Linux in the news

Linux not ready for the desktop? Give me a break! (NewsForge)

This NewsForge article says Linux is ready for the desktop. "Of course, just because Linux is ready for the desktop doesn't mean users are ready for Linux. Users get very comfortable with their computers, and quite naturally fear change. But new systems come into production all the time as the needs of a business change, and when new client operating system better fit business needs, employees have to change with the times."

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MS allows port of its software to Linux (The Inquirer)

According to this Inquirer article Microsoft has licensed InterVideo to port Windows Media to Linux. " Make no mistake, the only reason Linux is getting a look in here is because Microsoft wants to start charging Hollywood and Motown a small fee for every film or piece of music that is passed through its DRM. But it's still an important psychological win for Linux." (Thanks to Dennis Potts)

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Friend or foe? (Economist)

Here's an article in The Economist about Linux and the computing industry. "Only in Mr Mundie's nightmare scenario would Linux and other open-source software wipe Microsoft from the face of the earth. Mr Ellison's prediction might then come true, but with a drawback: his own firm, Oracle, would be wiped out too."

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Open-source team fights buffer overflows (ZDNet)

ZDNet looks at OpenBSD, as project leader Theo de Raadt works to eliminate buffer overflows. "The OpenBSD project hopes new changes to its latest release will eliminate "buffer overflows," a software issue that has been plaguing security experts for more than three decades."

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LinuxWorld Ireland 2003 (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal reports on last week's LinuxWorld in Ireland. "LinuxWorld came to Ireland on April 3rd, 2003. Sponsored by IBM in association with ILUG (the Irish Linux Users Group), the conference never was going to be very big. It was scheduled to take place on the last day of ICT Expo, Ireland's Information and Communications Technology Event. The small number of Linux-specific stands at the show were stuck in the middle of a mix of everything from data projector companies to accounting software suppliers."

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PC Forum: Embedded in Scottsdale (Linux Journal)

Doc Searls goes to PC Forum and writes about it in this Linux Journal article, with a focus on issues about Linux drivers for Intel's Centrino. "The next day, March 25, word went out from Intel that it was, in fact, working on Linux drivers for Centrino. A spokesman, Scott McLaughlin, said Intel was, in any case, already running Linux drivers in its labs. When the demand arrives, the drivers will be there."

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PyCon DC 2003 (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal covers PyCon DC 2003. "The theme of this year's conference was Popularizing Python. Steve Holden, the conference chairman, noted that attendees weren't only geeks but a good mix of scientists, educators, programmers, writers and entertainers, all of whom worked together and became colleagues."

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Honeypots get stickier for hackers (News.com)

News.com reports from the CanSecWest security show focusing on a talk from the Honeynet Project. "Because attackers generally encrypt their communications with a compromised server after successfully breaking in, the group has modified the operating system used with its system--currently Linux--to enable it to parrot the commands back to the administrator. Essentially a wiretap, the function lets administrators see any commands that are being seen by the operating system."

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Oracle And Unbreakable Linux (IT-Director)

IT-Director examines Oracle's Unbreakable Linux campaign. "Oracle is now clearly a Linux convert and evangelist. It is running an expensive world-wide marketing campaign under the slogan "Unbreakable Linux". As part of this it is spending $150 million to encourage ISVs to develop Oracle based applications for the Linux platform, offering help with porting and development (all in a free Linux bundle). All its products are available on Linux and it claims to "recommend Linux to many of its new customers". Oracle is also eating its own food, as it runs its own business on Linux."

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Solaris on course to merge with Linux (ZDNet)

This ZDNet article hints that Solaris will start to look more and more like Linux. "Gingell's five-year plan for an intermarriage of the two operating systems seems to be on an accelerated track. Solaris continues to take on more API-level compatibility with Linux. In turn, Linux, through Sun's participation in the Free Standards Group, will undoubtedly take on more of the industrial strength attributes for which Solaris has long been known."

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Article about the Open Source Movement (LinuxMedNews)

Here's an article written by a practicing ophthalmologist and medical informatics student, wondering about the uses of open source software in medical applications. "My next question, what is it good for, finds lots of answers in internet sources and e-mail conversations at AMIA, but very little in peer-reviewed medical journals. One of the most frequently mentioned advantages in AMIA e-mails is the avoidance of dependence on unstable vendors of proprietary software (The Open Source Case for Customers, 2003). Health care institutions invest enormous sums in information systems, only to find that the vendor goes out of business. This leaves the institution with a system that they cannot upgrade or maintain because there is no access to the source code. Even if the vendor stays in business the software owner is dependent upon the vendor for needed upgrades and maintenance." (Found in LinuxMedNews)

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University web gets radical overhaul (ZopeMembers)

Zope Members News covers the deployment of Zope on Linux at the University of Bristol's web site. "The University of Bristol has launched its redesigned and Zope-hosted corporate web. The new web environment marks a dramatic improvement in the appearance, navigability, accessibility and usability of the University’s web."

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ACLU loses digital copyright battle (News.com)

News.com reports that the ACLU DMCA challenge has gone badly. "'There is no plausibly protected constitutional interest that...outweighs N2H2's right to protect its copyrighted property from an invasive and destructive trespass,' U.S. District Judge Richard Sterns wrote."

