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For programmers on big projects, a version control system for managing source code is vital, but working on files in a large project from one of these programs' command-line interfaces is cumbersome. Worse, the results of the commands lack highlighting to show the differences between files and revisions. ViewVC is a handy browser-based code viewer that allows users to browse a source code tree managed by either CVS or Subversion, look at changes, compare revisions at the file or line level, and perform other operations -- just about anything except allow users to check out or commit files.

In the beginning were C and C++, and hosts of other computer programming languages. These are all based on ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), which as the name implies is based on the English alphabet. Which wouldn't be an issue except there are lot of other humans in the world, and they don't use the English alphabet.

This week brings some interesting new reports on open source adoption in enterprises, providing more evidence that the economic downturn is boosting many open source product categories. BusinessWeek has a big story out on cost-conscious companies turning to open source, ranging from ETrade to the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, new survey results illustrate a trend we've written about before: open source moving up the software stack in enterprises.

Spam on the Web is one of the biggest threats to a modern Web developer. The "bad guys" become more and more sophisticated every year in how to vandalize and proliferate ads over any Web 2.0 page they can grasp. To make matters worse, spam is increasingly used to distribute malware. The arms race is on, and Web developers need to know what basic tools are available to battle spam on their Web sites. This two-part installment provides a thorough guide to anti-spam techniques. This first article explains how to assess whether a visitor is a spammer and how to organize site workflow to discourage spam..

The Open Solutions Alliance, a nonprofit industry group that pushes for the adoption and interoperability of open-source software, has named an executive of the giant systems integrator Unisys as its new president. Anthony Gold, vice president and general manager of open-source business at Unisys, is taking over the role previously held by Dominic Sartorio, senior director of product management at SpikeSource, which makes a platform for testing, packaging and maintaining applications. .

The Minimalist GNU for Windows (MinGW) project is a way to get GCC and tools like binutils working to build software for the Windows environment—something that might not sound very interesting to Linux users or developers. But there are a number of advantages to porting and regularly testing free software on Windows, as Red Hat's Richard Jones and Dan Berrange explain in the following interview. Richard and Dan also describe Red Hat's involvement, how developers can participate, as well as how it all helps the free software cause.

S3 Graphics today released Beta drivers for the latest version of the OpenGL 3.0 API to take advantage of the Khronos Group's open, cross-platform 3D standard on the newly released Chrome 500 Series programmable GPUs. This major milestone allows software developers to start OpenGL 3.0 development on S3 Graphics hardware using the latest beta driver and GLSL 1.3 shading language on Windows XP and Vista.

A new netbook from Gigabyte and GoodOS that is small, fast, and affordable. I've looked at GoodOS (gOS) before in two other posts: The Netbook Market Booms with Linux Onboard and Three Linux Distros to Watch and Use but now they've taken the lightweight operating system (OS) one step further with Taiwan-based manufacturer GigaByte.

The Bugzilla project has released its version 3.2. Next to Oracle support it has many new improvements to its services

All major Linux distros now support IPv6 according to the Linux Foundation. The non-profit organisation has announced that the companies now comply with the standards laid down by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and are now ready to be deployed in IPv6 networks. In 2005, the US government mandated all of its agencies to meet the next-generation Internet protocol requirements for any computing and networking equipment they acquire.

Today we will present the first of what will ultimately be a three-part series where we take a closer look at OLPC Oceania. We're going to start off by giving you a brief summary of their extensive concept note which contains a lot of interesting and relevant information on their plans to achieve One Laptop per Pacific Child. On top of that we have conducted an extensive two-part interview with two of the key people behind the initiative which we'll post over the coming days.

It's a common complaint: with all the social networking sites and blogging options that our friends are always asking us to join, we're getting over-extended. By the time you've had your first cup of coffee in the morning, you've no doubt updated your Twitter account, added some bookmarks to Delicious, added links to your FriendFeed, and shared your favorite news stories on Google Reader, posted to your personal blog, and uploaded a photo to Tumblr. If continually updating all these sites is a hassle for us, imagine what it's like for friends who are trying to keep up with us. If you're looking for a way to tie all your updates into one site, have a look at the open source lifestream blog software, Sweetcron.

