Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) is a standard-based middleware architecture that allows pluggable components to communicate with each other via a messaging system. In this article by David Salter, we will see in brief, the components inside the ESB architecture and how they communicate with each other. We will also look at how NetBeans SOA pack integrates with OpenESB and the various functionalities it offers with regards to the ESB.

The Mozilla Foundation has named Mark Surman as its new Executive Director effective September 22. Surman is currently serving as an Open Philanthropy Fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation.

The majority of servers supporting the Fedora Linux distribution were back online on Tuesday following a mystery disruption. Last Thursday (14 August) Fedora project leader Paul Frields took the unusual step of advising users not to download or update their software, as a precaution while the Fedora team responded to an unspecified issue. He warned ahead of time that service outages were likely.

The majority of servers supporting the Fedora Linux distribution were back online on Tuesday following a mystery disruption. Last Thursday (14 August) Fedora project leader Paul Frields took the unusual step of advising users not to download or update their software, as a precaution while the Fedora team responded to an unspecified issue. He warned ahead of time that service outages were likely.

Vista’s death march picked up some pace yesterday, after a metrics researcher revealed that nearly 35 per cent of PCs built to run the Windows operating system have been downgraded to XP. In a survey of more than 3,000 computers, performance testing software developer Devil Mountain Software estimated that more than one in three new machines had either been downgraded by vendors such as Dell, or by customers once they bought the PC.

Vista’s death march picked up some pace yesterday, after a metrics researcher revealed that nearly 35 per cent of PCs built to run the Windows operating system have been downgraded to XP. In a survey of more than 3,000 computers, performance testing software developer Devil Mountain Software estimated that more than one in three new machines had either been downgraded by vendors such as Dell, or by customers once they bought the PC.

A new netbook for European schools runs Linux on a Chinese-designed processor. With a generous 10-inch, 1024×600 display, the 2.4-pound Emtec Gdium boots Mandriva Linux from removable USB flash keys, running it in 512MB of DDR2 RAM on a 900MHz Loongson-2F processor made by STMicroelectronics (ST).

A new netbook for European schools runs Linux on a Chinese-designed processor. With a generous 10-inch, 1024×600 display, the 2.4-pound Emtec Gdium boots Mandriva Linux from removable USB flash keys, running it in 512MB of DDR2 RAM on a 900MHz Loongson-2F processor made by STMicroelectronics (ST).

It has been a few weeks since NVIDIA last pushed out a Linux display driver update, but this morning already they have pushed out a new update. The just-released NVIDIA 177.67 display driver doesn’t introduce OpenGL 3.0 support or any other major features, but it does look to resolve a number of bugs, provide improvements to the Render extension, add official support to the GeForce GTX 260/280 graphics cards, and a number of other improvements.

It has been a few weeks since NVIDIA last pushed out a Linux display driver update, but this morning already they have pushed out a new update. The just-released NVIDIA 177.67 display driver doesn’t introduce OpenGL 3.0 support or any other major features, but it does look to resolve a number of bugs, provide improvements to the Render extension, add official support to the GeForce GTX 260/280 graphics cards, and a number of other improvements.

T-Mobile has admitted it’ll be launching an Android phone this year, and with Google finally allowing developers access to version 0.9, we’ll soon see if the Android has managed the finesse of an iPhone with Nokia-grade functionality. Version 0.9 of Google’s platform is now available for download, with a redesigned user interface and some significant improvements in functionality, as well as lots of eye-candy to seduce the iPhone crowd. But Google’s revolutionary platform is still lacking some of the features we’ve come to expect of a smartphone, including hardware on which to run it.

T-Mobile has admitted it’ll be launching an Android phone this year, and with Google finally allowing developers access to version 0.9, we’ll soon see if the Android has managed the finesse of an iPhone with Nokia-grade functionality. Version 0.9 of Google’s platform is now available for download, with a redesigned user interface and some significant improvements in functionality, as well as lots of eye-candy to seduce the iPhone crowd. But Google’s revolutionary platform is still lacking some of the features we’ve come to expect of a smartphone, including hardware on which to run it.

This guide explains how you can create advanced virtual hosts on a lighttpd web server on Debian Etch that are stored in a MySQL database. The method described here does not use the lighttpd mod_mysql_vhost module, and unlike mod_mysql_vhost (which allows you to store only the hostname and document root of a vhost in a database), this method allows to store individual configuration directives for each vhost in the MySQL database.

This guide explains how you can create advanced virtual hosts on a lighttpd web server on Debian Etch that are stored in a MySQL database. The method described here does not use the lighttpd mod_mysql_vhost module, and unlike mod_mysql_vhost (which allows you to store only the hostname and document root of a vhost in a database), this method allows to store individual configuration directives for each vhost in the MySQL database.

