Showing all newswire headlines

There is a common perception that there are no viruses on the Linux platform - which to a large extent is true. But what happens when you get a mail attachment which you would like to forward to your windows machine so you can open it with your favorite proprietary software? And what if this attachment is infected by a virus? This is where the anti virus solutions for linux comes into the picture. [Ed: Here comes the hype. ]

Panela Jones writes: "Since Microsoft would rather fight than switch to supporting ODF, Sun is stepping up to the plate..."

[Is this going to help Massachusetts? - Ed]

As soon as I read the news on Slashdot that id Software's just released Quake 4 was already available as both a Linux client and game server, I ran out and dropped $50 for the game. The box contained 4 CDs, a game guide, and a license key. But that's not enough to let you play Quake 4 on Linux.

Google, which famously runs onN thousand Linux servers (they don't say; perhaps modesty forbids), has leveraged its vast platform yet again with the launch of Google Video.

The kit, which contains more than 1,000 pages of documentation, includes extensions for optimizing the chip for Linux applications and other features. Jointly developed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba, the Cell processor is designed to handle complex, graphics-intensive applications better than standard processors. The chip is built around a PowerPC core, but contains eight helper processors that can handle audio, video and other tasks.

[Ahhh, Sony. You hate us. You hate us not! Rootkits on the one hand, and nice cell chip favorable to GNU/Linux on the other. Just another day in the wild, wild world of tech! - Ed]

Data received from the client needs further scrutiny to extend the security perimeter from common design elements to application code. To satisfy this requirement, This article offers a new security design framework that covers two common types of vulnerability: action tampering and parameter manipulation (also known as data tampering).

With computers and televisions using flat panel technology, it is becoming clear that the two products are on a collision course. The growing similarities between LCD televisions and displays coupled with the increasing interactivity between computers and the home theater has made this practically inevitable. This article goes over the trends showing the merge between the two once disimilar products and also some of the hurdles which must be cleared before the convergence can be anywhere near complete, or at least as complete as its ever going to be.

IDG World Expo and analyst firm IDC will launch LinuxWorld Summits in Poland and Spain in 2006, bringing the total number of LinuxWorld events to 22 per year, in 19 countries. Both new events are scheduled for next spring, with actual dates to be announced soon.

In an attempt to yet again outdo the upcoming Internet Explorer, rumors of improved tabbed browsing in Mozilla Firefox grow rampant.

Microsoft must fundamentally alter its business or face being at a significant competitive disadvantage to a growing array of companies offering Internet services, according to memorandums written by two of the company's top executives.

[Ed - Registration and cookie acceptence required to read story]

The KDE Marketing Working Group has formed, after being proposed by the KDE community at aKademy 2005, with the aim of improving KDE's marketing and promotion efforts. Martijn Klingens, Sebastian Kügler and Wade Olson will be taking the lead in coordinating and implementing new practices, such as promoting releases more widely and running more exciting events booths. An initial charter has been created and approved by KDE e.V with the long-term goal of "coherent and strategic messaging around KDE". The group is currently focused on establishing infrastructure and prioritizing tasks.

Microsoft compared Singularity (MS' Research OS) to FreeBSD and Linux as well as Windows/XP - and almost every result shows Windows losing to the two Unix variants. For example, they show the number of CPU cycles needed to "create and start a process" as 1,032,000 for FreeBSD, 719,000 for Linux, and 5,376,000 for Windows/XP

Ubuntu a popular distribution of the Linux operating system, has acquired a wildly growing user base and today I have joined them. Described as being Linux for Human Beings, Ubuntu is somewhere in between Mandriva (formerly Mandrake) and Fedora Core in terms of ease of use. It is far from Gentoo (my personal favorite because of the emerge package manager), which should be pleasing to novice users that want a more versatile Linux installation. Ubuntu has recently been awarded Best Distribution.

For those interested in installing OpenOffice.org. 2.0 on Debian-powered PCs, ReallyLinux.com has published an article that might help save some time. In the article, Jon Watson explains the use of AliEn to help convert rpm packages for quick installation to the latest Debian releases.

An opinion article submitted to Linux Today earlier today accused Novell with implementing cuts in its SUSE Linux division, an accusation that has raised concern amongst community members and Novell itself.

Novell, the article stated, is laying off at least one KDE core developer employed by SUSE. The entire Evolution development team, currently based in India, is also slated to be dissolved, with only one maintainer left in place for product maintenance. Hula development is said to be cut completely; Mono development is also affected; what the future holds for the Novell Linux Desktop product is still unknown, according to Kurt Pfeifle, the author of the submitted article.

With security concerns about compromised accounts, phishing and fraud increasing rapidly, more enterprise organizations recognize the risks and are working to improve security controls.

Jeff Bates co-founded Slashdot.org with Rob Malda in 1997. He's now the VP of editorial operations and executive editor of the site. He spoke recently with InformationWeek's Thomas Claburn about online publishing.

[Hmmm... Interesting! - Ed]

Open source databases aren't just for Linux users. Case in point is PostgreSQL, where 50 percent of users are likely running Windows. PostgreSQL 8.1 is now available and introduces performance improvements and new features for users of the open source database.

A new, collaborative web page aims to introduce Windows users to high quality, free, open source applications that run on Windows. Called "LOOP" (List of Open Source Programs), the wiki-based list is intended to demonstrate the value of open source Windows apps to newcomers as a migration path toward Linux.

"Tell all your non-Linux friends and family about the LOOP list," Tristan Rhodes, who created LOOP, writes. "On this list they will find high-quality replacements for the software that they have purchased/pirated. Once they become familiar with these new applications, introduce them to your favorite Linux distribution (mine is Ubuntu)."

PHP supplier Zend Technologies has updated its scripting environment, embracing web services along with support for both enterprise and open source database servers.