I’ve heard a lot of buzz lately saying that 2009 is Cloud Computing’s year but have yet to see any direct indications of it myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Cloud fan but 2009 is going to be a tough year for Cloud Vendors with businesses sorting out how much money they really have to spend for new technology purchases and support. Alternatively, businesses could realize that Cloud Computing will save significant amounts of money and flock to the Cloud for refuge. But who’ll rise to the top of the charts and how will they do it?

I carry a small, laminated card indicating my subscription to the IUSP (International Union of the Super Paranoid, tin hat division). Well, you can’t be too careful. After all, we live in a dangerous world and computers are just an extension of that. After you’ve installed the right operating system—GNU/Linux, of course—secure browsers, rootkit and virus scanners, you might just start to feel secure—and smug. Don’t be. Until you have understood and mastered some of these GNU core utilities to securely delete, shred and wipe files, directories, partitions and whole disks you’re not in the clear. Why not? Read the how and why of shred and secure-delete at Freesoftware Magazine.

Mounting and unmounting filesystems used to be straightforward in GNU/Linux. A basic knowledge of the mount command or some editing of /etc/fstab in a text editor and you were done. However, with the addition of udev in the 2.6 kernel for autoplugging, and the demand for hotswapping USB devices, along with the increased use of logical volume managers and other complications, the process is now more complicated -- perhaps too complicated for many among the growing number of desktop users. That is where graphical mount managers such as Forelex Mount Manager, PySDM, and MountManager find their niche.

Vtonf is a free web-based control panel (released under the GPL license) for managing virtual private servers (VPS) based on OpenVZ. It makes it very easy to create and manage OpenVZ VMs even for people with little technical knowledge. Right now, Vtonf is available only for RedHat, Fedora, and CentOS (support for Debian is planned), therefore I describe its installation and usage on a CentOS 5.2 server.

Sometimes porting a bit of code to another platform or piece of hardware isn't about the ported code delivering new features to the device. Sure, sometimes it's about opening the device to a specific application, and sometimes it's just about opening the device up to a new development approach. Sometimes the idea is to push the code (and the device) further, to learn -- because you can.

The team studied Debian Linux, a free operating system continuously being developed by more than 1,000 volunteers from around the world. Developers create software packages, such as text editors or music players, that are added to the system. Beginning with 474 packages in 1996, Debian Linux has expanded to include more than 18,000 packages today. The packages form an intricate network, with some packages having greater connectivity than others, as defined by how many other packages depend on a given package. "Open source offers a unique opportunity provided by the high completeness of data concerning open source (thanks to the disclosure policy of the open source terms of license)," lead author Thomas Maillart of ETH Z?rich told PhysOrg.com. "Debian Linux allowed us to retrieve exhaustive information from several years ago. Many other complex systems are not so well 'documented.'"

To date this year, we have built and placed 315 Linux computers with kids that normally would not have been able to afford a computer for their school work. Add this effort to our Linux Labs and you have a well-rounded effort that benefits everyone. Our HeliOS Project has inspired others to do the same thing in other communities and we're proud to help them any way we can. So, what are the goodies for this year's drawing? Let's take a look.

Ever notice how Microsoft plasters the Windows name on everything it can reach? Splash screens, stickers on computers, and advertising everywhere. There is no escaping it. Except when it's yet another malware outbreak-- then all the news organizations go inexplicably deaf, dumb, and blind, as this latest story demonstrates:

Virus hits nearly 75% of systems on Afghanistan military base.

Is it serious? Well....

"...the intrusion was severe enough to raise the INFOCON status, the information security equivalent of the DEFCON alert, and also necessitate the briefing of the president."