How does OpenSolaris, Sun’s effort to free its big-iron OS, fare from a Linux user’s point of view? Is it merely a passable curiosity right now, or is it truly worth installing? Linux Format takes OpenSolaris for a test drive, examining the similarities and differences between the OS and a typical Linux distro. If you want to sample the mighty ZFS filesystem, OpenSolaris is definitely the way to go.

How does OpenSolaris, Sun’s effort to free its big-iron OS, fare from a Linux user’s point of view? Is it merely a passable curiosity right now, or is it truly worth installing? Linux Format takes OpenSolaris for a test drive, examining the similarities and differences between the OS and a typical Linux distro. If you want to sample the mighty ZFS filesystem, OpenSolaris is definitely the way to go.

Buoyed by a court ruling and prospects for new mobile phone products, The SCO Group says it is on track for a Phoenix-like rebirth. The company believes those two factors have finally given it the breathing room to emerge from bankruptcy and continue its traditional computer server business, as well as market promising new mobile products and pursue its high-profile legal battles.

Buoyed by a court ruling and prospects for new mobile phone products, The SCO Group says it is on track for a Phoenix-like rebirth. The company believes those two factors have finally given it the breathing room to emerge from bankruptcy and continue its traditional computer server business, as well as market promising new mobile products and pursue its high-profile legal battles.

A shift from multi-core power-gobbling monsters toward whisper-quiet systems with single-digit power consumption is rippling through the desktop market. This trend plays right into the hands of a Paris-based company called Linutop, which offers a miniature Linux-based desktop system. The latest version of the machine appeals to customers who are in the market for a machine with green credentials and low maintenance costs. After testing one myself, I found the tiny desktop has a lot going for it.

A shift from multi-core power-gobbling monsters toward whisper-quiet systems with single-digit power consumption is rippling through the desktop market. This trend plays right into the hands of a Paris-based company called Linutop, which offers a miniature Linux-based desktop system. The latest version of the machine appeals to customers who are in the market for a machine with green credentials and low maintenance costs. After testing one myself, I found the tiny desktop has a lot going for it.

Over the last couple day’s I have been working on the Bordeaux for FreeBSD 7 port. We now have everything compiling and running but a lot more testing needs to be done before it’s ready for a final release. Internet Explorer, Steam and Office 2003 are the only applications ive gotten around to testing thus far. The good news is everything that I have tested works fairly well on FreeBSD.

Over the last couple day’s I have been working on the Bordeaux for FreeBSD 7 port. We now have everything compiling and running but a lot more testing needs to be done before it’s ready for a final release. Internet Explorer, Steam and Office 2003 are the only applications ive gotten around to testing thus far. The good news is everything that I have tested works fairly well on FreeBSD.

With increasing interest and influence in the open source movement, women in Australia and New Zealand are pushing their way into a normally male-dominated arena. Recently, the Australian and New Zealand branches of Linux Chix merged their chat and instant messaging forums to maintain better communication and strengthen the scope of their influence.

With increasing interest and influence in the open source movement, women in Australia and New Zealand are pushing their way into a normally male-dominated arena. Recently, the Australian and New Zealand branches of Linux Chix merged their chat and instant messaging forums to maintain better communication and strengthen the scope of their influence.

Growth in Linux vendor Red Hat’s Asia-Pacific engineering and support business has resulted in a move to new premises. The world’s biggest specialist Linux company’s Brisbane, Australia, site is now its largest engineering centre in the region.

Growth in Linux vendor Red Hat’s Asia-Pacific engineering and support business has resulted in a move to new premises. The world’s biggest specialist Linux company’s Brisbane, Australia, site is now its largest engineering centre in the region.

Open source software adoption is high in Asia, but the level of contribution from the region’s open source developer community leaves much to be desired, says a prominent figure in the open source industry. David Axmark, co-founder of the popular MySQL database, said during a media session here Tuesday that usage of open source software continues to grow significantly across the region.

Open source software adoption is high in Asia, but the level of contribution from the region’s open source developer community leaves much to be desired, says a prominent figure in the open source industry. David Axmark, co-founder of the popular MySQL database, said during a media session here Tuesday that usage of open source software continues to grow significantly across the region.

As regular Deeplinks readers know, EFF’s Coders’ Rights Project is defending the rights of three MIT students who were prevented from presenting their research on security vulnerabilities in Boston’s transit fare payment system. The students were hit with a temporary restraining order that silenced their planned presentation at DEFCON. At first glance, the issues at play may appear obscure, and of interest only to technical researchers and lawyers. But as we noted in a post last week, the right to publish without pre-publication review is part of the purpose of the 1st amendment, and one of the reasons Americans fought the Revolutionary War. (The MBTA’s stance is all the more ironic, considering Boston’s role in that war.)

