Showing headlines posted by dcparris

In 2006, Canadians can fill out their census forms online for the first time -- but not if they use GNU/Linux, or are free software advocates who prefer not to install a proprietary version of Java. The situation raises questions of open access to government that are familiar to most of the free and open source software (FOSS) communities, all the more so because other government services are implementing systems with the same limitations.

When Backcountry.com, an outdoor sporting goods retailer, was looking for shopping cart software, it picked an open source application called Interchange. It worked so well that the company began an enterprise-wide migration to open source software that has Linux running everywhere, from the servers to the desktops.

Foreword: In this guest column, David Wood, co-founder and executive vice president of research at Symbian, explains why increasingly powerful and useful smartphones are beginning to proliferate. Noting the different categories of devices that smartphones are likely to supersede -- such as music players, games consoles, messaging terminals and digital

A flaw in the Linux kernel could be exploited by malicious users to cause a denial of service attack.

With corporations prowling for multimillion dollar open source buyout prospects, it is becoming clearer than ever that open source software – software you can download, use and modify for no charge – has the potential to generate serious profits for corporations clever enough to figure out how to make it pay.

MAY 04, 2006 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - MySQL AB this week issued a security patch for multiple vulnerabilities in its MySQL open-source database. The MySQL 5.0.21 update patches three flaws that affect versions 4.0.26, 4.1.18, 5.0.20 and 5.1.9, as well as prior versions of the company's database, according to security company FrSIRT.com.

Open-Xchange Server: A best-of-breed open source collaboration, messaging, and authentication server.

Microsoft has released in beta this week its Windows Live Shopping site, but Firefox users will have to switch to Internet Explorer if they want to look for bargains.

WE HAVE all heard the buzz surrounding the open-source movement that is progressively gaining momentum throughout the IT world.

ODF gets approved as an international standard for information retrieval and exchange regardless of platform; Microsoft is still pushing its OpenXML format as an alternative.

It's a simple idea. Take the Linspire Debian-based Linux distribution and bundle it with every proprietary driver and program that's available for Linux. Ta-da, an instant Linux that's compatible with far more hardware and applications.

Matt McKenzie writes: "The article doesn't say a word about Microsoft or Windows -- and without knowing a lot more about the project, it's unfair to read anything between the lines. In any case, it's hard to imagine Microsoft vilifying Linux the way it did not so long ago, while its employees log millions of miles traveling air routes where Linux plays the traffic cop. Or are Greyhound tickets about to become a very hot commodity?"

Eighteen months after shipping, AMD's Personal Internet Communicator (PIC) apparently still does not run Linux, despite criticism for using a commercial operating system given AMD's goal of reducing the cost of computing such that half of the world could enjoy Internet access by 2015.

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has always been concerned about the power of language. Most famously, it is known for insisting on the term "GNU/Linux" and giving "free software" equal billing with "open source" in order to receive its due credit. Now, as the FSF prepares a campaign to inform the general public about the dangers of digital rights management (DRM) technologies, it's struggling with the question of how to enter a debate that the opposition has defined in such a way that opposing views are discredited automatically.

In part two of this interview, Dave Uhlman, CEO of Unversa Inc., names the apps he considers enterprise-ready, such as MySQL, and how IT managers can cash in on the savings to be gained reduced licensing and support fees by strategically pitching open source applications to higher-ups. Uhlman recommends targeting that IT managers target specific IT needs and choose the best possible fit for their environment.

A heavy spring rain was not enough to dampen spirits at Linuxfest Northwest this year. Despite the rain, an estimated 700-800 people converged on Bellingham Technical College in the Pacific Northwest for a day of informal presentations and a gathering of the local free and open source software (FOSS) communities.

Senior officials from TH-UNIS and Microsoft are now in talks with regard to the price and amount of TH-UNIS's procurement. Apparently, Linux will be the first choice for the company due to its competitiveness in price.

[This article bears in mind the compliance with the new regulation in China that PCs must be shipped with a "legal" OS. - dcparris]

BPU Banca Migrates From Sun Solaris To Red Hat Enterprise Linux

LAS VEGAS –- The 18,000 visitors expected to descend on Interop this year will be tapping into an open source network that provides connectivity of all kinds.

A careful examination of the facts regarding how open source development relates to software security.

[Not all new info, but interesting nevertheless... - dcparris]