Linux News
The world is talking about GNU/Linux and Free/Open Source Software

LXer Features

OpenDocument in Massachusetts: War of the Words
By DC Parris - May 22, 2006

LXer Feature: 22-May-06

Linux News wonders if The Heartland Institute's Steven Titch is a fan of Orson Welles. Find out what his article, "The Dangers of Dictating Procurement" has in common with the 1938 broadcast of "War of the Worlds".

Linux News Discredits Heartland Institute's OpenDocument Report
By DC Parris - May 20, 2006

LXer Feature: 20-May-06

LXer's Don Parris called into question the so-called "research" presented in an article by Steven Titch, a senior fellow at Heartland Institute, regarding the OpenDocument decision in Massachusetts. What follows is his letter to Titch, with the article referenced and linked.

Newbies and Magic
By Terry Vessels - May 17, 2006

LXer Feature: 17-May-06

New users of GNU/Linux must be handled with patience. Most come from years of a consistent user experience that trains them to consider computers to be magic boxes. They typically have strange beliefs, such as restarting the computer as a magic pill to cure the imbalance of software humours, which must be gently removed and replaced with logic.

[Contributing Editor, Terry Vessels, guides the experienced hacker through the sometimes patience-testing task of assisting GNU/Linux newbies. - dcparris]

From Freeloader to Free Software Advocate
By DC Parris - May 15, 2006

LXer Feature: 15-May-06

When I first discovered GNU/Linux, all I knew was that I could have an operating system, office suite, and use the Internet - all for the cost of a book. I thought that everyone should know about this "Linux" stuff. I Initially found all this "free as in freedom, not free beer" stuff confusing. Eventually, though, I came to see how Free Software philosophy impacted my computing experience.

Kevin Carmony: Walking The Line of a Divided Community
By DC Parris - May 09, 2006

LXer Feature: 9-May-06

Kevin Carmony has taken the heat from some in the FOSS community for offering non-free software in Linspire, and in particular, for attempting to lure the FOSS community into contributing to Linspire via Freespire. Don Parris spoke with Linspire's Kevin Carmony to learn more about his position. Are the community's accusations fair? What other options are there?

Microsoft exec calls for calm on OSS site
By Jack Loftus - May 02, 2006

Special to LXer: 2-May-06

Microsoft extended an olive branch to the open source community with the launch of Port 25, but visitors to the Web site have been treating the branch as if it were poison ivy.

[Lxer regulars will enjoy this one. Word of warning: Loftis is apparently confused about the Korea issue - that was very recent. Otherwise, he was dead on about what LXer's new Editor-in-Chief said. - dcparris]

Notes From the DLS
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Apr 25, 2006

LXer Feature: 20-Apr-06
News from the Desktop Linux Summit in San Diego.

Microsoft Is Playing A Dangerous Game... One Which the United States Could Lose
By H. Kwint - Apr 25, 2006

LXer Feature: 25-Apr-06

This article is a response to "Microsoft Is Playing A Dangerous Game... One Which Linux Could Lose", which appeared on LXer a few days ago.
In his article, Ken Starks argues Linux could lose because of the anti-Linux tactics of Microsoft, including Port25 and DRM-technology. While Ken and I are both lobbying for Linux, and I think the same about DRM, I don't agree that Linux will lose. I feel obliged to inform US citizens about a bigger danger: The US as a country will lose because of Microsoft tactics, and not Linux. Most important, they will lose because of DRM.

How Google is pushing the Linux envelope.
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Apr 22, 2006

LXer Feature: 20-Apr-06

I am a member of the Phoenix Linux Users Group or PLUG, and at our last meeting Google gave a presentation on how Linux is used at Google. Vince and Pat explained what Linux is used for and many of the challenges they have faced in pushing the Linux envelope.

FOSS Community to Microsoft: Earn Our Trust
By DC Parris - Apr 22, 2006

LXer Feature: 21-Jan-06

Last week, LXer Editor-in-Chief, Don Parris had strong words for Microsoft's Port 25 project. He suggested that Microsoft's appalling behavior has left a credibility gap that would hurt their Port 25 effort. The question remains whether Microsoft can or will change their behavior. Can Microsoft earn the trust of the FOSS Community? Will they even try?

