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The IT industry has a reputation for forward thinking and new ideas. And yet, when it comes time to reform the way entire companies do business, sometimes it pays to look to history.

Linux software maker Xandros has joined the growing number of open source software offerings on PC desktops at Wal-Mart's online store. Like other PCs available from Wal-Mart, the Xandros-powered systems don't come with a monitor, and range in price from US $200 to $600.

A Sun Microsystems engineer chartered with directing the engineering effort to open source Solaris has published a new software license that could be used for the open-source release of Sun's Unix operating system. Though Sun is vague on details about the license, called the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), it is incompatible with Linux's software license.

When Firefox 1.0 came out in early November, the praise was deafening.

Sun Microsystems Inc. has proposed a new open-source license to the Open Source Initiative, but Linus Torvalds and others doubt that it will help Sun create an open-source community.

While many of you would post guards on your server room door rather than migrate from NetWare to another platform, the desktop is a different kettle of fish. I know plenty of people who long for the days of DOS workstations. There's even still a few who like their OS/2 desktops. But there are many of you who run Windows on your users' machines and are looking for an alternative. NLD could be that alternative.

Commentary: So IBM is looking for a way out of the PC business. Big Blue's personal computer division is going to be sold. It's hard to believe after all these years, even though the PC business at IBM has never really recovered from the kidney-punch Microsoft delivered to it by withholding licensing for Windows 95 until 15 minutes prior to launch. The malignant monopoly was just as open to the possibility of competition in those days as the Bush administration is to dissenting views today, so IBM had to be punished for daring to push OS/2.

In the war of words between open source advocates and opponents, a common refrain can often be heard from the opposition: “Open Source is not sustainable, because you cannot expect people to work for free forever.”

Mozilla's Firefox browser continues to steal market share form Microsoft's Internet Explorer around the globe. According to a report released by a German Internet advertising firm, Firefox has grown to more than 5.5 percent, while the Internet Explorer drops below 90 percent for the first time in years.

Linux Gazette is a volunteer-run monthly web magazine dedicated to two simple ideas: making Linux a little more fun, and sharing ideas and discoveries.

As a sysadmin, I wear many hats. Some days I'm the janitor--I clean up discarded files on the file server and clear spam from the mail server. Other days I'm the maintenance man--I make sure all the servers are running smoothly and that any holes have been patched. Some days I'm the architect--I plan, organize, and design systems to suit our needs. Some of my favorite days, however, are the days I put on my rescue hat. When a machine is in trouble, the whistle sounds, I grab my rescue gear, and I run down the beach with my life preserver. OK, well, I made that last part up; I'm not David Hasselhoff and this isn't Baywatch, but when it comes to system recovery, I choose the other thing Germans love--Knoppix.

Can a gated Open Source community really work?

The following information has been provided by the product vendor and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Linux Journal.

In a previous article we looked at local file systems in Linux. In this article we'll examine the range of choices available for Linux network file systems. While the choices are many, we'll see that Linux still faces significant innovation challenges; yesterday's network paradigm isn't necessarily the best approach to the network of tomorrow.

Users who are very entrenched into the MS system may not necessarily see the benefits immediately," Sun's Manish Punjabi observes. "But over time ... they are generally satisfied. Overall, we believe that the interoperability is already good and will only get better.

Open Source Development Labs is integrating the Open POSIX Test Suite into its library of tests for the Linux kernel to boost application portability following cooperation with Groupe Bull SA.

The state's ambition to carry IT to the grassroots level received a boost on Thursday with open source provider Red Hat launching a Bengali beta version of Linux.

Sun Microsystems has quietly begun seeking official open-source status for a new software license that likely will be used to govern its Solaris operating system. But the license may inhibit cross-pollination between Solaris and Linux.

Startup company db4o bjects next week is releasing its object database, db4o, under an open source format, with the product now available either under the GPL via open source or commercially as embeddable software.

Victoria University’s adoption of an open source platform for its student administration, human resources and finance system does not set a precedent for a more general move in the open source direction, says IT services manager Alan Dempster.