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In this week's InfraSpectrum podcast: Peter Coffee examines a plug-compatible alternative to Microsoft Exchange, hosted on Linux and working with standards-based management and collaboration tools, is the proposition offered by PostPath, which emerged on May 9 from stealth mode after two years of development.

Documentation is a necessary evil of software development. While Linux lacks standard Windows tools such as FrameMaker, RoboHelp, and WebWorks Publisher, it's still a viable environment for technical writers. Linux users can take advantage of a number of documentation tools, including both free or open source software (FOSS) and proprietary software. All of them give technical writers the ability to author and publish professional documentation.

Motherboard and chipset maker VIA is again taking some heat over its open source efforts that, according to one open source developer, now "instigate" violations of the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Foreword -- This article summarizes the appearance, evolution, and current state of Mini-ITX as a form-factor for embedded applications. It was written by Roland Groeneveld, who founded Logic Supply, a PC board and parts distributor specializing in Mini-ITX.

Unix descendent soon to match Linux on features, with GNOME desktop support expected this year, according to a core developer.

After his first trip to India, regular columnist Bill Thompson looks forward to the end of western domination of the free software community

Messaging vendor PostPath emerged from stealth mode last week, saying it plans to ship a Linux-based replacement for Exchange that supports Linux network protocols and is designed to look just like Exchange on the network. PostPath Server, expected to ship next month, is designed not only as a replacement for an entire Exchange environment but also as a piecemeal replacement for individual Exchange servers, such as those in branch offices.

Linux User Groups (LUG) and Canadian elected officials are responding to the news that the Canadian online census forms block free software users from participating. Last week's story helped uncover the fact that the software used for the online census seems to violate several government policies and treaties.

When investigating free and open source software (FOSS) development and implementation in developing countries, you're likely to run into Ken Wong and Phet Sayo's FOSS primer, published by the International Open Source Network. What makes this primer so special, and so widely known? To find out, we interviewed the authors.

A recent string of patches posted to the lkml attempted to clean up compiler warnings, and lead to numerous discussions about the appropriate way to fix warnings. One thread discussed a warning caused by what the compiler inappropriately believed was an unitialized variable, to which Alan Cox replied, "hiding warnings like this can be a hazard as it will hide real warnings later on." He went on to suggest the warning was a good thing as it encourages developers to continue to review the code, "while the warning is present people will check it now and again."

Koan Software has certified a BSP (board support package) based on its GPL-only industrial embedded Linux distribution with an ARM-based half Euroboard SBC (single board computer) from Taskit. Klinux (formerly K-Linux) supports the Portux920T, based on an Atmel AT91RM9200 with a 180 MHz ARM-920T core.

A year ago, I reviewed Ututo-e, an Argentinian distribution based on Gentoo. Ututo-e is known mainly as the only GNU/Linux distribution endorsed by Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation (FSF). This endorsement is based on the fact that Ututo-e, in the words of Peter Brown of the FSF, "makes a commitment to follow the philosophy of the FSF as to what makes a distribution ethically free software." Last year, this endorsement seemed premature, because Ututo-e, while promising in some places, was buggy in many more. A year later, the 2006 release of Ututo XS is more polished, especially in its desktop and selection of administration tools, but its English version still falls below the standard of leading distributions such as Debian or Fedora Core.

GPLv3 will likely be adopted for Linux kernel, according to luminary Bruce Perens (pictured at left). "It's a negotiation... I'm expecting the embedded manufacturers and the Free Software Foundation and Linus to get the license to a point they can all live with," Perens says.

Linux has different meanings in the corporate and collegiate worlds, but a new Linux Technology Center (LTC) in upstate New York is bridging that gap and bringing both students and small business the benefits of Linux and open source.

Special to LXer: 4-May-06

There are those in the Linux and open source communities who believe the label "religious devotees" is detrimental to the cause, but the Rev. Don Parris embraces it.

My dirty little secret is out, so there is no harm done by saying so...my sister's husband works for Microsoft...Yes, THAT Microsoft...the one in Redmond. He says he hasn't noticed any foul smell or buzzards circling as of late.

If you think the toys you built with ordinary Legos were cool, robotics enthusiasts are about to make a quantum leap forward. The Lego Group announced today that it plans to release the firmware of its Lego Mindstorms microprocessor (the new NXT brick) as open source in August 2006.

Forget bootable USB pendrives and use an iPod to boot Linux on a Mac.

Scott McNealy is out. Jonathan Schwartz is in. And the future never looked brighter for Sun Microsystems—or so we're told. But if Sun's new CEO is going to convince me that his company can remain a dominant player in enterprise software, first he's going to have to get his story straight, particularly when it comes to Linux and open source.