Innovation in Linux: An extraordinary Linux review
By H. Kwint - Apr 16, 2006

There are plenty Linux reviews, though almost none of them are about Linux. You see, Linux is only a kernel, but most Linux reviews are about KDE, SuSE, the desktop and so on. Those reviews aren't about Linux, strictly speaking. In contrary, this review IS about Linux, made for the people who normally don't configure and compile their own kernel. In a previous LXer feature, my colleague Tom Adelstein said Linux is a me-too technology. That may be true for the desktop, but it is not fair to judge the whole Linux technology on its desktop. I hope to show, Linux (the kernel!) is full of innovation and peculiar features, which sometimes even sound like secret language, and is preceding its Big Competitor when it comes to features.

Solved! A New Way To Find Help
By DC Parris - Apr 16, 2006

LXer Feature: 16-Mar-06

LXer launches Solved! feature to offer readers a different kind of help column. Instead of readers getting help from the publication, the editors and readers post solutions to problems already solved. Readers can scour the Solved! articles in order to see how someone else solved a similar problem.

FOSS Community Should Not Negotiate With Microsoft On Port 25
By D.C. Parris - Apr 15, 2006

LXer Feature: 12-Apr-06

Linux News says don't negotiate with the economic terrorists of Microsoft via Port 25.

Running Linux, Version 5 Behind the Scenes
By Tom Adelstein - Apr 02, 2006

Last year, I had the opportunity to participate in Running Linux 5th Edition. Mae West once said, "Flattery will get you everywhere". So, I felt flattered when asked to re-write the first chapter and add a major section in Chapter 28. For aspiring writers and interested parties, you might benefit from my experience with what we called RL5.

Customizing Ubuntu
By Herschel Cohen - Apr 01, 2006

Notice of Intent: When Debian (desktop) fails you, what are you going to do? Panic, of course. Afterwards, try to set up Ubuntu to my liking, however, that requires modifying grub so that it once again knows about that Linux installation on hdb.

Boycotting "Get the Facts" Advertisements
By Tom Adelstein - Apr 01, 2006

Microsoft has engaged in a questionable practice of advertising on seemingly every Linux related article on the Internet. We may not have the ability to stop the advertisements, but we will look for alternate sources carrying similar story content. Because Microsoft crosses the line doesn't mean we have to fold our hand.

MyPostBirdSQL 2.0 RC1 released
By - Apr 01, 2006

Today first RC1 release is announced that many oss developers had been awaiting
MyFireGreSql 2.0 is based on code from mysql 6.0, firebird 3.0, postgresql 9.0.

Thinking About Upgrading to Crossover Office 5
By Tom Adelstein - Apr 01, 2006

If you have wondered about upgrading from an earlier version of Codeweavers Crossover Office, I wouldn't bother. Version 5 seems clumsy and doesn't support enough Windows applications to make it worth even it's modest price. If you have to hack your desktop to get Crossover Office to work, you might as well use WINE.

Customizing Ubuntu
By Herschel Cohen - Mar 31, 2006

Getting Ubuntu Back The first of a series that begins with the recovery methods employed to revise grub to show and boot Ubuntu Breezy that resided on a second disc.

Comment of the Day - March 31, 2006 Virtualization
By Skapare - Mar 31, 2006

Our man in Wheeling writes: This will become popular. Pretty soon, we'll have dozens, maybe even hundreds, of virtualization packages to choose from. Now we'll just need to make sure the software we want to run supports the virtualization package we are using.

DRM, 'Trusted Computing', and the future of our children
By Shane Martin Coughlan - Mar 30, 2006

Over 500 million people use the Internet, and over a billion computers are deployed around the world. It has become impossible to ignore the issue of content management and access. Call it Digital Rights Management if you will, or call it working out how to manage copying in the digital realm. We need to solve the problem of how digital information will be shared.

A Brief History of Microsoft FUD
By Glyn Moody - Mar 30, 2006

This time it's patents that will ensure the downfall of GNU/Linux and with it, the entire world of open source. But before hanging up your certified geek propeller-hat and retraining as a dental hygienist, you might want to consider the following brief history of Microsoft's use of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) as a weapon against GNU/Linux.

Beware of Those Calling Themselves Open Source
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 30, 2006

Free software is software that anybody can use, copy, modify and redistribute freely without having to ask for authorization from anyone. Some companies think that using the open source label will fool the unsuspecting into believing they're part of the community. Just try redistributing their software and see what happens.

Why I Stopped Promoting Linux in Government
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 29, 2006

I received an email from a close friend asking me to help educate the city manager in Tuttle, OK about Linux. I told him I prefer finishing a "hack" on securing SSH. Here's why I'm through orchestrating efforts for Linux in Government.

