Linux in the news

Linux lacks testing methodologies (NewsForge)

NewsForge covers efforts at OSDL to get application vendors to test their products, and to share both methods and results. "OSDL lab manager and open source test-giver Tim Witham is on a mission to push Linux performance testing to higher-level, real-world applications, to produce reliable, retestable, comparable data that will let users compare the operating systems or open source applications in a transparent fashion."

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Plugging the Linux holes (News.com)

News.com perceives a lack of applications for desktop Linux. "Linux applications are a "which came first, chicken or egg" situation for most major application sellers. There's not enough of a user base now to justify development of Linux products, but the absence of familiar applications slows growth of the Linux user base."

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The Importance of Linux (linux.com)

Linux.com presents an article by the author of Advanced UNIX Programming. "Of course readers of a book learn from it, but authors learn from writing it, too. One of the most surprising things I learned from writing the second edition of Advanced UNIX Programming was how good Linux really is."

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SCO's answer to IBM's second amended counterclaims (Groklaw)

Groklaw has a text version of SCO's answer to IBM's second amended counterclaims, along with some commentary from PJ. "This is the happy day that SCO acknowledges by its actions -- although it failed to put out a press release -- that the GPL isn't unconstitutional after all.... They do still claim the GPL is void or voidable, that it is unenforceable, and that the FSF selectively enforces it, so not all the silliness is gone. But they have tucked tail and begun to back down. They are getting their PhD in the GPL, and in time it will gradually dawn on them that they are wrong about all the rest too."

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DaimlerChrysler's response to SCO (Groklaw)

Groklaw has posted a text version of DaimlerChrysler's response to SCO's complaint. It is short and sweet, as these things go. "Defendant DaimlerChrysler Corporation respectfully requests that this Court dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint with prejudice, award DCC its costs and attorney's fees as may be permitted by law, and grant such other relief as may be appropriate." (See also: this table which puts the complaint and the responses side by side).

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SCO cuts jobs to reach product profit (News.com)

News.com reports that the SCO Group has laid off a batch of employees. "The cuts took place at the end of the company's second fiscal quarter and were part of its goal 'of trying to be profitable within our core business'--selling the UnixWare and OpenServer Unix products..."

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Google files for unusual $2.7 billion IPO (News.com)

News.com takes a look at Google's IPO plans. "In an unusual provision for a technology company, Google will create two classes of shares with different voting rights, a move that aims to guarantee that founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page will maintain decision-making authority. Such structures have proved beneficial in media companies such as The New York Times, the filing states."

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Google Prepares Very Creatively to IPO (Groklaw)

Here's Groklaw's take on the Google IPO. "If you think they are dewy-eyed innocents, consider that last year, "Google made almost a billion dollars in revenues in 2003, and earned about $100 million on those revenues. It looks like the technology is yielding significant returns on investments that have gotten them to the point where they are sitting on almost half a billion dollars in cash.""

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Microsoft's Ballmer: "Linux Requires Our Concentrated Focus and Attention" (LinuxWorld.com)

LinuxWorld.com reports on a memo sent to Microsoft employees by CEO Steve Ballmer. "In this environment of lean budgets and concerns about Microsoft's attention to customers, noncommercial software such as Linux and OpenOffice is seen as an interesting, 'good enough' or 'free' alternative."

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Red Hat gains security certification (News.com)

News.com reports on the EAL2 security certification of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3. "Version 3 of Red Hat Enterprise Linux has been certified to meet Evaluation Assurance Level 2 (EAL2) of the Common Criteria certification, Red Hat said Thursday. The internationally recognized Common Criteria certification is a typical requirement for government customers. However, Red Hat still lags its main rival, Novell, whose SuSE Linux has been certified to the more stringent EAL3. It also trails versions of Unix and Windows that have EAL4 certification."

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Red Hat Introduces Desktop Linux Competitor (eWeek)

eWeek looks forward to Red Hat's upcoming desktop announcement. "Pricing for the new desktop will take two forms: for $2,500 a year, customers will receive a Red Hat Network Proxy starter pack that contains a Red Hat Network Proxy server, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Server Premium, and 10 kits each of desktops and desktop management modules. It will include 30 days of phone support and one year of Web-based support." There's also an expensive option.

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Analyst Stacey Quandt on the future of Linux (IBM)

The IBM Linux Portal has an interview with industry analyst Stacy Quandt. "Within the next three years I believe Linux will overtake Windows as the number one operating system based on new server shipments. Another milestone to watch for is when Linux gains enough momentum on the desktop to pull in more ISVs. There’s the potential for a lot of innovation that could take place in user space applications on Linux. The desktop is Microsoft’s last stronghold in the market. So there’s a lot of potential for Linux to become a much stronger play there."

