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Ingo Molnar [interview] posted a second version of his syslets subystem patch set, which offers asynchrous system call support [story]. He noted that the effort is a work in progress, and that there are still outstanding issues to be fixed,"the biggest conceptual change in v2 is the ability of cachemiss threads to be turned into user threads. This fixes signal handling, makes them ptrace-eable, etc," going on to list numerous fixes since the first release. He noted that prior to releasing a third version of the patch set he will add support for multiple completion rings, add logic to share the'spare thread' between the rings to further reduce startup costs, and remove reliance on mlock().Linus Torvalds commented,"I'm still not a huge fan of the user space interface, but at least the core code looks quite clean. No objections on that front."

Made available on all leading platforms, added tools, great awareness leads to banner year

Some bad blood between Linus Torvalds and GNOME developers is flaring up again. Previously, Torvalds has said that Linux users should switch to KDE instead of GNOME because of the GNOME team's "users are idiots" mentality. Now he has "put his money where his mouth is" by submitting patches to the GNOME Print Dialog in order to have it behave as he likes.

[Nyah! My GUI is better than your GUI! - dcparris]

Openwave Systems has launched a personalised content delivery system for mobile operators, which can use Ajax open source development technology.

February 16, 2007 (Computerworld) -- NEW YORK -- Still looking for ideas about bringing some Linux and other open-source applications to your company? Here at this week's LinuxWorld OpenSolutions Summit, experts have been advising attendees on what to look for and how to evaluate choices, and offering their real-world experiences with deploying open-source software inside their own operations.

Use OpenSSH to provide a secure environment for running a remote terminal.

IBM has partnered with AMD and Novell to create an integrated Linux offering built around its next generation Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) data server, code-named "Cheetah". IBM also said that Cheetah has now entered an open beta testing for customers and business partners.

Whether we like it or not, geoengineering—what I’ve taken to calling “(re)terraforming the Earth”—is on the table as a strategy for dealing with onrushing climate disaster. This isn’t because it’s a particularly good idea; as far as we can now tell, the potential negative impacts of geoengineering projects may significantly outweigh any benefits. The reason why (re)terraforming is now the subject of so much attention is that, if it could be made to work, it would be a climate change remediation method, not just a climate change moderation method.

February 16, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- Red Hat Inc. has scheduled a March release for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL5), the latest version of its open-source operating system, while it tries to fend off new competitive threats from Oracle Corp. and the Microsoft Corp.-Novell Inc. partnership.

Red Hat has appointed Sandeep Sehgal as national manager to head the government vertical for Red Hat India. The government vertical has recently been a key focus area for Red Hat across the world. Sehgal has been appointed to continue the focus in this space and will be responsible for identifying opportunities with the government where computing can be optimized by the use of Linux.

Ubuntu's Technical Board has decided not to activate proprietary video drivers by default in the upcoming Ubuntu 7.04 ("Feisty Fawn") release. Some people have interpreted this to mean that Feisty won't include these drivers, or that Ubuntu was backing away from proprietary drivers. Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu's founder and backer, however, has now taken pains to tell the public that Ubuntu will continue to include and use proprietary software for "essential hardware."

The RPM Package Manager (RPM) package format and utilities are the backbone of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Fedora Core, SUSE, and Mandriva Linux distributions, a host of smaller distros, and the Linux Standard Base. For years, the RPM utilities and specification were maintained by Red Hat. That changed in 2006 when, following a lengthy period of uncertainty, the company relaunched rpm.org as an independent hub for RPM development.

Frisco, Texas - (The Hosting News) - February 16, 2007 - Self-managed, dedicated server platforms and services firm, Layered Technologies, Inc. (LT), has been deployed by SaaS Provider, SolidPHP, for dedicated server and hardware infrastructures.

XForms.org, a clearinghouse for discussing various XForms implementations, has recently launched. It contains significant resources for people interested in XForms development.

NEW YORK -- When the the third draft of the General Public License (define) comes out, look for language that addresses the recent Microsoft-Novell patent deal.

Was the Novell/Microsoft deal a worthwhile well-meaning effort between renegade open-source geeks at Microsoft and geeks at Novell that got derailed by salespeople and management, after which it was turned into a nightmare deal with the devil? I raise this question because I know someone with ties to people at both Microsoft and Novell. He has a credible story to tell about what really happened, and how much it differs from what we now know about the Novell/Microsoft deal. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get him to write up the history - yet. While I continue to pester him, here's the short version, third hand.

[Actually, it sounds like what happens all too often in the everyday, rough-and-tumble business world. - dcparris]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has recertified the OpenSSL open source encryption module. OpenSSL once again is compliant with Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 Level 1 standard, according to the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI) of Hattiesburg, Miss.

Red Hat opened a regional center for support, research and development for Southeast Europe. Serbian Minister of Science and Environmental Protection Aleksandar Popović said at the opening that the centre would initially employ 30 people and significantly increase the number of employees in years to come.

Like other OpenOffice.org applications, Writer has dozens of options available from Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Writer. These options allow you to adjust both the general settings of Writer and specific options for different kinds of formatting. Many are ideal for desktop publishing, and a similar set of options is available for web documents under Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Writer/Web.

Mira Groupware is now an official project, created to resolve the problem of an unsatisfactory selection of Open Source groupware solutions. Find out what it is, how it could help you and your business and how to contribute to its undoubtable future success!