Microsoft Breakup Imminent? GNU/Linux Wins
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 26, 2006

Who will buy the pieces of Microsoft after the final breakup? No one would want the operating system. A leveraged buyout for the Office group seems likely. Oracle looks like the winner in the business services business and it's the auction block for the rest of the company. The DRM and codecs go to Real Networks.

Text of the CDC v IBM case in the article body.

Can you fix it?
By Terry Vessels - Mar 25, 2006

It is time to fix your distro. Distributors of GNU/Linux systems do an incredible amount of work. If you're not convinced of that, try putting together a complete system from parts gathered all over the Internet. The trouble is that these distributors must satisfy a very large range of users. They cannot narrowly target one group without discouraging all others. That's where you come in.

An Opposing Viewpoint -- Microsoft Can't Compete
By Terry Vessels - Mar 23, 2006

Mr. Adelstein's article titled " Microsoft Has Stopped Competing with Linux" presented several assertions with which I cannot agree. It also strikes a tone that makes me uncomfortable.

Pulling the Wool over Linux?
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 23, 2006

Companies that try to pull the wool over free software advocates, ultimately fool no one. As advocates, we should either make the OSI enforce their definition or disband.

Howto remove an user and improve security
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 22, 2006

Employee turnover in most organizations runs high. So unless you run a small shop with a stable user base, you need to learn how to clean up after an employee leaves. Too many so-called system administrators do not understand the stakes involved when they manage users. Disgruntled former employees can often cause significant trouble for a company by gaining access to the network.

Microsoft Has Stopped Competing with Linux
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 21, 2006

Microsoft has ceased its obsession with Linux. Someone finally convinced the boss that Linux poses little threat to Redmond. Someone came out of the Linux lab and said that It's about time that they starting focusing on their real threat: IBM.

Xara keeps promise, first GPL'd source code release for Xara LX
By Kurt Pfeifle - Mar 20, 2006

Back in October, when the Windows-only Xara company tooted their plans to port its vector graphics flagship product, Xara Xtreme to Linux, I didn't quite believe them. Now I stand corrected.

Ubuntu, Macintosh and Windows XP
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 19, 2006

If you think that a Linux advocate cannot make an objective analysis of desktop operating systems, then you need to read this report. You may find yourself surprised with some brutal honesty that leaves out the free software philosophy.

Comment of the Day -February 8, 2006 - OpenMFG isn't Open Source
By jkouyoumjian - Mar 18, 2006

jkouyoumjianwrites: "Perhaps "OpenMFG" uses some open source software to run its application, but the application itself is not open source". Relates to:
Openmfg Launches Hybrid Open Source ERP Suite

Parallel Worlds: Open Source and Open Access
By Glyn Moody - Mar 18, 2006

The parallels between open access – a movement to make research freely available online, rather than hidden in expensive journals - and open source are striking. For both, the ultimate wellspring is the Internet, and the new economics of sharing that it enabled.

Free Culture
By Libervis - Mar 18, 2006

Daniel writes in a comment to Parallel Worlds: Open Source and Open Access about the FOSS movement. Characteristically, his articulation of the subject demonstrates a deep understanding many of wish we had.

Cheapening Linux
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 18, 2006

Whoever thought up the myth that more open source software made sense, didn't consider with what editors would have to content. Perhaps open source software lacks goodness. You could make an argument that many people have abused the term.

Mocking Bill Gates Mockery of the Mockup $100 Laptop
By Paul (FeriCyde) Ferris - Mar 17, 2006

You'd think that a man who's got a few billion dollars in the bank, likes to be known throughout the world as someone that is charitable, and who likes to profess that one of his goals was to put a computer in every home -- someone like that wouldn't have a problem with this project.
No, wait, maybe a little insight into that last statement -- a computer in every home, all running Microsoft software, that's what he really said. They kind of edited history recently when they quietly dropped the last part of the quote... Kind of brings the whole charitable aspects of this third-world computing thing into focus.
[ED: Perceptive -real voice of Linux Today as it once was, i.e., without the facts - HC]

How to give Linux Away
By Scott Ruecker (Phoenix, USA) - Mar 14, 2006

LXer Feature: 16-Jan-06

As a community we would like to see a large computer manufacturer sell PC's with Linux already on them. Is this the only option?

