Linux in the news
Recommended Reading
Linux in Government: Federal Contracts, a New Era of Competition (Linux Journal)
Linux Journal covers the release of GPL code by the US government. "Earlier this year, a major open-source event came and went without much community notice and with little media attention. A Cabinet-level federal agency released a software product under the GPL, making it the first tool of its kind to be licensed by the US government free of charge to public and private sector organizations."
Microsoft Loses Munich Contract to Linux (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg reports that, as expected, the city of Munich has voted to press forward with its program to convert to Linux. "The city's council voted in a closed-door meeting 50-29 in favor of a detailed plan to switch to Linux from Windows. Munich, which has spent more than a year studying how to make the move, will accept bids within a few months from Linux vendors. Companies such as International Business Machines Corp. and Novell Inc. are expected to fight for orders."
The SCO Problem
SCO Keeps Sinking (Motley Fool)
This Motley Fool article (via Yahoo) is a good example of the kind of press SCO is getting now. "President and CEO Darl McBride paid more lip service to 'increasing shareholder value,' but you really have to wonder about the viability of his vision when his firm's most engrossing initiative brings in less money than the guys who mow lawns in my neighborhood. By the way, McBride was paid more than $1 million last year -- most of it in cash -- to preside over this impending disaster."
AutoZone's Reply Memoranda (Groklaw)
Groklaw has AutoZone's latest filing in its SCO case. It's a memo supporting its motions to stay or move the case to Tennessee; some lawyers had a great time shredding SCO's legal arguments. "If SCO was genuinely concerned about irreparable harm associated with the continued distribution and use of Linux, common sense suggests that SCO would be seeking to move the Red Hat case forward as quickly as possible -- rather than pursuing a single end user."
Companies
Microsoft delivers 'the Facts' about Linux (The Register)
The Register reports on a new Microsoft seminar series in the UK that is aimed at convincing customers that Linux isn't exactly free. "According to Nick McGrath, head of platform strategy at Microsoft UK, independent and funded research shows that Windows 2003 is less expensive than Red Hat or SuSE in some examples. He attacked the "myth" that Linux was free. Linux has strengths, McGrath said (without saying what they might be -spoil sport) before arguing that "Windows offers a more comprehensive environment"."
In surprise move, Red Hat CFO resigns (News.com)
News.com reports that Red Hat's chief financial officer has quit. "Brooks Gray of Technology Business Research was similarly apprehensive. 'It's certainly a red flag, and the company needs to be watched closely as its results are detailed this week.'"
Red Hat's Red Flags (Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool comments on the departure of Red Hat's chief financial officer. "When a company's 39-year-old CFO quits just days before quarterly earnings to pursue new opportunities, it's a clue to invest your money elsewhere. When the same company's stock is priced beyond perfection, that's proof it's time to sell."
Linux Adoption
Wimbledon serves Linux volley (BBC)
The BBC reports on the infrastructure behind the Wimbledon tennis tournament. "Following a pilot project in 2003, the internal computer network at the All-England Club has been converted to the open source operating system. The change means that both the public-facing website for Wimbledon and its internal intranet are now using Linux." (Thanks to Jonathan Lucas).
Interviews
A Q&A with LTSP's Jim McQuillan (NewsForge)
Joe Barr talks with Jim McQuillan, project leader of the Linux Terminal Server Project, on NewsForge. "McQuillan: We started LTSP to solve a problem for a customer. They wanted 35 new terminals to access an AS/400 and a SCO Unix server. We really didn't want to continue using Windows, so we decided to figure out a way to do it with Linux."
Resources
Spam Filtering with Sendmail Milters and Greylisting (O'ReillyNet)
Here's an O'ReillyNet article on writing spam filters using the sendmail "milter" interface. "Milter is a scalable, easy-to-use solution for MTA-level filtering. The API is quite straightforward to use and hides very few pitfalls. It's easy to start and to develop complex filtering techniques. It is indeed a great opportunity to have it in the battle against spam and viruses."
Build a WAP gateway On Linux (IBM developerWorks)
Manas Ranjan Behera shows how to make a WAP gateway from a Linux machine on IBM's developerWorks. "The hottest technology for implementing mobile services is the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). This article discusses the advantages of working with the open source gateway for WAP, which performs the protocol conversion between a Web server and a mobile phone."
Windows Compatibility for the Linux Desktop (O'Reilly)
David Collier-Brown explores various windows emulation solutions on O'Reilly. "In any business switching to Linux, there's at least one person who's stuck. These people need to use files from some Windows-only program, and usually have to do so by dual booting to and from Windows. Dual booting is very slow when all you really want to do is cut and paste a few screenfuls of data. Worse, because it is so slow, there is a real temptation to remain in Windows and use programs such as Outlook and Exchange, this year's favorite virus targets."
Reviews
Linux Lite: Cobind and the Simpler Life (OSNews)
OSNews is running a review of Cobind 0.2, a distribution aimed at Linux newcomers. "There are many things I like about Cobind. First among them is the window manager. XFce 4 has a crispness and elegance that reminds me of the Macintosh's OS X.... XFce is clearly snappier than Gnome or KDE. It uses fewer system resources. More to the point, XFce is what you get -- there are no other choices."
Page editor: Forrest Cook
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