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Affirmative action for open source (NewsForge)

NewsForge takes a look at legislation which mandates that open source software be considered by governments. "There's nothing wrong with asking states to consider open source software as well as proprietary. Every organization ought to consider all the products that might meet their needs. I'm a little wary of provisions that force written justification when purchasing one particular category of software over another. That seems like unnecessary bureaucratic red tape if we presume that our public employees are trying to do the best possible job."

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DMCA threats gag security researchers (Register)

The Register looks into how the DMCA was used to cancel a talk at the Interz0ne.com conference. "Blackboard Inc. found out security researchers Billy Hoffman (AKA Acidus) and Virgil Griffith (Virgil) were about to present a paper on security flaws involving its popular university ID card system, and called in its lawyers."

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'Super-DMCA' fears suppress security research (Security Focus)

A news report on Security Focus tells us that a University of Michigan grad student, working on steganography and honeypots, has moved his dissertation offshore, and installed a mechanism to keep it out of the hands of Americans (or at least those who compulsively tell the truth). This is in response to a "Super-DMCA" law recently passed by the Michigan state legislature. "Among other things, residents of the Great Lakes State can no longer knowingly "assemble, develop, manufacture, possess, deliver, offer to deliver, or advertise" any device or software that conceals "the existence or place of origin or destination of any telecommunications service." It's also a crime to provide written instructions on creating such a device or program. Violators face up to four years in prison." (Thanks to Max Hyre, who followed links from the Digital Copyright mailing list to this overview of recent news reports.)

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Super-DMCA not so bad (Register)

The Register carries an alternate opinion, that Super-DMCA laws are not as bad as the original. "In essence, the defendant would have to intend to "steal" or assist in the "stealing" of pay-content or access. This is more limited than even the laws that prohibit the sale of cable descramblers, and is much more narrowly crafted than the current DMCA. Because the proposed law requires proof of intent to defraud, those who merely wish to engage in fair use of content would likely be protected, as would those who make products that could be used to steal content, but intend to use them for other purposes (e.g., reverse engineering, improving signal quality, etc.)"

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Will patents pillage open source? (News.com)

Here's a News.com column saying that the patent threat to free software has been overstated. "Intellectual-property litigation is very expensive. As a practical matter, therefore, the ability to enforce intellectual-property requires a relatively small number of infringers that dominate the market, and which have resources justifying the legal effort. But open-source users are a huge and widely diverse lot who can always resort to home-grown alternatives."

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Testing Microsoft and the DMCA (News.com)

News.com talks with Andrew "Bunnie" Huang, author of Hacking the Xbox. "Huang's recently completed book, "Hacking the Xbox" was recently dropped by Wiley subsidiary Hungry Minds, citing possible legal issues under the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The Department of Justice recently used the DMCA to shut down ISOnews.com, a Web site partly used to distribute Xbox-hacking tools, and to imprison the site's owner."

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One-on-one with Richard Stallman (SearchEnterpriseLinux)

SearchEnterpriseLinux.com interviews Richard Stallman, on the SCO-IBM dispute, the latest FSF news, and other topics. RMS: "Keep in mind that we didn't develop GNU for the sake of having it be used by businesses. We welcome businesses to use it, and everybody, every user of computers should be free to study and change and redistribute software, all the software they use, and that includes businesses, if they're using computers. But we don't give any particular priority to businesses." (Thanks to Ciaran O'Riordan)

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Novell will make 'immature' Linux robust and reliable (ComputerWorld)

ComputerWorld interviews Novell CEO Jack Messman; the result gives a view into how Novell views Linux now. "Linux is an immature operating system right now. It hasn't had somebody like Novell worrying about making it robust, reliable and scalable for very much time. We think we can bring that to the Linux kernel." (Thanks to Peter Link and Jay Ashworth).

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The XML.com Interview: Liam Quin (O'Reilly)

O'Reilly has published an interview with Liam Quin. "Many people have contributed to the development of XML. One contributor and XML expert who stands out is Liam Quin -- author and co-author of three popular books on XML, and employee of the World Wide Web Consortium (w3c.org) as XML Activity Lead."

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Tips for Testing the 2.5 Kernel (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal has some tips for testing the 2.5 kernel. "Now that your 2.5 kernel is up and running, what should you do to test it? It's simple; do the normal tasks you always do on your 2.4 or 2.2 kernels: run X, browse the Web, read e-mail, play games, write documentation, write code and so forth. Every user stresses the operating system in different ways; therefore, there is no one, correct way to test."

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Video Playback and Encoding with MPlayer and MEncode (O'ReillyNet)

Kivilcim Hindistan reviews MPlayer on O'Reilly. "You have Linux on desktop, you have broadband. You have cutting edge p2p file sharing programs, but cannot get all the fun. Why? Because you lack a very important component, a decent movie player. Search no more. MPlayer is here for all your needs."

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Necessary Censorship: Web Filtering with Open Source (Linux Journal)

The Linux Journal looks at open source censorware systems. "Maybe we need open-source censorware, strange as that may sound, with a publicly available list. It would offer the ability to tinker with both the code and the list to suit the needs of folks who have to do this type of work. I was stunned by the answer I found: two such animals already are available." It's an interesting article with a worthwhile topic: what do you do when you have to impose some sort of filtering?

Comments (2 posted)

Are we free to copy DVDs? (Knight-Ridder)

Newsalert is carrying a Knight-Ridder article on the 321 Studios DMCA case. "321 Studios and technology activists say the lawsuit - which the software maker defensively initiated last April _ could establish the right of consumers to make personal copies of DVD movies they legitimately own, just as they do now with music CDs or computer software."

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