Traditional DNS Howto
By Falko Timme and Tom Adelstein - Mar 13, 2006

We discussed the need for a simple yet understandable DNS Howto. So, we worked together and came up with what we think every Linux person should know about the largest distributed database on the planet.

According to Till Brehm one of the sponsors of HowtoForge.com: I'm sure it will help many people to get started with DNS. When I have a look at our Forums, DNS is one of the most discussed problems.

Rewrite SUSE Conform to Debian
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 13, 2006

Novell would do well to change some old conventions to match Debian. They would expand their support channels to pickup a massive user base and become the preferred Linux vendor in both distributions and services. They could also provide SUSE with more application options for their users.

Debian Stabilizing the Linux Landscape
By Tom Adelstein, Editor-in-Chief - Mar 11, 2006

The people who first brought us GNU/Linux intended to offer an operating system you could freely download and who's code you could freely have and change. At the end of the Dot-COM boom, part of the investment community led by Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists such as Kleiner Perkins fell in love with Linux companies and funded several taking a few public. But no one could "get to" Debian. Thank you, Smith Barney.

An Interview with Christof Wittig: CEO db4objects and President ODBMS.org
By TxtEdMacs - Mar 11, 2006

In the continuing series of interviews focused on databases, Christof Wittig contatced TxtEdMacs describing revived effort to set new specifications for Object databases. Soon afterwards Christof accepted an offer to be interviewed on the topic and TxtEdMacs, who had tired of the usual set of resultant evasive, market speak jumped fully into the effort. Unfortunately for Txt., instead of being able to show off he was used by Christof to mop the floor. To say the interview was refreshing and direct is an understatement. So read on.

Extreme OS Makeover: Ubuntu To The Rescue
By DC Parris - Mar 11, 2006

LXer Feature: 6-Mar-06

Charlotte, NC - LXer editor Don Parris gives a family of computer novices an extreme OS makeover when their Windows system proved unreliable. This is just one example of how people around the United States, and in other countries, are discovering the freedom of a GNU/Linux system. LXer will be tracking the couple, who are just beginning to venture into the wild world of computing. Share your conversion experiences with LXer.

Why People Like Linux
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 11, 2006

GNU/Linux has a rapidly growing user base according to our polls. Today, we posted articles from Belfast, India, Wales, Croatia, Glasgow, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the UK and Massachusetts. On other days, we see articles from many other countries. We have readers from 165 countries and more often than not our US readership runs only about 50%.

Is price the only reason for the interest? Unlike the early days when Linux provided a learning platform for people who couldn't afford UNIX, price seems the least important reason.

What about the Microsoft alternative? Again, we saw that as barely a factor. People just like Linux.

SUSE, Fedora or Debian for sys admins: A closer look
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 09, 2006

While preparing a market study for a technical book publisher, we discovered that the majority of Linux users prefer non-commercial Linux distributions. The most popular include two projects from Red Hat and SUSE while users prefer Debian and consider it enterprise ready. You might find some surprises as we did.

Special to the Newswire The Distribution Dilemma
By Phil Howard - Mar 09, 2006

One of the greatest things about Linux is that it comes in a large number of different distributions. That's also one of its big disadvantages, holding up a lot of further acceptance of Linux.

Special: Defending Openness
By Glyn Moody - Mar 08, 2006

If this threat is not dealt with swiftly and effectively, the main use of the word “open” in computing one day might be by anthropologists and historians as a quaint label for a sub-grouping in the increasingly marginalized hacker culture.

How Microsoft wastes its money on anything but software
By Hans Kwint - Mar 07, 2006

"Windows Server System outperforms Linux on TCO, reliability, security, and indemnification." No, your Linux News editor in the Netherlands is not joking, it is really true. I read it on MS' "Get the Facts" page, so it has to be. On the other hand, Windows bla bla also outperforms Linux on indirect costs for marketing FUD and paying people to create studies, etc. They also outperform Linux in getting lawyers to do their bidding, fixing software bugs which tie customers to them, and money going to political parties in the US.

Should DeLay's New Job Concern FSF?
By Tom Adelstein - Mar 06, 2006

With the Free Software Foundation beginning to take an active role in prosecution of Microsoft, perhaps they should look at the new guy in charge of appropriations for the Justice Department, the FBI, FTC and Intellectual Property Enforcement and possibly the future of GNU/Linux.

DNS Katrina: When VeriSign monopoly meets ICANN regulators
By Andy Oram - Mar 05, 2006