Showing all newswire headlines

BaseTen is a new, open-source Cocoa database framework for working with PostgreSQL databases. BaseTen has been designed with familiar, Core Data-like semantics and application program interfaces. To get the word out about the development environment, and to build a library of applications that show off its capabilities, BaseTen is running a competition for the coolest OSS app for its framework.

Latest version endows virtual machines with a graphical interface, an essential feature for personal computers.

"Relax. I believe Microsoft has no intention of enforcing this patent against anyone," says Microsoft executive Don Dodge

[Sounds like a 'dodge' to me. Microsoft consistently threatens lawsuits pertaining to their patents - and they want us to believe this? - dcparris]

Microsoft has two years in which to convince Amsterdam city authorities that it can offer better value for money on the desktop than open source alternatives.

LXer Feature: 28-Dec-2006

Peking University recently released a program to convert office documents between OpenDocument Format and the Specification for the Chinese office file format based on XML (UOF for short).

Moving from Windows to Linux may not be the quick fix that some envision, according to Bob O'Dell, president and CEO of SecurityCoverage. Linux proponents "have been living in a bubble, but that bubble could burst if the hacking world decides to go after them with the ferocity they've used in attacking Microsoft," he warned.

This tutorial is about wardriving using GPS. It explains how to install Garmin Etrex on Ubuntu and how to configure it. It also shows how to use Garmin with GPSDrive and how to convert the data to an xml file which can be imported by Google Earth.

Following the trend of open source adaptation in major cities worldwide, one of the major Korean cities, Gwangju Metropolitan City, successfully jumped onto the open source transition, receiving spotlight from related industry.

This year in IT has been anything but dull as industry titans Bill Gates and Scott McNealy prepared to exit stage right, long-time bitter foes Novell and Microsoft cuddled up and Hewlett-Packard saw a spying scandal shred its reputation. There was plenty of commentary to accompany all that activity, so let's check out some of the most quote-worthy artefacts from PC Advisor stories.

The FCC just approved Motorola’s new Linux-based A910 cellphone for GSM networks (Cingular, T-Mobile, etc). The A910 comes with GPRS and UMA for connecting over WLAN networks, a Linux-Java based platform, 1.3-megapixel camera with external display, video capability, streaming video, MP3 player, a microSD expansion slot, Bluetooth, and more.

DBAs take great pride in providing reliable database services to their organizations. It comes as no surprise they are very stressed when the database is blamed for performance issues or application outages. This article shows you how to provide a real-time graph of database status to reduce false accusations, identify problems for rapid resolution, and avoiding the political blame game.

Get an overview of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol- (LDAP) related enhancements in the AIX 5L operating system V5.3 TL5 update. This lets clients configure and manage multiple systems with a single set of user identity configuration information, and it simplifies system administration.

Opinion: So, that's why people are saying nice things about Vista.

France-based Mandriva Linux and a local partner, Datacomms-Genesys, on Dec. 21 established a subsidiary company -- Mandriva Mexico -- to market its desktop and server operating systems in the Central American country. The office will be located at Datacomms-Genesys' complex in Mexico City.

Every year or so I like to see how Microsoft is doing in its attempt to make a desktop operating system as usable as Linux. Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, with Service Pack 2, is a tremendous improvement over previous Windows versions when it comes to stability and appearance, but it still has many glitches ...

The VectorLinux team last week released version 5.8 of its Slackware 11.0-based distribution, which includes a 2.6.18 kernel and the XFce desktop environment. The release features fully-working browser plugins -- including Flash 9, Java, mp3, Real and Windows media -- as well as DVD playback, the team said.

One of the virtues of Linux is that there's pretty much a version of it for everybody. From regular Ubuntu to Gentoo to Berry Linux to Fedora to Damn Small Linux, there's something out there for virtually all types of Linux users. So I was intrigued to discover that there is a Christian version of the extremely popular Ubuntu Linux distribution.

The name of Gaël Duval's new distro, Ulteo, with its hint of the word "ultimate", smacks of a certain ambition. But Duval probably means it in the sense that it is the last distribution you will ever need to install, because thereafter it will "self-upgrade automatically," as the announcement of the alpha release put it. Ease-of-use has been a constant theme in Duval's work. When he launched his first distro, Mandrake, in July 1998, one of his stated goals was "to provide a working and easy-to-install linux-distribution to people who don't want to spend too much time in installing and configuring their Linux system : just install it and USE IT."

LXer Feature: 27-Dec-2006

In February 2003, the program "Open Standards and Open Source Software (OSSOS) for the Dutch government" started, funded by the Dutch government. One of the main tasks was to make the government independent from single software suppliers, among which are Microsoft and SAP. After three years, the effort starts bearing fruit. Ten big municipalities - together 2,7 million inhabitants and including Amsterdam and The Hague - signed a manifest. I'll try to explain what's in the manifest, what that might mean for the future, and for the monopoly of Microsoft in the Dutch government.

"Today, I would like to tell you more about the conversation of the Internet. This conversation, as I explained before, has started around the eighties and has come to encompass hundreds of millions of human beings today. Well, I'd like to show you what many different people from all walks of life can do when they're having a conversation that is called OpenOffice.org ."