Showing headlines posted by Scott_Ruecker

This probably comes as no surprise to most Unix or Linux administrators out there (at least this first thing), but I find it's always interesting how rarely the "last" command is used to determine anything other than the users logged in "now" and the "last" time a user logged in. Granted; the last command doesn't offer too much in the extra-functionality department, but it does have one very useful feature.

Late last week I had the pleasure of talking with Fedora Project Leader Paul Frields. Our conversation covered a range of Fedora Project topics, including Fedora 9, the latest Fedora release. One thing Paul is passionate about is getting people to volunteer. There are many ways to get involved with the Fedora Project, lots of sub-projects and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) that people can join depending on their interests and talents. The Fedora Project wiki is a good starting point for finding out more. The Join Fedora page also goes into the various roles that a Fedora contributor might be suited for, with easy links to setting up a Fedora account and using the Fedora Account system. You don't have to be a programmer or a computer expert to contribute to the project.

Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of Open Source healthcare IT solutions, today announced the Open Source release of OpenVista Clinical Information System (CIS) version 1.0 Beta and OpenVista Server version 1.5.86. Available for immediate download at http://www.medsphere.org, these applications compose Medsphere’s Open Source electronic health record (EHR) system. OpenVista CIS provides a multi-platform (Linux and Windows), user-friendly and intuitive client interface through which clinicians can enter and view patient information. OpenVista Server is a commercialized version of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs VistA solution, developed over the course of more than 20 years and instrumental in a well-documented organizational turnaround at the agency

On Wednesday, the company said it plans to add new formats to Office 2007, including the Open Document Format (ODF), Portable Document Format (PDF), and XML Paper Specification (XPS). The new formats will be added to Office as part of Service Pack 2 for Office 2007, due in the first half of next year.

Incessant status updates to your cell phone from the command line? Sure, with a little help from curl and Twitter. If you've been around the Linux and UNIX world as long as I have (is it really going on 30 years? How could that be?), you'll be familiar with the various attempts at multiperson chat that have come down the pipeline, from simple command-line tools to the curses-based “talk” program to Internet Relay Chat (IRC) chaos. Occasionally fun, but often a complete waste of time, there's still something appealing about having an open line with a circle of friends and colleagues.

Red Hat is on top of the business Linux world and it has no intentions of coming down. Its newest release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), version 5.2, is designed to make sure that it stays on top. Red Hat plans on keeping its big name customers, such as the New York Stock Exchange Euronext cash equity market, by introducing improvements in six major areas with the 5.2 release. These are: virtualization, the desktop, security, clustering and storage, networking and IPv6, and serviceability. On top of this, however, there is another major move forward: broader hardware architecture support.

It's been more than a week since Debian patched a massive security hole in the library the operating system uses to create cryptographic keys for securing email, websites and administrative servers. Now the hard work begins, as legions of admins are saddled with the odious task of regenerating keys too numerous for anyone to estimate.

One of the perennial debates about the GNU/Linux desktop is how much it should resemble Windows. Usually, the debate is framed in terms of whether the desktop should look familiar to new users, or be developed in whatever way seems most logical. However, if the experience of the Famelix distribution in Brazil is any indication, imitating Windows and outperforming it can also leave you open to other threats, including accusations of piracy and changes of policy by Windows-centric management.

Ark Linux is a distribution developed primarily for new Linux users, although its developers say experienced users should find it powerful enough to use as well. I've tested it before and found the later claim a bit overstated. Would version 2008.1, released this month, be a change for the better? Although it was stable and included some handy software, hardware support in the latest release is lacking, and the distro's security philosophy a contradiction in terms.

iPodLinux is an open source venture into porting Linux onto the iPod (http://www.apple.com/ipod/). So far, they have successfully ported a customized uClinux (http://www.uclinux.org) kernel to the iPod, and written a simple user interface for it dubbed podzilla. Additional applications and modules have been written, adding many capabilities not found in Apple’s firmware. iPodLinux currently works on all iPod generations with the exception of the 2nd/3rd generation iPod nano, 6th generation iPod classic, all iPod shuffles and the iPod Touch.

With this new version 11 it brings free and legal codecs to Windows Media files. One less reason for any Microsoft software I guess.

Analysys say that by 2012, 80 percent or more of all commercial software will include elements of open-source technology. Coverity has announced the availability of a new report detailing the continued improvement in the quality and security of open-source software.

Compared to powerful and feature-rich photo applications like F-Spot and digiKam, Fotox looks decidedly underpowered. But while Fotox is no match to those powerhouses featurewise, this lightweight tool can come in handy when you have to perform basic photo editing fast and with minimum fuss.

Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth has again called for the developers of major open source software programs and Linux distributions to synchronize their development and release cycles. He argues that consistent and universal adherence to a specific time-based release model would promote more collaboration between projects, ensure that users have access to the latest improvements to popular applications, and make the Linux platform a more steady and predictable target for commercial software vendors.

When Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the One Laptop Per Child project, said two months ago that the project needed to be managed "more like Microsoft" he was speaking nothing but the truth. The OLPC was set up, initially, to provide laptops as educational tools to children in developing countries. But the shine has all gone from the project now, due to poor take-up, an unseemly row with Intel and infighting that has led to top people quitting. There is also a patent infringement lawsuit over the keyboard.

Ok, so I kinda liked the latter iterations of the Graywolf look for Amarok 2. Apparently, not many others did though. So Lee Olson ( our main artist at the moment ) and I have been thinking of alternatives for a while. And It would seem we have finally come up with something that has managed to get most of the Amarok team excited. It is still in the initial phase and a lot of work is needed still, but so far it is already a huge improvements to the overall look of Amarok 2, at leasts in my humble opinion. This new look is much more clean, and actually a lot closer to our initial idea of what Amarok 2 should look like.

The attacking left forward fakes his body to the left as he gracefully slides to the right around his opponent. Dribbling carefully into position, he sizes up the Australian goalie, who, he recalls, tends to play a little aggressively to one side, especially in that last match against Italy. An opposing fullback closes in and the forward ducks the move, falling back slightly and eyeing the goalie’s stance. Finally he sees his chance as the goalie shifts his weight – the forward takes the shot – he scores! The world championship is won by the challengers! The crowd goes wild…the photographers’ bulbs flash…and the forward returns to the locker room, to find an electrical outlet into which he can plug himself to recharge his power cells.

Yep, hugs and kisses (XOXO) to the OLPC's XO-2 laptop, which was unveiled today by Nicolas Negroponte during the One Laptop Per Child Foundation’s day-long media event at the MIT Media Lab. Not much detail was given regarding the new ULCPC's specs, but the new system has two touch-sensitive displays and no hard keyboard.

Linux is in our computers, our phones, our Wi-Fi equipment, and our TiVos -- why not our cars? Intel Corp. and Wind River have been working with both the embedded and automotive industries to advance in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) with open, Linux-based, standards-based, interoperable hardware and software called Open Infotainment Platforms (OIP).

A Hong Kong-based manufacturer is shipping a Linux-based ultra-mini PC (UMPC) laptop for only $250 ($180 in volume), which appears to give it the lowest price yet for a Linux laptop. Bestlink's Alpha 400 offers a 400MHz CPU and a 7-inch, truecolor display.