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Linux kernel contributors including the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) today unveiled serviceability improvements including new kdump and SystemTap features.

The developers of Atomix, a Serbian Linux distribution based on Fedora Core and enhanced with multimedia applications, introduced Version 4 of their live DVD on Dec. 9. This is a major update that uses a 2.6.18.2 Linux kernel and KDE 3.5.5 as its default desktop environment, the team said.

syslog-ng is an alternative system logging tool, a replacement for the standard Unix syslogd system-event logging application. Featuring reliable logging to remote servers via the TCP network protocol, availability on many platforms and architectures, and high-level message filtering capabilities, syslog-ng is part of several Linux distributions. We discussed the highlights of last month's version 2.0 release with the developer, Balázs Scheidler.

It's not that long since Firefox 2 appeared, but the Mozilla Foundation is already hard at work on Firefox 3. The first alpha release of Firefox 3, code name "Gran Paradiso," is already out.

Edgy Eft (version 6.10), the second release of Xubuntu, a variant of Ubuntu Linux built around the Xfce4 desktop and designed to be lightweight, was released in October. I’ve been using it since then and I’ve been impressed. The bugs and rough edges seen in the first release, Dapper Drake (6.06) are gone and the end result is a solid, reliable distribution that’s a pleasure to use.

If you're new to Linux programming, then you might be interested in considering these aspects before you start your wonderful journey. Especially if you've programmed in Windows, you might want to change some of your ideas, so that you minimize the “culture” shock you experience when you encounter completely different ideas and ways of thinking. Here are some of my tips, based on common questions asked in forums about Linux programming especially from experienced Windows programmers.

Executive sees opportunities despite recent challenges to its position from Microsoft and Oracle.

Red Hat has had something of a bumpy ride in the last two months. First, Oracle launched a competitive threat to the open-source supplier, then Microsoft inked a deal with Linux distributor Novell.

Novell Identity and Desktop Management Solution Pays for Itself, Reducing Helpdesk Calls by 90 Percent and IT Travel by 75 Percent

A jointly sponsored Microsoft and Novell survey purporting strong customer support for the companies’ controversial alliance looks like back firing on Novell. While the poll of 201 IT executives with “significant” purchasing power found near unanimous support for interoperability between Linux and Windows, relatively few said they’d actually pick Novell’s SuSE Linux Server (SLES) as a result of the deal.

Yahoo! user interface blog hosts an interview video with Lars Knoll and George Staikos on KHTML and WebKit. The video features the history of Konqueror (first 10 minutes) as well as the current development situation (next 10 minutes), an outlook about the possible future and of course a short demo presenting Qt4-WebKit accessing the Yahoo! page and rendering it nicely (last 10 minutes). You need Flash to view the page - if you don't have Flash, read a short summary of the interview.

I spent the last few weeks determining whether I could use Linux as a serious working environment rather than as the interesting distraction it first appeared to be. My computing tasks are very different from corporate entities using Linux servers to run company networks. I discovered that Linux is a very reliable replacement for the Windows and Mac platforms.

Attendees at BEAWorld in Beijing this week can get a sneak peak at WebLogic Server 10 before it becomes generally available in the first calendar quarter of 2007. The new release will implement the latest Java specifications including Java Enterprise Edition 5 (Java EE 5) and Enterprise Java Beans 3.0 (EJB 3.0), as well as feature several additional enhancements designed to help customers simplify the development of applications and services while achieving next-to-zero downtime. Among these features is enhanced support for Web Services, significant control and security improvements and better interoperability with both leading proprietary and open-source platforms.

Community radio stations in Sierra Leone and in other emerging democracies may well soon be powered by Campcaster 1.1, free and open source software that turns a PC running the free Linux operating system into an essential tool for radio broadcasting. Campcaster 1.1, code-named "Freetown", was released last week by developers Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF). This week members of MDLF are in Sierra Leone providing training to community users.

Unisys Corporation recently architected and managed a migration to an open source solution that has delivered dramatic benefits for UK stock brokerage firm Redmayne-Bentley. By moving its hardware platform, operating system and applications to a Linux environment on Unisys ES7000/one Enterprise Servers, Redmayne-Bentley has achieved a tenfold increase in processing power, an 88 percent reduction in overnight processing times and significantly enhanced security.

Asterisk, the open source IP PBX software, has scored a resounding endorsement from one of its resellers, Aspect Software - which claims to be the world's largest company solely focused on the contact centre - is being used for Aspect's new corporate headquarters, with 500 users.

A few weeks ago, I decided to start looking for a new system. After a fair amount of searching, I settled on a Shuttle XPC SN27P2 barebones system that includes the case, motherboard, and power supply. Since it's hard to find information about supported hardware under Linux, I thought I'd share my experience with the XPC. It's a tiny system that can pack a hefty punch, and it's a good system for users who want to run Linux.

ECMA has approved Microsofts Office OpenXML and is about to submit it to the ISO/IEC for consideration as an open standard. However, as it currently stands, this format cannot be considered a proper Open Standard.

kdump and SystemTap Enhancements to Increase Serviceability in Production Systems

Communities in countries such as Sierra Leone will soon be using Linux and the recently released Campcaster 1.1 software to build community broadcasting efforts. Campcaster is free software built on Linux for independent radio stations.