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Sun considers GPL license for Solaris (InfoWorld)

InfoWorld talks to Jonathan Schwartz, president and COO of Sun. "Though Sun executives have been cool on the GPL in the past, Schwartz said there was "not a lot" preventing Sun from releasing Solaris under the GPL. It would offer support contracts as an option, in a model similar to that of Red Hat Inc. "We view the GPL as a friend. Remember, (Sun) was built off of BSD and the BSD license," he said, referring to the open-source Berkeley Software Distribution license." (Thanks to Jingmin (Jimmy) Zhou)

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Red Hat's Szulik sees desktop Linux take off (ComputerWorld)

ComputerWorld interviews Red Hat CEO Matthew Szulik. "And when you look at the computing you and I will be using over the next 10 years, we won't have software resident on our hard drive. You'll go to somebody -- it may well be Red Hat -- and you'll get an e-mail package, a calendaring function, and it will be a subscription-based Web service. It's not that far away; look at what people do with their cellular phones today."

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Switching from Internet Explorer to Mozilla for Enterprises (MozillaZine)

MozillaZine points to an article on changing from Microsoft's IE browser to Mozilla. "Nigel McFarlane, SearchEnterpriseLinux.com's resident Mozilla specialist, offers advice on how to avoid potential pitfalls and discusses whether businesses should migrate to the Mozilla Application Suite or Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird."

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Zap Annoyances on the Web (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal takes a look at how to make web browsing more fun and less annoying in a two part article. Part 1 shows how to configure the Mozilla browser and set up squid as a proxy server to get rid of some annoyances. Then in part 2 see how AdZapper can be used to block many ads and Web bugs.

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CinePaint: The GIMP Goes Hollywood (O'ReillyNet)

O'ReillyNet examines CinePaint. "CinePaint started as a development version of The GIMP, sponsored by the film industry in 1998. The GIMP evolved in a different direction, though, and The GIMP team abandoned the code to languish in CVS. As an example of what CinePaint developers call the "Lazarus effect," useful open source projects never need to die. Though Film GIMP never saw a public release, the current CinePaint team came together, resurrecting and renaming the project. Development continues to this day."

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coLinux: Linux for Windows Without Rebooting (O'ReillyNet)

O'ReillyNet explores coLinux. "What if you want to run GNU/Linux atop a Windows platform or try Linux without installing it on a partition itself, thereby preserving -- and not even rebooting -- your Windows system? Don't worry; VMware and Virtual PC are not your only choices. A new free software project called coLinux, or Cooperative Linux, lets you do nearly everything User-mode Linux does on Windows 2000 or XP."

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Free Software's new audio heir apparent (NewsForge)

NewsForge takes a look at Rhythmbox. "Rhythmbox is comparable to Apple's iTunes in that it concentrates on organizing your music collection and making it easier to navigate through it. It is not intended to be an eye-candy skinnable player that goes hand in hand with dark rooms, black lights, and glow sticks. The program has advanced playlist functionality which reads the identification tags of MP3, OGG, and other formats playable by the up-and-coming GStreamer -- a powerful open source multimedia framework multimedia framework."

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Star Office, Ready For the Big Time? (IT-Director)

IT-Director.com reviews version 7 of StarOffice. "Star Office is already very popular and has become something of a standard on Linux PCs often in the guise of Open Office, its open source brother. Sun acquired Star Division GmbH 5 years ago, with the clear intention of competing directly with Microsoft. It has taken time for Sun to establish a competitive position though. Star Office never got strong reviews until version 6, which debuted in early 2002. It is just now in version 7, which is attracting even more attention because of the quality of the release."

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Cooking with Linux does SuperKaramba (Linux Journal)

Linux Journal's Cooking with Linux series looks at SuperKaramba. "Desktop wallpaper is interesting enough, but dynamic applications can be put on the desktop as well. For instance, imagine a monitor for CPU usage, disk space and network activity floating transparently on your desktop, constantly being updated. If this sounds interesting, get your hands on Adam Geitgey's SuperKaramba. " (Found on KDE.News)

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First Geronimo code released, cert tests set for May (NewsForge)

NewsForge covers the release of Geronimo Milestone 1.0, an open source J2EE project from Apache. "Geronimo's milestone release is a wakeup call for Java/J2EE devs who thought Geronimo's open source J2EE 1.4 stack was a far-off dream. The release is also a signal to J2EE CIOs/devs who are concerned about the high cost and complexity of commercial J2EE app servers, that open source options may be closer than they thought."

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Reboot Linux faster using kexec (developerWorks)

developerWorks looks at the kexec patch. "Kexec is a patch to the Linux kernel that allows you to boot directly to a new kernel from the currently running one. In the boot sequence described above, kexec skips the entire bootloader stage (the first part) and directly jumps into the kernel that we want to boot to. There is no hardware reset, no firmware operation, and no bootloader involved. The weakest link in the boot sequence -- that is, the firmware -- is completely avoided. The big gain from this feature is that system reboots are now extremely fast." (LWN also looked at kexec in November, 2002).

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