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Mozilla on March 2 released Thunderbird 1.5.0.10, a security and stability update for the popular open-source email client. Users of Thunderbird 1.5.0.x will receive an automated update notification within a couple of days, a Mozilla spokesperson said.

The IKVM.Net software tools provide an implementation of Java for the Microsoft .Net framework. IKVM provides a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and a Java byte-code translator, ikvmc. Used in place of the normal Java command, the IKVM JVM runs Java applications and applets dynamically. The ikvmc translator converts Java applications and libraries into .Net executable programs and Dynamic Link Library (DLL) files.

"It has happened that at the very mention of ESR among some GNU supporters, they basically "cover their ears", refusing to hear anything about him or anything that he may have to say. Linking them with the World Domination 201 essay co-authored by ESR resulted in refusal to read it simply because it was written by ESR."

The GNOME project released version 2.17.92 of its popular Linux desktop on Feb. 28. This is the last unstable bugfix release prior to the 2.18.0 release, set for March 14, a project spokesperson said.

The Free Software Foundation, taking advantage of what it says is the rejection of Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, is urging major computer hardware manufacturers to offer consumers computers without any operating system or with a free GNU/Linux OS.

Following the Gecko security update releases a few days ago, the SeaMonkey project has issued new security and stability releases today for its all-in-one internet application suite. SeaMonkey 1.1.1 is now available for download, fixing several security vulnerabilities, along with a few issues reported on SeaMonkey 1.1. Simultaneously, SeaMonkey 1.0.8, a security update based on the SeaMonkey 1.0 series, was also released.

In January, Motorola announced the formation of the LiMo foundation, the not-quite open source project that will collaborate on a Linux-based ecosystem for mobile applications development. Now, with the launch of the new OpenSAF project, Motorola and friends are moving up to middleware, and moving closer to true open source in the process.

I’ve used both Windows and Mac OS X, and I don’t know how people manage to install software on them. Yes, I’m a fan of aptitude (and I’ve had good experiences with Yum). It’s pretty clear to me that this software installation system has tremendous advantages over the traditional “download a random binary package from somewhere” approach common to Windows and Mac OS X, as long as the package you want is in the proper repository.

What happens when a free and open source software (FOSS) project attempts to introduce compensation for its developers? Because FOSS remains based largely on volunteer work, many worry that payment might demotivate both those who receive it and those who do not. However, community leaders who have observed how payment interacts with the FOSS ethos suggest a more complicated picture. Identifying four main types of payment -- bounties, payment in kind, grants, and employment -- these experts suggest that what happens depends on the type of payment, as well as on the individuals involved.

Despite improvements in code quality, Web servers remain at high risk of being hacked, according to a new paper from researchers who use honeypot technologies to examine how hackers tick. The Honeynet Project, which provides real systems for unwitting attackers to interact with, says Web applications remain vulnerable for host of reasons. These include poor quality code, the fact that attacks can be performed using PHP and shell scripts (which is generally easier than using buffer overflow exploits), and the emergence of search engines as hacking tools.

When the European Commission launched a streaming video service last year which excluded Linux users, large swathes of the open source community became deeply angry. Now, a Surrey local council has shown that open source operating systems can be included in such programmes.

2007 will go down in history as the year Sun Microsystems gave up the reins of the Java platform, releasing it under an open source license to the Java developer community.

The plan is for the rebuttals to be posted on march 5th, to leave plenty of time for people to read about the candidates before the DPL candidate debate happens.

The Gentoo-based SystemRescueCD 0.3.3 live CD was released on March 1, sporting a spiffy new 2.6.19.2 kernel and the WMaker desktop environment. As its name implies, SystemRescueCd is a Linux system on a bootable CD-ROM that can be used for repairing a system and its data following a crash.

If a million monkeys typing might eventually produce the collected works of Shakespeare, wouldn't a million penguins do just as well? A major book publisher is hoping so with a FOSS-powered online project to create a collaborative novel -- and appropriately, that publisher is Penguin.

The GNOME desktop community will stage its annual European conference, GUADEC 2007, July 15-21 in Birmingham, U.K. Organizers are still looking for ideas on interesting talks, and have requested presentation proposal submissions by March 12.

Though Red Hat is poised to roll out its much-anticipated Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5 release shortly, work still continues on previous versions of RHEL. This week Red Hat rolled out a beta release of its fifth update to RHEL 4 officially tagged Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5, providing users with a small taste of the virtualization that is to come in RHEL 5.

Open source software's preeminent vector graphics package, Inkscape, made a new stable release last month. Inkscape 0.45 packs in new features, speed, and usability enhancements, and offers a tempting look at where the package is headed.

In this article, Linux Journal discovers the Citadel groupware server, and boldly declares that this is the one -- though not as widely known as some other solutions, Citadel is the ideal open source replacement for Microsoft Exchange.

Waltham software vendor Novell Inc. credited its controversial deal with Microsoft Corp. for fueling interest in its Linux operating system software in its fiscal first quarter. Article Tools Novell said that Linux sales rose 46 percent to $15 million over the same period last year. In the period ended Jan. 1, the company racked up additional Linux invoices worth $91 million, a 659 percent increase from the previous year. Revenue from these invoices will be recognized in future quarters.