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When considering a migration to open-source software, IT users should keep in mind the mistakes of those who tried before and avoid falling into the same traps experienced by others.

The DCC Alliance emerges from LinuxWorld still set to its goal of making Debian Linux a major business player.

"What do you think of the show?" This is the question I heard all week at LinuxWorld here. It turns out that many of my journalist peers, a few speakers and a number of vendors weren't as impressed by the show as I was.

Google has released the second version of Google Toolbar for the Firefox operating system, which includes support for RSS feeds and new Safe Browsing tools.

Since when did Firefox become an OS? Had they said that about Emacs, well I could understand. But Firefox? The only reason I linked to this article was for the funny factor. Guess we all know which tech magazines not to read for serious tech news. - dcparris

Maria Winslow, author of The Practical Manager's Guide to Open Source and open source business analyst for Open Source Migrations, sat down at LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in Boston with SearchOpenSource.com. She talked about her views on emerging technologies, where not to find deployable open source applications and the impact of proprietary vendors that decide to share their code with the community.

Redmond (WA) - In a very strange way, Microsoft pioneered the concept of open-source software. While you're still swallowing hard after that last sentence, take a few moments and some deep breaths, and just think about my explanation for a moment: Microsoft's cornerstone product was its BASIC interpreter. To have learned to program in BASIC during the 1970s, as many of us did using TRS-80 Level II BASIC, or Applesoft BASIC - both of which were made by Microsoft, and co-authored by Bill Gates himself - you printed out program listings on an old Centronics dot-matrix printer, and you shared them with your friends and colleagues. The first microcomputers were sustained by the earliest form of an open-source initiative.

While I think Microsoft and FOSS are still largely incompatible, it is difficult to tell what's going on in Redmond. Fact is, I remain doubtful that they intend to play "nice". - dcparris

Every year, Debian developers are asked to choose one of their own to serve as Debian Project Leader (DPL). It's that time again, and once again it's a crowded field. Seven developers are running this year: Jeroen van Wolffelaar, Ari Pollak, Steve McIntyre, Anthony Towns, Andreas Schuldei, Jonathan (Ted) Walther, and Bill Allombert. Retiring DPL Branden Robinson is not running for re-election.

It sounds a little like the Debian community is debating whether to remain Baptist, or convert to a Presbyterian polity. Actually, the "council of elders" is a good thing. - dcparris

This tutorial show you how to use the Image_3D package and practical applications of 3-D graphics.

Werner Knoblich, vice-president EMEA at Red Hat, told CRN: “Red Hat was a very direct business, but over the past three years we have moved from a 90 per cent direct firm to 60 per cent indirect in Europe. The channel is essential for Red Hat.”

Perhaps other GNU/Linux vendors could take a lesson from Red Hat's strategy. By developing partner channels, Red Hat is becoming the means through which others build their businesses. Everyone wins, and that's a beautiful thing! - dcparris

Norway said Friday that it plans to wean itself from dependence on large corporations like Microsoft by increasing the use of open source software within government agencies. The Norwegian government also plans to organize a panel of experts to set standards for access to public information and how operating systems can interoperate.

Concurrent has updated its Red Hat-based real-time Linux distribution for multi-processor x86 systems, adding support for multicore AMD and Intel processors. It has additionally announced real-time extensions and tools for SuSE Linux, and signed up Novell to help sell and support them.

For the last two weeks, the Linux army has seized on Tuttle, Oklahoma city manager Jerry Taylor as a symbol of all that's wrong with this world. This man attacked Linux maker CentOS without cause, threatened to call the FBI on the firm and refused to apologize for these actions even after learning the error of his ways. Typical Microsoft-loving, bureaucrat thinking, right? Our ongoing investigation into Taylor, however, has revealed that he may actually be a model for Linux zealots to embrace and follow.

I use FreeBSD and Linux on more than 15 servers at work. Here are 10 of the tools I find most useful.

All in all, a nice overview of some decent utilities. I can vouch for GNU Screen. It is especially useful over an SSH connection, where you don't have access to the virtual terminals. You'll have to read the article for the rest though. - dcparris

Daffodil Software, a Java database and replication technology company, today announced the beta release of Daffodil Replicator v2.1 with support for MySQL database replication as its major feature.

New features made available with version 2 of the Google Toolbar for Firefox provide users with the ability to easily integrate newly discovered feeds into the Google Personalized Homepage or other feed readers.

Anyone that thinks “nothing worth having is free” doesn’t know much about computers. A recent blog got me thinking that you don’t need to pay a penny for software to have a fully-functioning computer. You surely don’t have to fork over any cash to Microsoft or Apple for an operating system. The article is geared more towards the techies, but it's still good to see FOSS mentioned in mainstream media. Maybe his next article can focus on the user side of things. - dcparris

As it opens up to Linux and rival software, company faces deep skepticism over whether it's really changed its stripes.

Things have been busy in Massachusetts this year for ODF. Some of the roadblocks that had loomed ahead are now behind, and some new ones are ahead.

BOSTON, MASS -These are short "impromptu" videos I shot at OSTG's Slashdot Lounge in the middle of the ORG pavilion at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo. Their purpose is to help you put faces (and voices) to people whose names you often see on this site and others -- and one or two people who just happened to be in the vicinity and looked like they might have something to say, too.