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Sun Microsystems hopes to whet the appetite of developers for its tools with a preview program providing early access to its next Sun Studio suite. The Sun Studio Express Program is giving C, C++ and Fortran developers early access to features in future releases of Sun Studio while also taking feedback from partners and customers.

Until now, security-conscious email users could employ encryption with traditional email clients, but were out of luck with webmail services. Freenigma, a service to add encryption to third-party webmail services via a Firefox plugin, aims to add security to the convenience of webmail. My trial of the service indicates that it's making a good start, but has room to improve.

If you are writing software for Debian GNU/Linux or deratives like Ubuntu then setting up an APT repository is a very useful thing to do. It's often not possible to get your software into the official repositories of already released distributions. Setting up an APT repository for your users makes it very easy for them to keep up-to-date with the latest version of your software, far easier than providing .deb's as downloads on your website.

Hanbit Electronics and Pepper Computer will ship a third generation Linux-powered webpad "on or before September 30th," Pepper confirmed Aug. 31. Compared to its predecessors, the Pepper Pad 3 boasts speedier web browsing, faster and more comprehensive multimedia support, smaller size, reduced weight, and numerous hardware enhancements, according to the company.

[Is it me, or is $700 kind of steep for a portable web browsing box? - dcparris]

The good news is that Novell is now competing with a company whose marketing savvy is even worse than its.

[Editor's note: Shoudn't "its" be "theirs" or "their own"? Anyway, interesting perspective on the dual between Novell and Red Hat over Zen. - dcparris]

It used to be ‘normal’ to not have a favorite brand of a browser; back in the days when the major choice was in the selection of the computer processor (Intel or Pentium?), computer programs (Microsoft or Apple?), or Sony, HP, or Toshiba for the laptop? Today’s influx of new browsers and user options has increased the potential for internet navigation for millions of web users. Mozilla Firefox has become a part of a booming community of browser users that offers additional benefits in add-ons and plug-ins; it is an open source code project, attempting to make its way to become a superior browser of choice.

Often, Linux and other Unix-like operating systems are touted for the wide range of freely distributable, open source software available, particularly servers. Axigen Mail Server delivers a twist on the usual Unix server scenario. The commercial mail server promises turnkey advantages over open source solutions.

[Unfortunately, they mean "non-libre". So, if the company folds two years from now, how easy will it be to migrate back to a libre solution (or any solution)? - dcparris]

Red Hat Expands Partner Network To Extend The Benefits Of Open Source To The Banking Industry

Mistral Software has released a Linux 2.6-based board support package (BSP) for TI's OMAP5912 starter kit (OSK). Dubbed the Accelerator Program 2.0, the BSP aims to support developers who are creating or upgrading embedded Linux applications that target TI's OMAP5912 dual-core processor.

No it is not Windows. It does look and feel like Windows, but this baby is Free Software, an operating system called React OS. Why does it look like Windows? Because React OS is a project of developing a Microsoft Windows compatible operating system. It is supposed to run programs and even drivers meant for Windows and it is supposed to look like Windows so that former Windows users can ease right into it without feeling that scary feeling: the difference.

Red Hat has launched its capstone certification to its current Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT) programs, called the Red Hat Certified Architect (RHCA), in ASEAN...

Skype on Aug. 31 introduced a pair of cordless VoIP phones that work without being connected to a computer, via a DECT basestation that attaches directly to broadband and POTS lines. One of the two -- the Philips VOIP841 -- uses Linux as its embedded OS.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer has been the dominant Web browser (almost) since the birth of the Web. It runs on Microsoft's Windows and on Apple's Mac, but it has never been officially supported on Linux. A nascent open source effort called IEs 4 Linux is trying to change that. This week, the group released its latest version of IEs 4 Linux 2.01, which is more stable than its predecessors and fixes some bugs.

[This is mainly for testing websites. I have seen a number of comments from web developers who keep IE around for that purpose. - dcparris]

Any chance of an alpha look at the in-development, forthcoming, early 2007 release of Flash 9 for Linux turned to a very extinct omega, according to Adobe's Mike Melanson.

Wikis are growing in popularity and recognition-factor, and two recent releases from MindTouch -- DekiWiki and MindTouch Dream -- bring open source and development flexibility to small to medium-size business.

SPECviewperf measures the 3D graphics performance of systems running under the OpenGL application programming interface.

Developers have corrected a flaw in the SAP MaxDB database that could be targeted by hackers to execute arbitrary code. Researcher Oliver Karow of Symantec is credited with finding the database vulnerability. The flaw was fixed in the latest version of MaxDB 7.6.00.31.

Microsoft is working on closing a loophole that creates a means to strip usage restriction from music files wrapped in its DRM technology. A program called FairUse4WM, recently posted on the internet, allows users to bypass Microsoft's Digital Rights Management system.

Trusted Computer Solutions Inc. (TCS) has announced with IBM Corp. the launch of its SecureOffice suite of cross-domain guards running on Linux. The guards incorporate trusted functionality at the operating systems level, thus meeting U.S. Federal Agency requirements for secure information sharing, TCS of Herndon, Virginia said.

As Linux steps beyond the limits of technical applications, business intelligence (BI) is one area that's leading the way. In a rash of recent BI announcements at LinuxWorld and elsewhere, many vendors are developing new business models, while consciously giving customers a choice between Linux and other operating systems--and in some cases, between commercial and open source implementations, too.