As regular Deeplinks readers know, EFF’s Coders’ Rights Project is defending the rights of three MIT students who were prevented from presenting their research on security vulnerabilities in Boston’s transit fare payment system. The students were hit with a temporary restraining order that silenced their planned presentation at DEFCON. At first glance, the issues at play may appear obscure, and of interest only to technical researchers and lawyers. But as we noted in a post last week, the right to publish without pre-publication review is part of the purpose of the 1st amendment, and one of the reasons Americans fought the Revolutionary War. (The MBTA’s stance is all the more ironic, considering Boston’s role in that war.)

[More follow up in regards our DefCon 16 review. - Scott]

Another odd Linux command from the back of the closet. We’re going to take a look at a quirky little command (The use of the term “quirky” is my personal bias creeping in called “pidof” that you can, absolutely, find on RedHat ES versions 4 and up. It’s probably on lots of other distro’s, too, but I can only afford to muck with what’s in the free-server-pool at any given moment. This command is actually very interesting and, given that RHEL3 boasts the “pgrep” command, I was quite surprised when I bumped into it. I’m not sure if it seemed contradictory or complementary; just unexpected.

Another odd Linux command from the back of the closet. We’re going to take a look at a quirky little command (The use of the term “quirky” is my personal bias creeping in called “pidof” that you can, absolutely, find on RedHat ES versions 4 and up. It’s probably on lots of other distro’s, too, but I can only afford to muck with what’s in the free-server-pool at any given moment. This command is actually very interesting and, given that RHEL3 boasts the “pgrep” command, I was quite surprised when I bumped into it. I’m not sure if it seemed contradictory or complementary; just unexpected.

The entity behind one of the most popular desktop interface, GNOME Foundation is doing the right thing at the right time. The foundation has hired Stormy Peters as the executive director. We reached out to Stormy and conducted an e-mailed interview to understand how is she planning to take the computing world by ’storm’. Here is the complete interaction with Stormy.

[Four days old but I thought it still worthy; it being a decent Interview. - Scott]

The entity behind one of the most popular desktop interface, GNOME Foundation is doing the right thing at the right time. The foundation has hired Stormy Peters as the executive director. We reached out to Stormy and conducted an e-mailed interview to understand how is she planning to take the computing world by ’storm’. Here is the complete interaction with Stormy.

[Four days old but I thought it still worthy; it being a decent Interview. - Scott]

atftp is Multi-threaded TFTP server implementing all options (option extension and multicast) as specified in RFC1350, RFC2090, RFC2347, RFC2348 and RFC2349. Atftpd also supports multicast protocol known as mtftp, defined in the PXE specification. The server supports being started from inetd as well as in daemon mode using init scripts.

atftp is Multi-threaded TFTP server implementing all options (option extension and multicast) as specified in RFC1350, RFC2090, RFC2347, RFC2348 and RFC2349. Atftpd also supports multicast protocol known as mtftp, defined in the PXE specification. The server supports being started from inetd as well as in daemon mode using init scripts.

Four years ago I wrote an article for the Linux Journal about my use of Linux software for music instruction. A lot has changed since then, so I thought I should update that article to reflect my current use of Linux in my work as a music teacher. I’ll follow the presentation of materials as I organized it in the original article, but first I’ll share some observations about the changing nature of my trade. I’m interested in how and where my younger students hear new music. Some of the old channels still work for them, especially live shows, but television and radio have little appeal. On-line music services such as iTunes and Magnatunes are very popular, many students have directed me to music tracks and performances on YouTube and MySpace sites, and the Guitar Hero games have inspired some students to learn tunes they may not have heard elsewhere. Surprisingly, very few have ever tuned in to an Internet radio station. Students still share mix CDs, but of course the iPod is now the preferred portable media player.

Four years ago I wrote an article for the Linux Journal about my use of Linux software for music instruction. A lot has changed since then, so I thought I should update that article to reflect my current use of Linux in my work as a music teacher. I’ll follow the presentation of materials as I organized it in the original article, but first I’ll share some observations about the changing nature of my trade. I’m interested in how and where my younger students hear new music. Some of the old channels still work for them, especially live shows, but television and radio have little appeal. On-line music services such as iTunes and Magnatunes are very popular, many students have directed me to music tracks and performances on YouTube and MySpace sites, and the Guitar Hero games have inspired some students to learn tunes they may not have heard elsewhere. Surprisingly, very few have ever tuned in to an Internet radio station. Students still share mix CDs, but of course the iPod is now the preferred portable media player.

