Linux in the news [LWN.net]

Putting A 'Korset' On The Spread Of Computer Viruses: Invention Stays One Step Ahead Of Anti-virus Software (Science Daily)

Science Daily takes a look at a program called Korset, that fights malware. "Prof. Wool and Ben-Cohen have built an open-source software solution for servers that run on Linux. "We modified the kernel in the system's operating system so that it monitors and tracks the behavior of the programs installed on it," says Prof. Wool. Essentially, he says, they have built a model that predicts how software running on a server should work. If the kernel senses abnormal activity, it stops the program from working before malicious actions occur. "When we see a deviation, we know for sure there's something bad going on," Prof. Wool explains."

Comments (21 posted)

The Fedora-Red Hat Crisis (Datamation)

Here's a Datamation article raising concerns about the relationship between Fedora and Red Hat resulting from the handling of the recent security problems. "The damage to Fedora's credibility is potentially immense. In a matter of days, Red Hat has quashed Fedora's claim to independence. It has also threatened the credibility of the Red Hat employees who manage Fedora -- people whose devotion to FOSS has always been clear in their actions and dedication." (Thanks to LWN reader dowdle).

Comments (48 posted)

Trade Shows and Conferences

Akademy 2008 was Amazing (KDE.News)

KDE.News reports from Akademy 2008. "We played. We worked hard. We drank beer and we ate food. We even discussed eating food. We listened to talks. We brainstormed. We discussed. We designed. And we wrote code. But after a long and busy week, it was time to go home. Most of us have regained our strength after this exhausting, yet energising week, and we are looking back at one of the best meetings we ever had."

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OSCON 2008 presentations, videos posted (Linux-Watch)

Linux-Watch wraps up OSCON, the O'Reilly Open Source Convention held last July. "This year, OSCON introduced the Open Mobile Exchange, a one-day event addressing business, technology, web, and open source topics related to the mobile technology industry. Other events included a "hallway track" held to "debate and discuss important issues," as well as an OSCamp, a freewheeling user-directed "unconference" that was open to all comers. The event was further enlivened by the colocation of the second annual Ubuntu Live developers conference held during the first two days of OSCON at the same Oregon Convention Center location."

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Companies

A Question About the Novell-Microsoft Deal (Groklaw)

Groklaw questions the recent Novell-Microsoft deal. "I've been thinking about something for a few days now. It's about the latest Novell-Microsoft deal that was announced on August 20, where Microsoft agreed to buy another $100 million worth of vouchers from Novell. I was wondering: how come two public companies can make a deal that seems to me to be material and yet keep pieces of the deal secret?"

Comments (7 posted)

Linux Adoption

Linux in U.S. Schools: Why the Resistance? (IT Management)

Matt Hartley questions the slow adoption of Linux by US schools. "Software alternatives are just not available for Linux. I hear the statement above almost everyday. What makes the statement so ridiculous is that it is completely inaccurate 99 percent of the time. Normally I would dismiss this as the loss of the person or the business that has opted to limit their horizons with their platform decisions, but when I hear this coming from schools...I find myself shaking my head in complete disbelief."

Comments (32 posted)

Switching From Windows To Linux In 3 Easy Steps (Linux Journal)

Shawn Powers advocates switching friends to Linux one application at a time. "It's painless for a person to try open source applications in Windows. The beauty is that open source apps speak for themselves, and tend to work amazingly well, "selling" themselves without much convincing required." Some cross-platform, open source applications to get people started are Firefox, OpenOffice.org, Abiword, VLC, Pidgin, Stellarium and Songbird.

Comments (4 posted)

Interviews

Interview: JOLIE and Service-Oriented Computing Explained (KDE.News)

KDE.news has an interview with Fabrizio Montesi, one of the developers of the JOLIE language for "service-oriented computing". "Which is what JOLIE is all about - a generic programming language for programming any kind of service or service-oriented architecture, independent of the underlying protocols (JOLIE abstracts the communication away, e.g. D-Bus apps can communicate with a SOAP-based service through JOLIE). And of course, this is incredibly easy to use. In most other languages you'd find it is very hard to write service-oriented code, but JOLIE is all about services."

Comments (3 posted)

Reviews

Lego-like Linux modules to ship in October (LinuxDevices)

LinuxDevices looks at the BugBase. "Bug Labs will ship its tiny, open-source ARM11-powered BugBase and three add-on modules in October, and will switch to Poky Linux. Meanwhile, a recent review finds the hackable Linux-based platform to be intriguing, but currently too "flaky" for typical consumers."

Comments (10 posted)

Hacker-friendly karaoke PMP runs Linux (LinuxDevices)

LinuxDevices takes a look at a personal media player, with a karaoke focus, that runs Linux. The device is specifically geared towards folks that want to tinker with the free software onboard. "The Cool-Karaoke stands apart from most personal media players (PMPs) that offer karaoke features due to its inclusion of 'lots of hardware audio mixers,' says the company. Unlike software mixers, hardware mixers let users mix their voices with the background music in real-time, receiving feedback through the earphone. The device is said to offer pitch shifting, high-sensitivity microphone reception, and vocal reduction, and to support multiple lyrics formats including LRC and simple text files."

Comments (2 posted)

It's Official: Dell Enters the Netbook Fray (Internet News)

Internet News looks at Dell's new Inspiron Mini 9 sub-notebook. "Except for a keyboard that omits the usual row of function keys above the number row, the Mini's specs match several of its competitors'. A glossy 8.9-inch display with 1,024x600 resolution shows most Web pages with no need for horizontal scrolling. Under the hood are Intel's Atom N270, a 1.6GHz one-core processor with 2MB of Level 2 cache, and GMA 950 integrated-graphics chipset. The $349 configuration will feature a custom Dell interface atop Ubuntu Linux 8.04, much as Asus and Acer offer customized versions of Xandros and Linpus Linux, respectively."

Comments (44 posted)

Java Sound & Music Software for Linux, Part 1 (Linux Journal)

Dave Phillips takes a look at Java-based music and sound applications. "I've wanted to write this article for quite a while. Over the years I've noted that Java-based music and sound applications have increased in number and quality, yet no comprehensive list or summaries have covered these advances. And so at long last I present this survey of music and sound applications that require Java. The presentation follows no particular order, but in this first part I'll begin by questioning the use of Java in sound and music applications development, followed by a brief look at Java's internal audio and MIDI capabilities."

Comments (none posted)

Open source release takes Linux rootkits mainstream (The Register)

The Register covers the release of an open-source rootkit. "When implemented, Immunity's DR, or Debug Register, makes backdoors and other types of malware extremely difficult to detect or eradicate. It's notable because it cloaks itself by burrowing deep inside a server's processor and availing itself of debugging mechanisms available in Intel's chip architecture. The rootkit, in other words, mimics a kernel debugger."

Comments (3 posted)

Miscellaneous

NC State Computer Science Embraces FOSS Into Its Curriculum (Red Hat News)

A college course in open source software is the subject of an article at Red Hat News. A graduate level course at North Carolina State focused on actually working with the community on an open source project. "You cant learn FOSS exclusively in books collaboration with the community is a critical element to success. While lectures covered the basic concepts of FOSS, the true innovation and learning occurred through student work with FOSS projects. A measure of success for this class and other collegiate-level open source classes is to have students continue working on FOSS projects beyond their required work in the classroom."

Comments (7 posted)

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