the goals for the Linux desktop darling, with one of those goals long overdue.
-
It’s Time to Test Fedora 45 Beta
Fedora 45 beta has been released with updated Gnome, KDE Plasma, and kernel.
-
Ubuntu Stonking Stingray Gets Even Rustier
Ubuntu 26.10 has completed its migration to the Rust-based coreutils.
-
AI Fixes Linux Bottlenecks Using “Hideous” Code
A Linux developer used AI to fix bottlenecks that caused problems when building the kernel. The resulting AI-generated code needed a lot of work.
-
Advanced Video Coding Still Under Patent
Brazilian patent BRPI0109962B1 has expired, which means that DivX and Xvid are no longer problematic for Linux, but it doesn’t mean that video is all of a sudden fully unleashed.
-
2,000 Vulnerabilities per Linux Release
Thanks to AI bug hunters, the Linux kernel is seeing record numbers of vulnerabilities, and it's overwhelming developers.
-
Linux Exempt from California’s Age Verification Law
So long as Linux is distributed under the GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses, the OS is exempt from being required to verify the age of its users in California.
-
Roll Out the Cake: Linux Turns 35
35 years ago, a Finnish student began a humble project that would forever change the course of technology.