Showing headlines posted by Scott_Ruecker

It's been nearly a year since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the "vulnerability discovery and remediation open source hardening project," a $1.24 million, three-year grant through its research and development arm, the Directorate for Science and Technology. Now, the security project is entering its research phase.

While Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has garnered a tremendous amount of support worldwide, it has also become a lightning rod for critics who have questioned the viability of its long-term success and impact. As the OLPC receives its first shipment of laptops and continues to formalize agreements with developing countries, the cost of individual laptops hover at about $130. Critics, however, suggest that the "true cost" may be several times that amount.

Some smartphone users are pretty adept at moving their thumbs at seemingly supersonic speeds to write SMS and e-mail messages with a traditional keypad when a QWERTY keyboard isn't present. Most of us tire quickly and would like to find a better way, however.

Sooner than anyone expected it, Novell Inc.'s openSUSE community Linux distribution project has delivered a new version: openSUSE 10.2. As a dyed-in-the-wool SUSE user since S.u.S.E Linux 4.2 first appeared in 1996, I decided to immediately give this version a try.

The Mozilla Foundation has agreed to make changes to its development and distribution processes in order to better accommodate the needs of Linux distributors. The foundation says it will work directly with representatives of all interested Linux distributions to manage patches, create distro-specific packages, and make collective decisions on policy.

Bugreport for December 8, 2006

Continuent, commercial open source middleware solutions provider, announced general availability of an updated version of its Continuent uni/cluster software. This new uni/cluster version includes among other things a new management and configuration tool. Continuent uni/cluster for PostgreSQL also now supports new PostgreSQL 8.2.

Open source code is now used by over 70 per cent of software developers in Asia, according to a new report. The number of developers using open source in the region has surged more than 40 per cent in just three years, Evans Data Corporation revealed in a recent survey of software engineers.

OS X is more appealing to enterprises as a desktop operating system than ever before and although it is unlikely to take market share away from Windows, the Mac could reduce the number of Linux-based desktops, according to research group Gartner.

Microsoft has challenged an altruistic scheme to get pared-down computers into the laps of African school children by preparing its own software for sale on the machine.

Open source provider Red Hat announced Satyam, an IT service provider, has joined its Advanced Business Partner Program and plans to open a Center of Excellence (CoE) and open source lab in Bangalore for developing horizontal competencies and business solutions on Red Hat and JBoss platforms.

LiveCDs provide a quick and easy way to get started with Linux. If you're not already familiar with them, LiveCD distributions (such as Knoppix) are nifty CDs that can run Linux from the CD-ROM drive without installing anything. It's as simple as popping in the CD and starting up the machine. This neat technology not only lets you get acquainted with Linux; it also offers system administrators a back door method of accessing files on the hard drives of compromised machines – and this even works with Windows boxes.

There are many things about GNU/Linux which merit complaint. But it is extremely doubtful whether anyone can find anything to complain about with regards to the versatile nature of the operating system.

Enea plans to market a small-footprint TCP/IP stack add-on for OSEck, its compact RTOS (real-time operating system) for DSPs (digital signal processors). The "DSPNet" stack should enable DSP farms running OSEck to connect via gigabit Ethernet to heterogenous, distributed systems running Linux and other OSes, according to the company.

Kontron is preparing a line of compact, customizable, multifunctional computers based on its mini-ITX motherboard family. The KIM ("Kontron intelligent mini-computer") series will ship in February, 2007, in custom and standard configurations, powered by Intel processors ranging from the Celeron M to Core 2 Duo.

The third issue of Amarok Weekly News talks about cross-desktop media player cooperation, cool new additions to Amarok, and refreshed artwork. And again, it also includes useful tips. Enjoy!

Gentoo Linux's project team has published information -- contained in its weekly online newsletter -- on how to load and use its popular distro on the new Sony Playstation 3, which is all the rage among gamers at the moment.

Palm said today it will pay $44 million to Japan's Access Systems for a perpetual license of the operating system used by Treo smartphones and PDAs. The agreement ensures current and future Palm devices remain compatible with Palm's Garnet operating system. Palm, which also licenses Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC Edition OS, said the one-time payment avoids yearly royalties to Access worth tens of millions of dollars.

Linux.com's previous coverage of an alleged violation of the GNU General Public License (GPL) by IChessu in Israel has become part of the legal arguments in the case. Just what part, however, depends on who is talking. According to Alexander Maryanovsky, who filed the case, Linux.com's coverage has become the means of moving the case forward. By contrast, lawyers for the defendants discount its relevance.

Taiwan-based ebook specialist eRead is shipping a Linux-based electronic book reader featuring an electrophoretic display (EPD). The low-power, thin, light-weight Star eBook STK-101 can be used to read as many as 60 books on a single charge, the company claims.