Move over, Salesforce.com and SugarCRM. Concursive Corp., a small open source software company, is offering free software as a service (SaaS) for up to 100 CRM (customer relationship management) users for up to one year. Here’s the scoop from MSPmentor.

Move over, Salesforce.com and SugarCRM. Concursive Corp., a small open source software company, is offering free software as a service (SaaS) for up to 100 CRM (customer relationship management) users for up to one year. Here’s the scoop from MSPmentor.

This article walkes you step-by-step through building an Ajax mashup using Eclipse and the deployment it to the Google App Engine.

This article walkes you step-by-step through building an Ajax mashup using Eclipse and the deployment it to the Google App Engine.

Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE), commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems starting in 1995. It has been the most widely used web browser since 1999, attaining a peak of about 95% usage share during 2002 and 2003 with IE5 and 6 but steadily declining since, despite the introduction of IE7. Microsoft spent over 100 million dollars (USD) a year in the late 1990s, with over 1000 people working on IE by 1999.

Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE), commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems starting in 1995. It has been the most widely used web browser since 1999, attaining a peak of about 95% usage share during 2002 and 2003 with IE5 and 6 but steadily declining since, despite the introduction of IE7. Microsoft spent over 100 million dollars (USD) a year in the late 1990s, with over 1000 people working on IE by 1999.

Linux distributions can be a pain. Users have to go through the whole process of installation, configuration, and updates, and, often, all they really want to do is to run a single application. The vendors of that application, meanwhile, feel the need to support as many distributions as possible, even though the actual system running underneath their code is nearly irrelevant. Wouldn’t it be nice if users could simply get their desired application as an “appliance” which comes with all the necessary component parts nicely hidden inside?

Linux distributions can be a pain. Users have to go through the whole process of installation, configuration, and updates, and, often, all they really want to do is to run a single application. The vendors of that application, meanwhile, feel the need to support as many distributions as possible, even though the actual system running underneath their code is nearly irrelevant. Wouldn’t it be nice if users could simply get their desired application as an “appliance” which comes with all the necessary component parts nicely hidden inside?

Helping develop and foster up and coming talent in the open source software field, the Fedora Project, a Red Hat sponsored and community-supported open source collaboration, has announced the newly created Fedora Scholarship programme. The programme recognises college and university-bound students across the globe for their contributions to free software and the Fedora Project. The inaugural scholarship recipient for 2008 is Ricky Zhou who will attend Carnegie Mellon University this fall.

Helping develop and foster up and coming talent in the open source software field, the Fedora Project, a Red Hat sponsored and community-supported open source collaboration, has announced the newly created Fedora Scholarship programme. The programme recognises college and university-bound students across the globe for their contributions to free software and the Fedora Project. The inaugural scholarship recipient for 2008 is Ricky Zhou who will attend Carnegie Mellon University this fall.

When it comes to Linux there are 3 kinds of people, those who never heard of it, those who are afraid of it, and those who hate it and spread falsities about it. I don’t really care about the first, they probably aren’t really technologically literate anyways, as long as they have E-mail they are content. While the second group is the result of the actions of the third. Let’s hit two birds with one stone shall we?

When it comes to Linux there are 3 kinds of people, those who never heard of it, those who are afraid of it, and those who hate it and spread falsities about it. I don’t really care about the first, they probably aren’t really technologically literate anyways, as long as they have E-mail they are content. While the second group is the result of the actions of the third. Let’s hit two birds with one stone shall we?

Software supplier Red Hat is racking up growth figures that much of techdom might envy. Sales rose 32%, to $157 million, in the quarter ended May 31, and profits climbed a respectable 7%. So why is Wall Street so bearish on the stock? A day after Red Hat reported results, Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded the shares, citing few opportunities for growth. Three other investment banks had lowered their Red Hat ratings in the previous nine months, and the company’s shares, which on Aug. 15 dipped 22¢, to 22.75, have been parked between 21 and 23 for a year. “There’s a concern that our growth rate will slow,” Red Hat Chief Executive Officer Jim Whitehurst says. “We’ve been in that funk the last couple of years.”

Software supplier Red Hat is racking up growth figures that much of techdom might envy. Sales rose 32%, to $157 million, in the quarter ended May 31, and profits climbed a respectable 7%. So why is Wall Street so bearish on the stock? A day after Red Hat reported results, Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded the shares, citing few opportunities for growth. Three other investment banks had lowered their Red Hat ratings in the previous nine months, and the company’s shares, which on Aug. 15 dipped 22¢, to 22.75, have been parked between 21 and 23 for a year. “There’s a concern that our growth rate will slow,” Red Hat Chief Executive Officer Jim Whitehurst says. “We’ve been in that funk the last couple of years.”

