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A controversial new partnership between the South African government and the world’s leading software company, Microsoft, is at the centre of a heated debate about the best way to roll out IT access to poor communities.

The memorandum of understanding signed by the Department of Communications parastatal the Universal Services Agency (USA) and Microsoft aims to roll out free Microsoft software and training to telecentres in all 284 municipalities over three years.

However, critics claim that the agreement contradicts the Cabinet-level open-source strategy that was approved in June 2003.

No matter how many strides Linux makes toward desktop acceptance, we're still a long way from the day when we'll see the free OS become a true drop-in replacement for the commercial systems we use now. Case in point: Last week, the folks at Novell were kind enough to send along a copy of their latest OS release, Suse Linux 10.0. I've always thought Suse had an edge over Red Hat in the UI department. Plus, Novell describes this edition of its product as a home-user version targeted at "hobbyists and enthusiasts." So, naturally, I figured I'd install it on my desktop PC at home.

It's hard to compete with "free."

Some rivals of Web search powerhouse Google Inc. have already learned that lesson. Now, companies in a broader set of industries are grappling with how Google's ad-fueled expansion could potentially make it harder for them to charge for consumer services and products.

For three decades, the executive leadership at Microsoft Corporation has maintained a firm consensus on how to encourage innovative software development: you pay for it. User feedback, while helpful, is simply no match for the mighty dollar. Cash for code is king. “Who can afford to do professional work for nothing?” asked Microsoft founder Bill Gates rhetorically in a 1976 missive framing Microsoft’s worldview. Titled, “An Open Letter to Hobbyists” (see the sidebar of the same name to read the original letter in its entirety), the essay was, in essence, a cease and desist letter aimed at Altair aficionados who, according to Gates, were guilty of purloining Microsoft source code without paying for it. “Most directly, the thing you do is theft,” wrote Gates.

Security Enhanced Linux, or SELinux, is an exciting security project that is reaching maturity and poised to revolutionize the way Linux security administration is performed. Originally developed by the National Security Agency and released as an open source project, but now breaking into the mainstream in Red Hat, Fedora, Gentoo, and the new release of EnGarde Secure Linux 3.0, it incorporates Mandatory Access Control into a base Linux system. This is a revolutionary advance, but is also very different from the standard Linux security model. This week in Hacks From Pax, I'll provide a basic introduction to the philosophy behind SELinux, and explain how it can add a powerful layer of security to your Linux system.

A mainstream launch to include gold partners is slated for January.

Ole’ Gatesy has realized he has no chance of pushing Windows to the business market anymore. They have realized it’s only a matter of time before they lose the position to the Windows alternatives.

Mozilla.org last week released the second and final preview of version 1.5 of the popular Firefox Web browser. Firefox 1.5 Beta 2 is now available for download by website and Web application developers, Firefox extension developers, and the early adopter community, Mozilla said.

According to Tech Web and some other on-line publications, "For the second time in three months, Firefox's share of the browser market slipped, a Web site analysis company said Monday."

I don't believe a word of it.

Enterprise-Class Security Analytics Solution Cost-Effectively Accelerates Compliance and Investigation

Powered by SGI, GMU School of Computational Sciences Builds High-Performance Computing Center to Greatly Improve Time to Solution. All Altix systems run the Linux(R) operating environment on Intel(R) Itanium(R) 2 processors.

Even though the dust hasn't settled around an exact definition of an enterprise service bus (ESB), there are several open source efforts forging ahead. Most recently, the ObjectWeb consortium released Milestone 1 of Celtix, an open source ESB sponsored by Iona Technologies. At the same time, ObjectWeb and Iona announced cooperation between Celtix and ServiceMix, an open source ESB supported by LogicBlaze Inc., a provider of open source integration technology and services.

Irving Wladawsky-Berger, vice president, Technical Strategy and Innovation, IBM, attributes the success of the OS to this growing community of Linux contributors. The Linux Executive Report recently spoke with Wladawsky-Berger about the past, present and future of Linux.

Extensive Usability Research, Including Video Trials, Is Now Available to Developers Worldwide at betterdesktop.openSUSE.org

New Wyse Thin Client Handles Communications, Press Room and Registration for Over 3,000 Conference Attendees at Citrix iForum Global 2005

Gateway's New Dual Core Server Line Offers Flexibility and Expanded Application Coverage Breadth With SATA or SCSI Support. The solution supports Red Hat Linux Enterprise 3.0 and 3.0 EM64T and SuSe Linux Enterprise 9.0 and 9.0 EM64T.

Debian was founded in 1993 by Ian Murdock, then a student at Purdue University, who wrote the Debian Manifesto which called for the creation of a Linux distribution to be maintained in an open manner, in the spirit of Linux and GNU. He chose the name by combining the first name of his then-girlfriend (now wife) Debra with his own first name "Ian", forming the portmanteau "Debian", pronounced as the corresponding syllables of these names are in American English: /dɛbˈiːjən/.

With more than 500 school and community centres across Africa already using its Linux distribution, OpenLab international has released that latest version of the software, including simplified tools to build Linux-based thin client centres.

Welcome to our issue number 17 of Fedora Weekly News.