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Developers soon will have a network to go to for developing principally open source projects and testing their software on multiple platforms. The planned Snakebite network is intended to "provide developers of open source projects complete and unrestricted access to as many different platforms, operating systems, architectures, compilers, devices, databases, tools, and applications that they may need in order to optimally develop their software," according to the Snakebite Web site, which also welcomes visitors to "the future of open source development."

Moonshine is a project based on Moonlight that leverages the built-in Windows Media capabilities of Silverlight to bring Windows Media playback to Linux in a fully legitimate way, without forcing the end user worry about what a codec is. This is possible because Microsoft provides the codecs directly to all Moonlight users, regardless of their choice of Linux distribution.

Red Hat has launched a new open-source project the company said is aimed at making it easier for enterprises to move from proprietary Java-based middleware like Oracle WebLogic and IBM WebSphere to its JBoss Enterprise Middleware. The JBoss MASS (Migration Assistance) project -- launched as a community effort with Red Hat partners -- will provide software to help enterprises migrate to JBoss, as well as an online community to connect new JBoss customers with other customers and partners that have more experience working with the platform.

"Lately there has been a huge push by Certified Microsoft Professionals and their companies to call (potential) clients and warn them of the dangers of open source. This week I received calls from four different customers saying that they were warned that they are dangerously insecure because they run open source operating systems or software, because 'anyone can read the code and hack you with ease.' Other colleagues in the area also have noticed that three local Microsoft Partners have been trying to strike fear in the minds of companies that respond, 'Yes, we use open source or Linux' when the sales call comes in. I know this is simply a sales tactic by these companies, but how do I fix the damage these tactics cause? I have several customers who now want more than my word about the security of systems that have worked for them flawlessly for 5-6 years, with minimal expense outside of upgrades and patching for security. Does anyone have a good plan or sources of reliable information that can be used to inform the customer?"

Bash's possible network security risk no longer comes standard. Before we get started today, I just wanted to reflect on our posts' introductions. Usually it's "Hey there," or something to that effect. Being one of those people who are bothered by redundancy (at least, after the 50th time ;) this is the one part of blog posting I find the most grating.

I spent some time talking with an Accenture veteran this morning, and came away with an intriguing idea: enable open-source projects to provide corporate benefits like health insurance to their developers so that they can ditch their day jobs to focus on their open-source passion. If you've ever started a small business, you know that getting "enterprise-grade" benefits like health insurance is very difficult. At Alfresco, for example, we ultimately joined a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) called Trinet [PDF], which aggregates many smaller companies to negotiate insurance plans with companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield that would normally not consider providing small companies insurance.

No religious wars here--just the cold, hard, dollars and cents facts. No, this isn't another rant about how you should convert to Linux because it's free, although it is free. Free is a four-letter word among those who scoff at the mere mention of Linux. Yes, Linux is free, but that doesn't give it an unfair advantage on the desktop because most computers arrive preloaded with Windows — so to the buyer it appears Windows is also free.

Hoping to bolster its position in the Web-based content management system market, Plain Black has rolled out a spruced-up version of its flagship product that makes it easier to maintain Web content and features a new point-of-sale cash register. The point-of-sale capability added to the 7.6 version of WebGUI now lets authorized users work with a virtual cash register. The new feature was added to make it easier for companies at remote events such as trade shows, for instance, to sell tickets and products directly to customers.

There was a time when it was enough for middleware to be just a Java J2EE application server stack. Times do change, though: J2EE is now called JavaEE, and middleware needs are more than just Java. To help meet the evolving requirements of the modern enterprise, Sun this week released its Glassfish Portfolio, which provides a JavaEE application server as well as an AMP (Apache, MySQL and PHP) stack, along with portal software and management tools.

The GUI released by HP for its Mini Mi netbook has been winning accolades for its high design standards. The interface offers pleasing shiny black eye candy that some sites are comparing to Apple design. The GUI provides an integrated starting point for many day-to-day tasks. You can search the web, visit your favorite bookmarks, and navigate through your applications (sorted by categories like Media, Work, and Play), all in a friendly task-oriented GUI. DownloadSquad writes that HP MediaStyle application looks a lot like Apple's FrontRow.

The GroundWork Open Source company out of San Francisco CA has released its Nagios-based monitoring software in a new version 5.3, including a free Community Edition.

A recent article from the popular weblog Techdirt condems Mozilla for siding with EU, because the success of Firefox proves that there is no monopoly. But is this really the case or did Firefox succeed despite the anti-competitive business practices of Microsoft? Does MS deserve to go unpunished even though they played unfair?

The world's biggest software maker has warned companies to expect an increase in "insider" security attacks by disgruntled, laid-off workers. Microsoft said so-called "malicious insider" breaches are on the rise and will worsen in the present downturn. "With 1.5 million predicted job losses in the US alone, there's an increased risk and exposure to these attacks," said Microsoft's Doug Leland.

Create and manage multiple shells on your console with GNU Screen. The command line is a powerful tool, but it has a fatal weakness: If the shell perishes, so does your work. To keep your shell and your work alive—even across multiple sessions and dropped connections—use GNU Screen, a windowing system for your console.

OSI Board member Alolita Sharma gives a status update of the adoption of open source in India.

One of the many problems with the patent offices around the world is that they are often unaware of prior art, granting patents for so-called inventions that are, in fact, common knowledge. In the computer world, there have been a number of efforts to provide prior art to patent offices, either after a patent is granted, in order to have it rescinded, or – even better – as part of the examination process. That's fine for a community with easy access to online source materials, but what about other fields, where prior art exists in other forms like books, or perhaps orally?

GroundWork Monitor has been updated to version 5.3 with improvements to key areas. The network management software from GroundWork is available as a free Community Edition, as well as two commercial versions, GroundWork Monitor Professional and GroundWork Monitor Enterprise. The new release includes version 3.06 of the Nagios monitoring tools. Updated components include MySQL, RRDTool, PHP and the reporting tool BRIT. Installation has been simplified for new Linux servers, as all prerequisites are now included in a single package.

The BBC is more often in the news for hassling others over the misuse of BBC copyrighted material on the web. Imagine our surprise when we learned that the BBC was on the other end of the copyright infringement stick for a change.

Tech vendors who can't think of good things to say about their products fall back on "It's Green! Save Money And Be Hip!" But as always, Open Source is ahead of the curve. Tina Gasperson examines how Open Source software uses innovative methods such as less clothing, fewer showers, and agoraphobia to generate substantial energy savings.

Over the last weekend, the Plasma team held their second meeting in Porto, Portugal. The meeting was organised by Akademy Award winner Nuno Pinheiro inviting the Akademy Award-winning Plasma team to his home country. The meeting was kindly hosted by the Departamento de Engenharia Informatica (Department of Computer Sciences) of the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto. The Plasma team (and most probably many of the KDE users) are grateful for being provided this opportunity to collaborate on the desktop.