Last week, we told you that Taiwan-based HTC, one of the largest mobile device makers in the world, was readying the first smart phone to use Google’s Android operating system. Well, on Monday the Federal Communications Commission approved the device for use in the United States. The F.C.C. posted certification documentation on its Web site. The documents confirm is the name of the new phone: Dream. Most important, though: with the smartphone’s certification behind it, it is possible for T-Mobile, the nation’s No. 4 wireless carrier, to go ahead with plans to debut the phone next month and begin selling it ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

Last week, we told you that Taiwan-based HTC, one of the largest mobile device makers in the world, was readying the first smart phone to use Google’s Android operating system. Well, on Monday the Federal Communications Commission approved the device for use in the United States. The F.C.C. posted certification documentation on its Web site. The documents confirm is the name of the new phone: Dream. Most important, though: with the smartphone’s certification behind it, it is possible for T-Mobile, the nation’s No. 4 wireless carrier, to go ahead with plans to debut the phone next month and begin selling it ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

GoboLinux is a distribution which sports a different file system structure than ‘ordinary’ Linux distributions. In order to remain compatible with the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, symbolic links are used to map the GoboLinux tree to standard UNIX directories. A post in the GoboLinux forums suggested that it might be better to turn the concept around: retain the FHS, and then use symbolic links to map the GoboLinux tree on top of it. This sparked some interesting discussion.

GoboLinux is a distribution which sports a different file system structure than ‘ordinary’ Linux distributions. In order to remain compatible with the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, symbolic links are used to map the GoboLinux tree to standard UNIX directories. A post in the GoboLinux forums suggested that it might be better to turn the concept around: retain the FHS, and then use symbolic links to map the GoboLinux tree on top of it. This sparked some interesting discussion.

In the name of defining jargon, Forbes this week tries a complete rewrite of open source history. This is accomplished by someone named Dan Woods, who calls his company Evolved Media. (He might want to rename it Unevolved Medium.) Woods does this by ignoring Eric Raymond’s ground-breaking The Cathedral and the Bazaar, making Richard Stallman the father of something he frankly detests.

In the name of defining jargon, Forbes this week tries a complete rewrite of open source history. This is accomplished by someone named Dan Woods, who calls his company Evolved Media. (He might want to rename it Unevolved Medium.) Woods does this by ignoring Eric Raymond’s ground-breaking The Cathedral and the Bazaar, making Richard Stallman the father of something he frankly detests.

Canonical, the company behind the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, has joined the Linux Foundation. This move reflects the growing relevance of Canonical in the Linux ecosystem and indicates that the company has achieved a level of growth that empowers it to contribute additional resources back to the Linux community.

Canonical, the company behind the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, has joined the Linux Foundation. This move reflects the growing relevance of Canonical in the Linux ecosystem and indicates that the company has achieved a level of growth that empowers it to contribute additional resources back to the Linux community.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission released documents today suggesting that the first Android phone will hit the U.S. market in November. The documents show that the FCC has approved the sale of HTC’s Dream phone. It is widely rumored that the device will be the first to run Google Inc.’s Linux-based Android software.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission released documents today suggesting that the first Android phone will hit the U.S. market in November. The documents show that the FCC has approved the sale of HTC’s Dream phone. It is widely rumored that the device will be the first to run Google Inc.’s Linux-based Android software.

One of the advantages, touted by the Open Source community is that you can read the source code and make changes to it if you need to. Now to be honest, how many of us even bother to look at the source code? Come on, fess up. Yes, that is about what I thought. To the five percent of you that do read the code (or tweak it), bravo, but, while most of us do not live in C (or C++ or insert your favorite language here), we do have to configure, tweak, twist, bend and occasional bully the code into working correctly and in a useful manner, whether that is playing nice with our libraries or other application. So, the Open can also mean transparent. And this is a good thing.

One of the advantages, touted by the Open Source community is that you can read the source code and make changes to it if you need to. Now to be honest, how many of us even bother to look at the source code? Come on, fess up. Yes, that is about what I thought. To the five percent of you that do read the code (or tweak it), bravo, but, while most of us do not live in C (or C++ or insert your favorite language here), we do have to configure, tweak, twist, bend and occasional bully the code into working correctly and in a useful manner, whether that is playing nice with our libraries or other application. So, the Open can also mean transparent. And this is a good thing.

