Showing all newswire headlines

Many of today's Windows applications will break on high-end Longhorn tomorrow, but why bother with Longhorn when you can run Windows apps better on Linux today? Now here's a thought: In all the debate over Longhorn versus Linux 2.6—or, as I like to pose it, vaporware vs. "Red Hat Fedora is running on my desktop right now"—has anyone ever considered that legacy Windows users might be better off running their applications on—drum roll, please—Linux?

I've been using Fedora Core 1 on my desktop since its release. This week, coinciding with the purchase of a brand new monitor, I decided to try an upgrade to Fedora Core 2 test 3. Here are a few of my thoughts.

Sunnyvale, CA-based StarNet Communications Corp has announced a free technical support service for Linux. Called StarNet Linux Support, the new service covers issues related to server and workstation Installation, Configuration and System Administration on Linux systems.

In this briefing, Linux experts examine the large scale adoption of Linux as the computing platform of choice in governments and large corporations, and how you can benefit by adopting Linux. You'll learn what IBM brings to Linux through middleware, hardware, services, and IBM's contributions to open source development. Briefings are held worldwide, upcoming events include: Costa Mesa, CA (May 11), Seattle, WA (May 18), San Francisco, CA (May 20).

Linux has only recently begun to regain credibility in the financial markets since its speculative debut. However, its licensing model, hefty competition, and lack of maturity still worry investors. Companies such as Red Hat, long past its 1999 speculative highs, are slowly gaining ground while other Linux companies, such as Linspire, are planning initial public offerings. Is Linux finally becoming a viable alternative to proprietary operating systems, or is this rise simply a byproduct of a mini-tech bubble (as Bill Gates so eloquently put it)?

More than 70 people who work on free and open source software in Africa gathered in Namibia between March 15 and 19 to teach, to learn, and to network. This meeting, called Africa Source, was the first event of its kind, bringing together developers from roughly 25 countries on the continent, as well as visitors from a dozen countries outside Africa.

A new report from Japan's Techno Systems Research Co says that BakBone led the market for Linux server backup products in 2003 with 79% of the market. BakBone develops data protection solutions for Linux that manage, access and protect business-critical data.

The creator behind GNU Radio discusses its future as a business and possible fallout from the FCC. Eric Blossom's ambitious goal for the GNU Radio project is to "get the software as close to the antenna as is feasible" and turn radio hardware problems into software problems. Check out Eric's article, "GNU Radio: Tools for Exploring the Radio Frequency Spectrum", in the current issue of Linux Journal. In this interview, we catch up with the latest developments for GNU Radio.

The GNOME Foundation is looking for a host city for GUADEC 2005. Yes, we haven't even had this years GUADEC in Norway and we're already looking to next year!

Red Hat napped long enough to miss the rise of the enthusiast-oriented desktop distributions: SUSE and Mandrake made real strides by including a ton of applications and making a lot of things that matter to desktop users work better "out of the box."

During a press conference Tuesday in London, Red Hat announced its long-term client strategy, and described how the Red Hat Desktop will help achieve the company's goals. Matthew Szulik, Red Hat chairman and CEO, explained that Red Hat's client strategy was forged from the need for choice in the technology industry to drive innovation and forward thinking.

Novell has launched a test release of an open-source project that recreates Microsoft's .Net programming framework on Linux and Unix. Novell inherited the Mono project through its acquisition of open-source software maker Ximian last year. The project, started in 2001 by programmer Miguel de Icaza, operates under the auspices of Ximian.

Computer Associates is looking to the open-source community for help in building its next wave of management software. The company will announce at its CA World user conference later this month a financial and development commitment to open source, said Mark Barrenechea, senior vice president of product development.

Last week, I suggested that running a Linux desktop in your lap, perhaps outfitted with the Novell-supported GNOME user interface, might be a good thing, if only to familiarize yourself with the way Linux works - sometimes like Unix, sometimes like Windows and sometimes like a Macintosh. The more familiar you are with it, the better prepared you'll be when split-second decisions are needed.

Hundreds of software developers, enterprise and government leaders will gather on the coast of Norway to discuss the rapid adoption of the world's most popular open source desktop, GNOME. The Fifth Annual GNOME User and Developer Europe Conference (GUADEC), will be held at Agder University College from June 28-30, 2004, in Kristiansand, Norway.

The Sasser worm has made headlines not only in tech media but almost everywhere, including television. Most of the better Internet and print news media point out that it only affects Windows computers (specifically those running 2000 and XP), but my local TV stations don't seem to have picked up the distinction between "computers" and "Windows."

Much has been made in the press and on community sites about Red Hat's ambivalence in the "desktop" space. If you're reading this, you may have written an article or two on it yourself. Or at least flamed us in your blog.

With Microsoft's next generation version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, scheduled for release as much as 12-24 months away, does Linux have a window of opportunity to capture market share? The answer depends on who you ask, but even the most optimistic prognosticators don't see Linux desktop eating into Microsoft's domination of the desktop in any significant way.

If Novell has its way, Melbourne will become the Linux capital of Australia with students across the state using Linux on the desktop.

Resellers are enthusiastic about recent moves by Novell and Red Hat to move Linux onto the desktop but warn that fear of the unknown and missing applications are holding progress back.