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No matter how good the software, hardware eventually fails. Redundancy is an important way to keep your important services running smoothly. With the right software, you can even sleep through otherwise catastrophic network failures. Philip Hollenback demonstrates how to make your network robust by using Keepalived on multiple Linux routers.

The state proposes an open document format initiative where Microsoft Office would be replaced. If it's an electronic document, it has to be "created and saved" in an open format by 2007 in Massachusetts. The state recently updated its Enterprise Technical Reference Model to reflect this requirement...

In China, government-led initiatives encouraging the adoption of open source software have spurred on intense competition between various factions of the community. IDC China analysts see a shift from low-cost distros to higher-cost, more robust products with improved support. Revenues for the locally-sold Linux server operating environment market in the first half of 2005 are estimated to approach US$2.9 million.

Fifteen cities and towns across Australia will stage events and give away free software to mark Software Freedom Day on September 10, the vice-president of the local coordinating body, Linux Australia, said.

"In Africa, and much of the developing world, access to knowledge is limited on account of a lack of information and communications infrastructure and connectivity, low levels of literacy, little awareness of available resources [and] how to utilise them, and a lack of localised and locally relevant resources," says CSIR spokesperson Biffy van Rooyen. "The Free Knowledge Communities initiative strives to lower the barriers by providing basic building blocks to enable communities to empower themselves with knowledge." The idea is to ensure communities can not only reach existing free and open source software and content, but also create new content in a culture of sharing and collaboration.

Elive is a Debian-based desktop Linux Live CD distribution with the Enlightenment window manager, version 17. On Tuesday Elive 3.0 was released to the public.

Here are step-by-step instructions for installing and customizing your own Linux system. On the plus side, Linux appeals to those tired of the security woes that plague Microsoft Windows and, of course, to those interested in sampling thousands of free apps. As Linux is free, you won't be encumbered by potential software-licensing frustrations. It attracts developers in particular because of the plentiful development tools that are both powerful and free. Those who venture into Linux fresh from the Windows or Macintosh worlds are often pleased to find that Linux distributions, or distros, approach user interfaces with much more flexibility than those operating systems do. If you install one distro and don't like its look-and-feel, you can switch to other graphical user interfaces—some of which may be Mac-like and some Windows-like—without reinstalling Linux.

"Grid computing is the domain of the enterprise-level business." Not anymore, thanks to a new on-demand grid service from IBM that puts Linux-powered grids in the hands of small- to medium-sized businesses.

Mozilla's Firefox browser now officially exists in the eyes of Microsoft. In a filing with the SEC, Mozilla was acknowledged for the first time by the software giant as a competitor. Even as we wait, and wait, and wait, for Microsoft's next desktop contribution, the MS crew remains confident about its ability to keep up.

Linux is an enterprise player, and customer demand will force Microsoft to make its products interoperate with Linux, says Stuart Cohen, CEO of Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), an organization that fosters the development and adoption of Linux.

Red Hat is accusing Microsoft of getting its facts wrong in its latest attack on Linux security. In an update on security at Microsoft’s recent worldwide partner conference, the company’s security head Mike Nash took aim at Linux and singled out Red Hat.

Such public policy proposals have become a familiar challenge for Microsoft abroad, as national and local governments in countries such as Brazil, India and China have latched on to the promise of open-source software.Governments have been attracted by the prospect of using software with code open to inspection and adaptation, while also employing the software to stimulate the development of local software industries not dependent on Microsoft. At home, though, the Massachusetts recommendation represents something new. The plan, proposed by the state's chief information officer, is open for public comment until the end of next week. If Microsoft cannot overturn the proposal, it could become an influential policy that helps to shape the thinking of other local US authorities.

SEATTLE, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- TUX Magazine, the first and only magazine for the new Linux user, today announced the winners of its first-annual Readers' Choice Awards. TUX has soared in popularity, gaining over 50,000 readers in its first six months of publication. "We were amazed by both the quantity and quality of the choices that were available for TUX's inaugural Readers' Choice Awards," commented Carlie Fairchild, SSC Publications' VP of Marketing and Sales. "Not only are the most popular applications getting ever more, but many new entrants keep arriving to push the market forward by leaps and bounds. It's clear that desktop Linux has arrived."

Two research reports sponsored by IBM argue that Linux is less expensive to buy and operate than Windows or Unix.

The principles and philosophy of the Open Source community are being leveraged by global vendors. But the politics of Open Source continues to rage. While customers use Open Source products to beat vendors down on prices, vendors are divided into two political camps, one adapting principles of Open Source to protect its turf while the second fights the onslaught. Indian companies, on the other hand, are yet to get a handle on the issue.

If LinuxWorld Expo has become the place for the suits, and OSCON has become a developer's haven, then where does the average Linux user get to go? In the Midwest, one event that seems to be answering this need is the Ohio LinuxFest--an event that promises to meet the technical and social needs of the Linux user.

Can open-source software crack into ultra-competitive business intelligence marketplace by offering packages that include more than a reporting tool? Our reviewer takes you on a tour of two that try.

Like many companies, National Semiconductor Corp. is looking for ways to cut costs and has Linux and open-source high on its list. While the Santa Clara, Calif., company already is making the move to Linux, the big project this year is to take a close look at open-source databases to figure out where less-expensive data management products could fit in its infrastructure.

Martin Taylor, Microsoft Corp.'s general manager of platform strategy, recently approached Open Source Development Labs Inc., in Beaverton, Ore., to consider ways in which the two could conduct a joint research project to do some facts-based analysis of Linux and Windows. OSDL CEO Stuart Cohen talked to eWEEK Senior Editor Peter Galli about OSDL's future relationship with Microsoft and why he rejected the proposal out of hand.

The second beta version of OpenOffice.org 2.0, featuring the OASIS-approved XML file format, is being released for testing, but is not ready for production use.