Cluster computing has played a pivotal role in the way research is conducted in educational environments. Because the amount of available money and hardware varies between university researchers, often it’s necessary to find a clustering solution that can work well on a small scale, but also can be expanded into a large computing cluster. To maximize grants, researchers typically ask for an open source solution to meet their needs. Despite the lack of certain desirable features, Rocks clusters are among the best open source solution for building a computing cluster.

Cluster computing has played a pivotal role in the way research is conducted in educational environments. Because the amount of available money and hardware varies between university researchers, often it’s necessary to find a clustering solution that can work well on a small scale, but also can be expanded into a large computing cluster. To maximize grants, researchers typically ask for an open source solution to meet their needs. Despite the lack of certain desirable features, Rocks clusters are among the best open source solution for building a computing cluster.

Science is the effort of trying to understand how the physical world works. From observation and experimentation, science uses physical evidence of natural phenomena to compile data and analyze the collated information. Science really prospers and advances when individuals share the results of their experiments with others in the scientific community. There is a certain logic that scientific software should therefore be released in a freely distributable environment.

Science is the effort of trying to understand how the physical world works. From observation and experimentation, science uses physical evidence of natural phenomena to compile data and analyze the collated information. Science really prospers and advances when individuals share the results of their experiments with others in the scientific community. There is a certain logic that scientific software should therefore be released in a freely distributable environment.

When I was a kid, I used to make crude little animated cartoons in my notebooks using the flipbook technique. Walt Disney had nothing to worry about. I was awful even by the 3rd grade standards of White Pine elementary. Today, I could be great, because almost all top animation and special effects artists are Linux users.

When I was a kid, I used to make crude little animated cartoons in my notebooks using the flipbook technique. Walt Disney had nothing to worry about. I was awful even by the 3rd grade standards of White Pine elementary. Today, I could be great, because almost all top animation and special effects artists are Linux users.

The other day I was talking with a bunch of other tech heads about the ongoing Windows vs. Mac vs. Linux market share war and why, from a stats point of view, that Mac and Linux were still trailing far behind Windows. “It all revolves around killer apps,” pipes up one of the tech heads. “The problem with both Apple and Linux is that neither OS has a compelling killer app driving the user base.” The conversation then went off on to discuss apps such as Photoshop and AutoCAD and how with Windows you have a single unified platform that’ll run almost any professional grade package that you can think of, while with Mac and Linux your choices are restricted. Bull.

The other day I was talking with a bunch of other tech heads about the ongoing Windows vs. Mac vs. Linux market share war and why, from a stats point of view, that Mac and Linux were still trailing far behind Windows. “It all revolves around killer apps,” pipes up one of the tech heads. “The problem with both Apple and Linux is that neither OS has a compelling killer app driving the user base.” The conversation then went off on to discuss apps such as Photoshop and AutoCAD and how with Windows you have a single unified platform that’ll run almost any professional grade package that you can think of, while with Mac and Linux your choices are restricted. Bull.

While there is never any shortage of hope in the world of technology, perhaps the largest gusher in the last 20 years came from two words: open source, a term that is too large for one column (too big for most books, in fact). This week JargonSpy takes a trip back in time to understand how many of the hopes and dreams for open source ended up creating a world just like the one we always had. To reduce the scope of our discussion to a digestible size, we must add a qualifier, so this week we are going to look at “commercial open source.”

[Lookout, major lapse in research ahead. - Scott]

While there is never any shortage of hope in the world of technology, perhaps the largest gusher in the last 20 years came from two words: open source, a term that is too large for one column (too big for most books, in fact). This week JargonSpy takes a trip back in time to understand how many of the hopes and dreams for open source ended up creating a world just like the one we always had. To reduce the scope of our discussion to a digestible size, we must add a qualifier, so this week we are going to look at “commercial open source.”

[Lookout, major lapse in research ahead. - Scott]

In an e-mail interview with ZDNet Asia’s sister site ZDNet UK on Friday, Torvalds said that, while it is relatively easy for coders and organizations to contribute small patches, the contribution of large patches, developed in isolation, could lead to both new and established contributors becoming frustrated.

In an e-mail interview with ZDNet Asia’s sister site ZDNet UK on Friday, Torvalds said that, while it is relatively easy for coders and organizations to contribute small patches, the contribution of large patches, developed in isolation, could lead to both new and established contributors becoming frustrated.

Last month we started a tutorial series covering tips and tricks to help you make the transition from Microsoft (MS) Office to OpenOffice.org (OOo) 2.4 easier. We discovered how to add more templates and clip art to OOo, include grammar checking, and replicate the convenient Split Window feature of MS Office. This part of the series will take you through the process of importing the custom dictionary of MS Office, setting OOo to always save in the MS Office format, and using MS Office. Ready, set, go!

