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Along with countless other super-nerds around the world, this young computer science student at the University of Helsinki had been working on a most excellent new operating system. It had been dubbed Linux (after Linus's Minix, as it was based on the Minix operating system, itself a spin-off from the Unix OS that sought to provide a stable UNIX platform for PCs). By the latter half of 1994, Linux had hundreds of thousands of users around the world, and - even better - it was absolutely free.

The Linux Standards Base (LSB) now offers improved support for C++, meaning that software compiled using the latest versions of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) can be run on any distribution that supports the standard.

"Embedded Linux is emerging as a dominant platform for building high- availability network infrastructure products, and we are committed to offering our telecom equipment OEM customers the finest carrier grade Linux solutions," said Todd Wynia, vice president of marketing at Artesyn. "Soon, Network Equipment Providers (NEPs) will be able to purchase MontaVista's carrier grade Linux directly from Artesyn, certified by MontaVista, and pre-installed in flash on our telecom blades and modules."

Ha Noi (VNA) - Specialists will speak extensively on the technical and economical aspects of open-source solutions for eGovernance at an international conference in Ha Noi from September 28-30, said the Viet Nam Institute of Information Technology (IOIT Viet Nam). The conference aims to draw attention to the growing importance of open-source solutions in this field by presenting the political and economical incentives, business models and market opportunities that will arise from eGovernance.

Since the OpenDocument standard for office files covers spreadsheets, the productivity suites based on it, such as OpenOffice.org (OOo) and KOffice, can share spreadsheets between applications -- theoretically, that is. In practice, there are still a couple of obstacles for this kind of interoperability among OpenDocument spreadsheet processors, regardless of their origin and license. One is the issue of macros, as I discussed earlier. A bigger one is that, while formatting of spreadsheets is covered by OpenDocument, the actual formulas that make them useful aren't.

Bundled Software Package Automates the Data, System and Application Settings Migration from Windows to Linux Allowing Windows Applications to Run on Linux

Red Hat Inc., a provider of open source solutions to the enterprise, yesterday announced that it has won recognition from the Swedish Computer Society for its high level of customer care in a gala ceremony in Stockholm's City Hall.

Spam Assassin, the popular open source spam filter has been updated to version 3.1.0 which is a major update and is now available for download...

Norwegian group Opera Software said Tuesday that it would offer its web browser Opera free and without advertising banners, in a bid to outdo rival Firefox and become the world's second most used browser.

Your system's security depends on you, even if you're not a security guru. Here's some basic steps you can take to keep out prying eyes.

Mozilla has reacted to a Symantec report issued on Monday which said serious vulnerabilities were being found in Mozilla's browsers faster than in Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The study was conducted over the first six months of 2005. Tristan Nitot, president of Mozilla Europe, hit back by claiming on Monday that when a vulnerability is found Mozilla's "ability to react, find a solution and put it into the user's hands is better than Microsoft."

cyLogistics, Inc. today announced they have chosen Grandstream's full line of broadband IP Network products to meet the growing demand for high quality VoIP products in the LINUX Networking channel. This new relationship allows Grandstream ready access to Resellers and System Integrators throughout North America.

European business analysis firm Quocirca recently released a report on "Migrating to Linux on the Desktop." Overall, the report is well-balanced and presents a positive approach to migration from Windows to Linux.

Venerable Slackware already has inspired the Minislack, GoblinX, VectorLinux 5, and Zenwalk distros. Now there's another offspring: Ultima 4, which has been described as Slackware pre-configured into a more usable desktop, according to reviewer Andrew Fries, writing at DistroReviews.com.

You've made the preliminary decision to migrate from Windows to Linux. That's a fine first step, but here are hundreds of distributions from which to choose -- which will be right for you? Bryan Hoff, a newcomer ro Linux, offers suggestions for selecting a Linux distro and making the transition, in an article at Informit.com. "I'll be honest with you; I'm not a full-fledged Linux Geek," admits Hoff. "I'm one of those poor suckers who cut his teeth on the Windows OS, learning bad habits and working within the limitations of the sandbox set up for me by Microsoft. This is a good thing for you, since I'm better-equipped to tell you how the different Linux distributions compare to Windows, in addition to how they compare to each other."

Despite the the passage of the CAN-SPAM Act, email users are still subjected to vast quantities of spam and virus-laden messages. Roaring Penguin's CanIt-PRO is a Sendmail-based application that helps block spam, viruses, phishing attempts, and other nastiness. I found it to be one of the better commercial Linux email filtering packages.

Analysts who deny Linux's place in the enterprise as a desktop have either failed to interrogate the system thoroughly or have a bias.

A run of 100 Linux-powered humanoid robots goes on sale in Japan Friday, priced at 1.5M Yen (about $14,000), not including 10,000 Yen (~$90) monthly service fees. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries conceived of Wakamuru as a pleasant companion offering a range of electronic-age valet services, it says.

What's with Ubuntu's naming convention? With Knoppix at least they named the distros differently. With KDE and Gnome, taking the first letter of the names was good enough. But Ubuntu and those using it have developed a silly idea and are trying desperately to make it 'cool'.

Independent software vendors (ISVs) supporting the adoption of Linux and open standards were given another boost from IBM this week as the company teamed up with Red Hat Inc. to promote adoption of the open source operating system.