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(Originally published in the American Reporter.)

The Internet was the great noncommercial success story of our time. Commissioned by the government, built on open-source software, promulgated initially through research and academic facilities--the Internet was the crowning example of a public good, a resource without an owner, a self-regulating convocation of equals.

All that seems threatened now. This month, local phone companies revealed a far-reaching change to Internet access. These companies, who control the line into the Internet users' homes (usually through ADSL connections over traditional telephone wires) want to create varying levels of service for Internet content of their choice.

Nero announced today the release of NeroLINUX, the Linux OS Solution for CD/DVD Burning. This newest member of Nero’s award-winning product family is now available for free to registered Nero 6 full version owners. NeroLINUX is a comprehensive and flexible application available to LINUX users that want the power and quality of Nero’s award-winning burning engine to perform all essential optical burning tasks.

Mission: deliver a Complete Replacement for Microsoft Project

FOSTER CITY, California, September 20, 2005—Industry veterans Howard Katz, Laurent Chretienneau and Marc O’Brien have announced the launch of Projity (www.projity.com), a software startup based in the Bay Area with the mission of offering a complete replacement for Microsoft Project. Its flagship product, Project-ON-Demand (POD), will be delivered online via a subscription model priced to meet the growing needs of small and medium size businesses, the vast early adopters of hosted tools. Web-based with no installation requirement, a familiar interface and 100% data integrity in the opening of existing MS Project files. Project-ON-Demand offers the marketplace a complete replacement for MS Project with a tremendous value proposition in both reduced cost and productivity improvements.

Calgary-based Userful Corporation announced that for a limited time it will be giving away two-user licenses for its Desktop Multiplier software. Desktop Multiplier enables a single computer running the Linux operating system to provide multiple independent workstations to multiple users at the same time, with each user workstation comprising a keyboard, monitor and mouse.

O'Reilly & Associates greatly expanded the fifth edition of Running Linux. It reflects the maturity of the operating system and the wealth of software available for it. The book now covers consumer topics such as audio and video playback applications, groupware functionality, and spam filtering, along with the basics in configuration and management that always made this perhaps the most popular book for Linux.

The Planet(SM) today announced that 39 employees, representing a majority of departments across the company, have received Red Hat certifications. Of the 39 employees achieving RHCT (Red Hat Certified Technician) status, 33 received the prestigious RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer) certification. Company wide, The Planet now has 47 RHCTs, of which 40 are RHCEs.

The Nokia 770 is a handheld computer running Linux with a built in Wi-Fi radio. It comes with several internet applications including a browser, email client, Real player and Macromedia Flash. Users can download and install additional software.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) plans to issue an update of its 770 Internet Tablet early next year, adding instant messaging and internet telephony Relevant Products/Services from 3COM to the device that started shipping last November.

The company did not disclose which applications it plans to bundle. But Nokia's director of product management, Olavi Toivainen, said he would favor applications using open standards over proprietary platforms.

This would rule out a bundling deal with parties like Skype or MSN Messenger and makes the Jabber client a prime candidate.

Add yourself to a map of Gentoo users.

I've been meaning to write about this for some time, but couldn't. Firstly, because I couldn't touch on the subject while I was still employed by Novell. Secondly, because i didn't want to create problems for Novell while it was going through its road bumps a few weeks back.

But I thought now was a good time to talk about the differences I perceive in the two companies, having worked at the one and talked extensively with the other. In no particular order....

Debian Homepage carries the RSS feeds from 9 different Debian-centric websites all on one convenient page. Please check it out, and let me know your comments. I consider this to be a project that will grow and evolve over time. It will always remain as a news feed site only, however the interface and backend will continue to be improved and refined. So please stop by Debian Homepage and try it out.We want this to be the definitive resource, and I think we have covered most all of the Debian sites that we are aware of. Let me know your thoughts and feedback, and also let me know if we left anyone out.

Welcome to Debian Homepage ver 0.1!

The best online introduction to Linux/Unix that I've seen. Coherent, cohesive, and concise, this is a good tool for beginners and a brush-up for people who've been away from the command line for a while.

Digg Story

Saturday, December 17, 2005: Intel will invest $250 million through its Intel Capital India Technology Fund to help stimulate technological innovation in India. Capital will be provided to local businesses to develop new technologies and to hi-tech companies with global market potential.

Google, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems are taking a break from the usual sniping at one another. Seems these giants want to do something for "us". Anyone else a bit nervous about this?

Fans of Linux, trains, and the bizarre were amused worldwide last month when the story surfaced that a passenger train was brought to a sudden halt outside of Neuwied, Germany by a human-sized stuffed penguin found laying across the tracks. While the encounter seemed comical at first glance, details that have emerged since suggest that it is no laughing matter.

LXer Day Desk: 12-16-2005

American consumers do not like living in the dark when it comes to products we buy. In that respect, we don't believe citizens of other countries do either. So, with consideration to the people who drive the US economy, we would like some straight answers to questions which should shine some light on an area of darkness with which we lived far too long.



1. Does the US Administration lobby on behalf of Microsoft and if so should it cease and desist from such activity?

2. We ask Congress to evaluate the administration's role with regard to Microsoft's monopoly.

3. We ask Congress and the President to prohibit Microsoft preloading agreements.

4. We ask for Congress to perform a comprehensive review of Microsoft's political activities including and starting with the House Ethics committee's failure to investigate the links between Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Preston Gates &Ellis and the BSA.

5. We request Congress to enact laws requiring Original Equipment Manufacturers to disclose their policies with regard to selling Microsoft products.

6. We ask for schedules of payments to and from Microsoft and OEMs be disclosed immediately to the public so we can ascertain the influence exerted on consumers buying computers and computer related products.

Free Software Magazine's Eddy Macnaghten has written another insightful blog entry comparing and contrasting free software against proprietary.

IBM has opened up its popular GPFS file system, used for high performance supercomputing, and has tapped Bluffdale Utah-based Linux Networx to sell and support the solution.

Internet servers (such as Web, email, and ftp servers) have been the target for different kinds of attacks aiming to disable them from providing services to their respective users. One particular exploit, which has become almost ubiquitous in the last several years, is the buffer overflow exploit. While the exploit requires particularly arcane and detailed knowledge of both assembly language and, in some cases, operating system interface details, once someone has coded an exploit and published it, anyone can use it. The results of these exploits provide interactive command shells on UNIX and Linux systems and the ability to upload and execute arbitrary programs on Windows systems.

Zope is a web application server, similar in concept to proprietary products like Cold Fusion. However, it is free software that is available under the GPL-compatible Zope Public License, which is very similar to the BSD License. Zope was designed with the specific goals of creating a powerful, secure framework for the development of robust web-based services with a minimum of effort.

SEARCH ENGINE outfit Google's new extension for “safe browsing for Firefox” might protect you from spoofing, but is a security risk, according to a security expert.

Nitesh Dhanjani said that Google claims that its Firefox extension protects you from phishing or spoofing. It works by using a blacklist containing pages that have been identified as suspicious and/or misleading based on automated detection or user reports. It also examines pages' content and structure in order to catch potentially misleading pages.