Last month we started a tutorial series covering tips and tricks to help you make the transition from Microsoft (MS) Office to OpenOffice.org (OOo) 2.4 easier. We discovered how to add more templates and clip art to OOo, include grammar checking, and replicate the convenient Split Window feature of MS Office. This part of the series will take you through the process of importing the custom dictionary of MS Office, setting OOo to always save in the MS Office format, and using MS Office. Ready, set, go!

Lenovo will make the leap from ThinkPad notebooks to servers in September, introducing its first Linux and Windows server systems, The VAR Guy has learned. Here are the details.

Lenovo will make the leap from ThinkPad notebooks to servers in September, introducing its first Linux and Windows server systems, The VAR Guy has learned. Here are the details.

Ubuntu is well known in user circles as the cool kids’ Linux. It’s available preinstalled on PCs and laptops from Dell Inc. and from numerous smaller computer vendors. What Ubuntu hasn’t been known as is a Linux distribution that matters to CIOs and IT managers. Things are changing. Canonical Ltd., Ubuntu’s parent company, is finally taking serious action on its long-announced plans to become a serious enterprise Linux player. The Isle of Man-based Linux distributor isn’t just targeting data center servers, although that’s on its list.

Ubuntu is well known in user circles as the cool kids’ Linux. It’s available preinstalled on PCs and laptops from Dell Inc. and from numerous smaller computer vendors. What Ubuntu hasn’t been known as is a Linux distribution that matters to CIOs and IT managers. Things are changing. Canonical Ltd., Ubuntu’s parent company, is finally taking serious action on its long-announced plans to become a serious enterprise Linux player. The Isle of Man-based Linux distributor isn’t just targeting data center servers, although that’s on its list.

Buckling under the weight of the Internet radio royalty hike that SoundExchange pushed through last July, Pandora may pull its own plug soon. Despite being one of the most popular Internet radio services, the company still isn’t making money, and its founder, Tim Westergren, says it can’t last beyond its first payment of the higher royalties.

Buckling under the weight of the Internet radio royalty hike that SoundExchange pushed through last July, Pandora may pull its own plug soon. Despite being one of the most popular Internet radio services, the company still isn’t making money, and its founder, Tim Westergren, says it can’t last beyond its first payment of the higher royalties.

The explosion of low-cost, ultra-portable laptops that started to appear in computer stores is a dream come true for many technology enthusiasts and free software developers who are keen to offer solutions for the new computer class. In this week’s issue we take a first look at Mandriva Flash 2008.1, one of the first distributions with official support for the ASUS Eee PC. Does it really work “out of the box” as claimed? Read on to find out. In the news section, Slackware introduces KDE 4.1 into the development tree, Fedora hints at a major problem with its update infrastructure, and Linux Mint suffers from a crippling attack on its web site. Also in this week’s issue, links to two excellent interviews with Ubuntu’s Scott Remnant and gOS’s David Liu. Finally, after a short break, we have resumed adding new distributions to the DistroWatch database - one of the new ones introduced last week is FaunOS, an interesting Arch Linux-based desktop distribution optimised for USB Flash drives.

The explosion of low-cost, ultra-portable laptops that started to appear in computer stores is a dream come true for many technology enthusiasts and free software developers who are keen to offer solutions for the new computer class. In this week’s issue we take a first look at Mandriva Flash 2008.1, one of the first distributions with official support for the ASUS Eee PC. Does it really work “out of the box” as claimed? Read on to find out. In the news section, Slackware introduces KDE 4.1 into the development tree, Fedora hints at a major problem with its update infrastructure, and Linux Mint suffers from a crippling attack on its web site. Also in this week’s issue, links to two excellent interviews with Ubuntu’s Scott Remnant and gOS’s David Liu. Finally, after a short break, we have resumed adding new distributions to the DistroWatch database - one of the new ones introduced last week is FaunOS, an interesting Arch Linux-based desktop distribution optimised for USB Flash drives.

Three students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were ordered by a federal court judge to cancel their scheduled presentation at DEFCON about vulnerabilities in Boston’s transit fare payment system, violating their First Amendment right to discuss their important research. EFF represents Zack Anderson, RJ Ryan and Alessandro Chiesa. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) sued the students and MIT in United States District Court in Massachusetts, claiming that the students violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) by delivering information to conference attendees that could be used to defraud the MBTA of transit fares.

