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Operating Systems Battle Draining Precious IT Budget and Resources. The evil eyes, destroyed relationships and recriminations associated with the long-raging battles over Mac, Windows, Unix and Linux operating systems are on their way to becoming distant memories thanks to Likewise Software’ solutions and their new t-shirts.

New research from AMI Partners reveals some promising trends in the business intelligence market. As BI sales heat up in certain regions, The VAR Guy wonders if open source BI companies stand to benefit. Here's the scoop.

This is the first article in a two-part series that looks at a hands-on approach to monitoring a data center using the open source tools Ganglia and Nagios. In Part 1, see how to install and configure Ganglia, the scalable, distributed monitoring system for high-performance clusters based on a hierarchical design. Also learn how to add more monitoring capability by writing Ganglia plug-ins and by enabling external-source spoofing.

CODA CEO Jeremy Roche talks about his company's foray into cloud computing, and why he believes that cloud computing represents the next logical step in the evolution of enterprise computing.

We used a Sun server for this test, but this will work on any Linux or Unix server out there... probably.

Every time you open a new tab, you are opening it to go somewhere. Sometimes it’s to do a search. Sometimes it’s to type in a new URL. Sometimes it’s to check an address you just selected. The only thing you are guaranteed to not want is a blank page. From the feedback from the last two rounds of new tab concepts, we know that the page needs to load instantly (even a small wait breaks user experience); that it shouldn’t be visually distracting; and that it should be a launch point into your daily activities.

In Microsoft vs. TomTom, Microsoft is suing TomTom in part because the guys from Redmond claim that TomTom's use of Linux in its navigation devices has violated three of its file-system related patents. One reason why Microsoft feels it can do this is that it already has patent cross-licensing agreements covering these patents with other Linux-using companies.

Canonical is developing an Ubuntu Server Edition Directory Services strategy to compete (and integrate) more effectively with Microsoft, Windows Server and Active Directory. In addition to a partnership with Likewise Software, Canonical is seeking Ubuntu experts to help accelerate some Directory Services efforts. Here's the scoop from WorksWithU.

Not a lot of work has gone into Red Hat's Plymouth project since the release of Fedora 10, but now in the middle of the development cycle of Fedora 11 we are seeing some new work emerge. Plymouth is a boot splash program that leverages kernel mode-setting to provide a rich, flicker-free boot experience. In the past week there have been a fair number of commits to the Plymouth Git repository, which is the first time it has seen new work since early January.

Java Enterprise Edition 6 has passed the public review of the Java Community Process, but not by a unanimous vote. Java EE 6 (developed as JSR316) went to public review ballot last month and the results have now come in. The Apache Software Foundation voted against because of their long running dispute with Sun over the licence terms for the Java Compatibility Kit (JCK).

what we have shaping up in the next round of Linux distribution releases is a German Philosopher (openSUSE 11.2) squaring off against a Koala (Ubuntu) and the Spartan King Leonidas (Red Hat Fedora 11). Do names say a lot about the different distros themselves?

You don't see many physical gadgets coming out of the high-tech Demo conference anymore, the confab made famous as the launchpad for Palm Pilot and TiVo. What typically emerges now are tools and services around social media and productivity. Still, executive producer Chris Shipley says she saw more consumer hardware in advance of Demo than even during boom times, though only a few made it onto the conference stage. Times are tough, and Demo took a hit in attendance and in exhibitors: 39, down from more than 70 in peak years. Here's my take on a couple of interesting products this time around, a netbook computer with a twist and a network of cheap consumer webcams. Caveat: I haven't tested these yet.

Recently, Vital Wave Consulting, of TCO fame, did a in-depth Landscape Analysis of Low-cost Computing Devices. In that report, they came away with an amazing conclusion:

So your users need access to Exchange and data from outside your organisation. Sure you can set up RPC over HTTPS and various other tools to access the data. I just find OpenVPN very good, convenient and reliable.

Not everyone who's into Linux is a dyed in the wool techie. While some people need to know the intimate workings of their PCs and what runs them, others are quite happy simply to use them. There will always a certain amount of crossover, but the one thing that neatly distinguishes the techies from the power users is the command line interface (CLI). Old-school Linux users swear that it's the only real way to do things properly, while the rest of us often avoid it like the plague. But what if we gave you just enough command-line knowledge to let you do all the important things, without having to don sandals and a fake beard?

The ReactOS team has just put out its latest newsletter, and it contains some interesting information on the progress being made. However, it also provides some definitive insight into what, exactly, the project is trying to recreate - a topic of some confusion. People were wondering what Windows version the ReactOS team was aiming its compatibility arrows at. Some claimed Windows 2000, others were sure it was Windows XP. As it turns out, the situation is a little more complicated than that, as the team looks separately at the kernel and Win32.

Like Dracula, the old myth that free software can't innovate keeps returning. But this accusation is one that's overdue for a stake through the heart. Those who have experienced free software projects firsthand know that they depend on innovation and generally foster it. Bruce Byfield aims to retire this moldy canard.

When I first began using Linux, I was fortunate that I had a few friends around who knew it well, and were able to answer my questions and provide support. Not everyone is so lucky. Fortunately, these days there are a multitude of ways you can get the info you need without calling up Cousin Ron the Computer Wiz. He’s probably busy recompiling his kernel anyway. Many of the things I’ve listed here are well known to long time Linux users, I’m hoping that those who are just starting out, or are considering the switch, can find a few useful resources for making your system work the way you want. Linux is meant to be tinkered with, there are examples and how-tos everywhere.

Debating the value of "my first time using Linux" articles was the pastime of choice recently in the open source blogosphere. Other topics of discussion included the Linux Foundation's takeover of Linux.com from SourceForge and the ongoing saga of why Linux isn't accepted by mainstream users yet.

This document describes how to install a Postfix mail server that is based on virtual users and domains, i.e. users and domains that are in a MySQL database. I'll also demonstrate the installation and configuration of Courier (Courier-POP3, Courier-IMAP), so that Courier can authenticate against the same MySQL database Postfix uses. The resulting Postfix server is capable of SMTP-AUTH and TLS and quota. Passwords are stored in encrypted form in the database. In addition to that, this tutorial covers the installation of Amavisd, SpamAssassin and ClamAV. I will also show how to install SquirrelMail as a webmail interface so that users can read and send emails and change their passwords.