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Ubuntu has arguably changed the landscape of desktop Linux since its initial release of Warty Warthog in 2004. Since then, its momentum has inspired the creation of numerous Ubuntu-based derivatives---Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu---just to name a few. These newcomers typically offer alternative desktop environments or sets of packages that differ from the standard Ubuntu selection. All target specific sub-audiences; be it KDE-folks, multimedia users, footprint minimalists, economic stimulus recipients, or Barrack Obama.

The Conficker worm has infected several million computers since it first started spreading in late 2008. In this paper German developers presented several potential methods to repel Conficker. The approaches presented take advantage of the way Conficker patches infected systems, which can be used to remotely detect a compromised system. They also provided freely available tools including source code on their website. They also described how to use these findings which allows system administrators to quickly and easily scan their networks for infected hosts and to create rules for use in intrusion detection systems. Developers already started to integrate these findings in their network security scanner and equivalent tools like Nmap and Nessus. This article shows how to use four different methods to scan for Conficker infected machines in your network.

Syntax highlighting is incredibly useful for any kind of coding or scripting; comments, quoted strings, code, and markup are shown in different colours. Juliet Kemp shows us how Kate supports syntax highlighting for a multitude of languages, configuration file types, and even some applications like MySQL and diff.

Now we're driving hard towards completing CrossOver 8.0. We've done a ton of work that is going into CrossOver 8; we've got Internet Explorer 7 running, and we're working on 8. We've got a huge number of fixes for Microsoft Office, notably Outlook. And most importantly, we've got Quicken 2009 working along nicely. That's critical, because Quicken 2006 goes out of support in 30 days here.

Setting up an electronic “card catalog” for my books always seemed like a lot of work, so I hadn’t really attempted it before; lately, I happened across a KDE program called Tellico that made it so easy and fun that I completed my inventory in under a week. Plus, I finally found a use for that “CueCat” scanner I’ve had collecting dust for the last several years! Read the full article at Freesoftware Magazine.

The other day I was told to check and see if VMware Tools was installed on every Virtual Machine in our Cluster. I figured this was the perfect time for me to write another script to do this. Here are a list of things that I want to have in the script... List all Virtual Machines and the VMstatus and Version if installed 1- Check for toolsOK 2- Check for toolsNotInstalled 3- Check for toolsNotRunning 4- Check for toolsOld 5- And last but not least, able to do this either on a per Virtual Machine or on the entire Cluster

The Ardour developers have released version 2.8 of their Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). New features include track and bus templates, which allow specific recording configuration settings to be saved and reused, as well as the improved support of audio plug-ins that comply with the Steinberg VST standard. The release also includes a number of bug fixes. More details about the release can be found in the release notes.

A cloud OS simply refers to an operating system (or an interface filled with a complete suite of desktop applications) that resides on the Web and you can access to it anytime, anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection. While there are plenty of cloud OS out there that you can sign up and use for free, there might be instances where you want to have your own dedicated cloud OS. First of all, signing up a free account with third-party cloud OS often means that you have limited file storage space and all your data are stored in other people’s server. Next, the connection speed is dependent on the number of active users at any time. The more popular the site is, the slower it will get when you are using it.

TEMPE, ARIZONA - RedSeven Computer Company is kicking off it’s birthday month by offering a free installation of Linux on April first at their Tempe location, on the southeast corner of Guadalupe and McClintock. RedSeven is known for their support of the Linux operating system in the Valley and across the country. The free install event is an annual occurrence at the Tempe location. The installation is offered to Valley residents who refuse to be dependent on Microsoft’s Windows, opting for a more stable, secure operating system, Linux. In contrast to Windows, Linux software is cost-free and offers alternatives to virtually every Windows based program. RedSeven knows that in this economy, saving money where you can is vital.

Windows Vista gets a lot of grief both in tech circles and the general public — but one Texas lawmaker wants to make it a matter of public policy. Democrat Texas state Senator Juan Hinojosa recently added a rider to Texas' $182bn budget plan that would ban the state's agencies from purchasing Vista (and all Vista-related technologies) unless they get written permission from the budget board.

The billions in federal stimulus funds directed toward the development electronic health records may help modernize the system, but it will likely be a slow process. Meanwhile, New York Lawyer Patrick Donahue is taking the initiative by launching the Sarah Jane Brain Project. His efforts are aimed at jump-starting innovative treatment for pediatric brain injuries using open source methods.

Hewlett Packard is considering to install Google's Android Linux Operating System onto their Netbooks.

We have all seen this great article: http://blog.linuxtoday.com/blog/2009/03/53-pages-10-mon.html Where a 2 page article in the NY times is referenced. This security article doesn't refer to windows as being the security risk. And the NY times reporter responds to the inquiry by saying this is a organized systematic espionage article. Which has nothing to do with Linux. No it has nothing to do with Linux, that's why it's completely insane. If it were about Linux it would be about a systematic failure in espionage.

IBM CEO, Samuel Palmisano, announced at 12:01 am EDT that IBM has completed the purchase of Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds for $4.6 Billion in cash and stock. This unprecedented human purchase by a corporation is being met with shock and surprise within the Linux and IT communities. Palmisano said that IBM was the "highest bidder" in a bitter battle for Torvalds.

In just over two months of use so far I have been very impressed with the Sylvania g Netbook Meso. None of the issues, hardware or software, that I encountered with the original g Netbook, are seen in the somewhat newer model. The Meso has proven to be an upgrade in performance, in reliability, and most definitely in the area of software. In short, with the Meso model Digital Gadgets/Sylvania clearly demonstrates that they can do a Linux netbook very well indeed.

Python is moving to a distributed version control system (DVCS), but unlike many projects which have moved to Git, Guido van Rossum has selected Mercurial, also known as Hg (the chemical symbol for mercury), as the DVCS for Python.

I love this time of year, especially when it means reading about IBM buying Linus Torvalds (apparently Novell made an unsuccessful bid for Richard Stallman earlier this year) who will be required to appear in IBM commercials and promotional materials.

As Linux sysadmins, many of us still need to deal with Windows worms and how they affect our networks. Tomorrow is April 1st, and the Conficker worm will be activating on vulnerable computers everywhere. Here's a quick HOW-TO showing how you can detect compromised and/or vulnerable computers on your network: There are 2 fairly easy methods available at this late hour.

When it launched the netbook phenomenon a couple of years ago, the most noticeable thing about the Asus EEE PC, apart from its size, was that it typically ran Linux. Suddenly everyone was predicting the demise of Windows and the rise of Linux. Microsoft, naturally, quickly backtracked on its end-of-life plans for XP and threw itself into the netbook market with the result that Windows now accounts for about 90% of the netbooks market and Linux the remaining 10%. So buying a netbook with Linux is not as easy as it initially promised to be. We scouted around to find a selection of mid-level netbooks that could be bought in South Africa with Linux pre-installed.

There are several ways you can try to protect yourself from Conficker. These include disabling AutoRun, since Conficker can spread by infected USB drives; using current anti-virus software; use Windows' own malicious software removal tool; or, switch to OpenDNS for your DNS service. There are many ways to try to stop these attacks, unfortunately, the bad guys are always working on getting newer and better ways to infect your system. The sad truth is no matter what you do with Windows, whether you're running XP, Vista, or the Windows 7 beta, you're not safe. Now, however there's a patch that will stop Conficker, and almost all other malware programs, in their tracks. It's called Linux.