Three students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were ordered by a federal court judge to cancel their scheduled presentation at DEFCON about vulnerabilities in Boston’s transit fare payment system, violating their First Amendment right to discuss their important research. EFF represents Zack Anderson, RJ Ryan and Alessandro Chiesa. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) sued the students and MIT in United States District Court in Massachusetts, claiming that the students violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) by delivering information to conference attendees that could be used to defraud the MBTA of transit fares.

NimbleX, a Slackware-based distribution, advertises itself as “the new wave of Linux.” However, what is appealing in NimbleX — its speed and small footprint and the resulting selection of alternative software choices — will likely strike veteran GNU/Linux users as being very old school. By contrast, its limitations — too little attention to such aspects as the installer, packaging, and security — seem all too modern, being reminiscent of other distros intent on commercialization or emulating Windows, even though NimbleX is a community distribution and largely a labor of love for Romanian developer Bogdan Radulescu.

NimbleX, a Slackware-based distribution, advertises itself as “the new wave of Linux.” However, what is appealing in NimbleX — its speed and small footprint and the resulting selection of alternative software choices — will likely strike veteran GNU/Linux users as being very old school. By contrast, its limitations — too little attention to such aspects as the installer, packaging, and security — seem all too modern, being reminiscent of other distros intent on commercialization or emulating Windows, even though NimbleX is a community distribution and largely a labor of love for Romanian developer Bogdan Radulescu.

Microsoft’s Open XML format overcame its final stumbling block and is moving forward as an official ISO standard. The file format had been held back earlier this year by claims that the voting process was rushed and that Microsoft’s specification information was incomplete.

Microsoft’s Open XML format overcame its final stumbling block and is moving forward as an official ISO standard. The file format had been held back earlier this year by claims that the voting process was rushed and that Microsoft’s specification information was incomplete.

OpenBSD provides a UNIX distribution with a primary emphasis on security and cryptography. If you’re looking for a UNIX distribution to deploy in the most critical nexus in your network infrastructure, look no further than OpenBSD. The recent release of OpenBSD—version 4.3—includes several new features and bug fixes that this article reviews.

OpenBSD provides a UNIX distribution with a primary emphasis on security and cryptography. If you’re looking for a UNIX distribution to deploy in the most critical nexus in your network infrastructure, look no further than OpenBSD. The recent release of OpenBSD—version 4.3—includes several new features and bug fixes that this article reviews.

Debian GNU/Linux is now 15 years old — which isn’t too shabby for an operating system. Yet though Debian is still alive and kicking, I’m not so sure it holds the market position that it should at this point in its maturity.

Debian GNU/Linux is now 15 years old — which isn’t too shabby for an operating system. Yet though Debian is still alive and kicking, I’m not so sure it holds the market position that it should at this point in its maturity.

Intel’s P45 Chipset was released this summer along with the P43, G43, and G45 Chipsets as the mainstream Eaglelake alternative to Intel’s current flagship X48 Chipset. Though over the older X48 motherboards, the P45 has the advantages of using Intel’s newer ICH10 / ICH10R Southbridge and support for up to 16GB of DDR2/DDR3 memory, which is double that of what’s supported by the X48. Today we are looking at two Intel P45 motherboards compliments of Gigabyte with their EP45-DS3L and EP45T-DS3R. The EP45-DS3L and EP45T-DS3R are just two of Gigabyte’s motherboards bearing the P45 Chipset but in total they have eight different motherboards using this version of the Eaglelake Chipset.

Intel’s P45 Chipset was released this summer along with the P43, G43, and G45 Chipsets as the mainstream Eaglelake alternative to Intel’s current flagship X48 Chipset. Though over the older X48 motherboards, the P45 has the advantages of using Intel’s newer ICH10 / ICH10R Southbridge and support for up to 16GB of DDR2/DDR3 memory, which is double that of what’s supported by the X48. Today we are looking at two Intel P45 motherboards compliments of Gigabyte with their EP45-DS3L and EP45T-DS3R. The EP45-DS3L and EP45T-DS3R are just two of Gigabyte’s motherboards bearing the P45 Chipset but in total they have eight different motherboards using this version of the Eaglelake Chipset.

“Hacking Exposed Linux” by ISECOM (Institute for Security and Open Methodologies) is a guide to help you secure your Linux environment. This book does not only help improve your security it looks at why you should. It does this by showing examples of real attacks and rates the importance of protecting yourself from being a victim of each type of attack.

“Hacking Exposed Linux” by ISECOM (Institute for Security and Open Methodologies) is a guide to help you secure your Linux environment. This book does not only help improve your security it looks at why you should. It does this by showing examples of real attacks and rates the importance of protecting yourself from being a victim of each type of attack.