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The question was recently raised on the lkml why such a wide range of GCC versions were being actively supported by the Linux kernel. One reason offered was, "because the new compilers are a lot slower", an argument that left some perplexed. "Why is this an issue when compiling a kernel? How often do you compile your kernel?"

Mark Shuttleworth, the man who sold a software business he had built on the back of the open source software (OSS) movement for billions, has taken the wraps off his own Linux distribution. Ubuntu (“be humane”) is based on the Debian distribution. Like Debian, it is freely downloadable and customisable. Canonical, Shuttleworth's OSS development outfit, undertook to distribute the software to early adopters via 340 000 CDs, free of charge, at a personal cost of $10 million. Ubuntu can also be downloaded via global mirror sites.

Alternative shines with a clean interface, sophisticated functions, and many options

Countering the latest salvo of Microsoft's Get the Facts campaign against open-source software, Novell this week launched a Web site devoted to "unbending the truth" about Linux in the enterprise.

Microsoft has criticised the IP indemnification offered by Novell, Red Hat, HP and IBM -- the main vendors of the Linux operating system. It claims that Microsoft offers better indemnification than any Linux vendor and has highlighted specific problems with the indemnification policy of each vendor, although it has not yet divulged the specific details of its own policy.

An IT consulting company has published a case study about installing a Linux-based VoIP (voice-over-IP) system at a bank with two satellite offices. The setup saves $2,600 of recurring monthly charges over a system based on leased lines, the company says.

Do trademarks require a special license for software to be free? That is the question that Debian developers are currently debating. The specific concern is whether AbiWord's recent assertion of trademarks conflict with the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG), the set of principles under which the Debian distribution operates. However, the implications could affect not only Debian's use of other trademarked packages, such as Mozilla, Evolution, and OpenOffice.org, but other GNU/Linux distributions' use of them as well.

A Wiki is a web site that can be edited directly by people browsing it. That way, they can add new content, correct errors or inaccuracies, and add their own comments, among other things. Since the debut of the original Wiki Wiki Web, many publicly available, usually open source, Wiki implementations have appeared, enabling webmasters to set up their own Wikis on their sites. These Wiki implementations vary in their features, ease of installation, syntax, and semantics.

A progress report on how one California county government systematically is turning to Linux and open source.

When it comes to video processing, many free software users don't look beyond the well-known mainstream utilities, like transcode and MPlayer. When these utilities don't produce the desired output, the MJPEG Tools suite might be able to help. Mature, feature-rich, and of extremely high quality, the MJPEG Tools provide video manipulation facilities that you can use either as a complete end-to-end solution or as a toolbox from which you can select the exact tool you need for a given job. Whether you need assistance with capturing, improving, or encoding video, the MJPEG Tools can help.

The Linux Gazette is a reader-supported monthly e-zine dedicated to two simple ideas: making Linux a little more fun, and sharing ideas and discoveries. Issue 108 of Linux Gazette is ready for viewing and downloading at http://linuxgazette.net/

Maintaining a Linux system involves paying close attention to running services and network traffic. With netstat, you've got a powerful surveillance and troubleshooting tool.

Firefox supporters on Tuesday set up a Web site in Germany to raise funds for an ad in one of three German newspapers. This campaign has started only a few days after the New York Times (NYT) campaign finished, which raised a total of $250,000 dollars in 10 days. Michael Bona, one of the founders of the Web site, said he came up with the idea when he saw the press release for the NYT campaign.

Handheld-computer maker PalmOne is considering moves that would take it beyond the operating system that helped make the company a household name.

Spread DB2 client connections across multiple servers with Balance, a powerful open source tool for the Linux platform. This article tells you what DB2 UDB connection routing is and explains how you can use it to balance your client requests on the Linux platform.

Bernard Golden's webcast Why your future depends on open source lay out three main reasons why open source alternatives are sure to lay ahead for your organization. After Bernard's PowerPoint presentation, he took some questions from audience members, but some were left. We bring you these questions in this Q&A.

Microsoft has clarified its IP indemnification policy, saying that it will indemnify claimants against damages as well as just legal costs, but some legal observers say the company still needs to spell out the small print on the protection it is offering customers. Questions on Microsoft's indemnification policy were initially raised after chief executive Steve Ballmer wrote an email to customers claiming that Microsoft offered better protection against legal action over IP violations than its open-source rivals.

Linux cluster vendor Linux Networx has released the Xilo scalable clustered storage system. Combining management software, scalable file systems and storage devices, Xilo pools capacity from multiple storage devices into a single resource to distribute large files.

US security firm TippingPoint has released its Tomahawk test software platform to the open source community, claiming that the offering is the first test tool designed to evaluate the capabilities of network-based intrusion prevention systems (IPS).

SAN FRANCISCO--Sun Microsystems is planning the bold move of releasing the source code of its Solaris operating system, but those eager for details of the plan may have to wait until early 2005.