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If I started a new automobile company, and called it Daverolet, and marketed my product as a replacement for Chevrolet, that would be dishonest and shady. And, if I made a distro, marketed it as a replacement for Windows, and called it Dindows, that would be the exact same thing. There is no difference, and it smacks of used-car salesmanship techniques. I have always been nauseated to see Lindows show up in my pending stories queue.

Few programming languages can boast a rise in popularity as meteoric as that of PHP. The now well-publicized story of a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) scripting-language-turned-IT-industry blockbuster shows that success is not always the product of methodical planning and marketing studies. But the real questions are now related to how this success will survive adoption by the big IT industry. The very fact that Oracle, among other major players, is focusing some of its attention on PHP indicates that the language has come of age.

Attention has focused of late on how open-source Linux is displacing Solaris, Windows NT and other OSs. Effects are being felt in the database world as well, as MySQL especially seems to be displacing other DBs and gaining open-source traction.

A Swedish upstart is challenging Microsoft in the database arena by utilizing the same low-end-assault tactics that the software giant employed to gain a foothold.

Lindows, Inc. today announced that the company's desktop Linux operating system LindowsOS has been renamed to Linspire. The website http://www.lindows.com has been replaced by http://www.linspire.com, which will now be the primary site for consumers who are looking for information, who want to purchase any Lindows, Inc. products, or are looking for support for previously purchased software.

MySQL AB, developer of the world's most popular open source database, today launched MySQL Cluster, a new open source database clustering technology for applications requiring continuous availability. MySQL Cluster combines the MySQL(R) database with a clustering architecture to deliver 99.999 percent availability to mission-critical database applications. It is the first affordable, enterprise-scale database clustering software.

PHPClasses.org has a new award for the PHP community out there. The PHP Innovation award provides recognition to developers who make outstanding contributions to the PHP community.

Australia's top information technology decision-makers have a limited understanding of open source and very low awareness of open source products other than Linux, according to a leading analyst.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil start-up Ponto-i has developed a jukebox for public venues that runs on sophisticated embedded Linux technology, but has a retro look reminiscent of jukeboxes from the 50s. The "Digipop" jukebox runs a custom Linux distribution based on Debian, along with LinuxBIOS, and uses a mix of custom and commodity PC hardware.

DoS in mod_ssl and log escape sequences vulnerability.

What happens when ex-Lycoris employees join a Linux-friendly hardware computer reseller? Apparently, a new desktop Linux distro with a kick: the hardware that comes with it is meant to give you the Apple experience. ION Linux is a Debian-based distro that is meant to work well with the hardware it sells with. Read on for our interview with Element Computer regarding their new upcoming products and a screenshot of ION.

[LWN subscribers only content] Last week we pointed out the bizarre press release from Green Hills Software which tries to paint free software as a Trojan horse that will hand control of U.S. defense systems over to the Chinese and Russians. Here's our response. In summary, the PR is just as silly as it seems, but it would be complacent and foolish to assume that nobody will be able to plant a back door into a free system.

Welcome to this year's 15th issue of DWN, the weekly newsletter for the Debian community.

IBM is determined to keep its campaign to encourage autonomic computing development in the public eye. On Tuesday, Big Blue and its DeveloperWorks site announced the debut of a no-cost, Autonomic Computing Zone to help developers, ISVs, and customers at all levels learn the skills they need to build and implement autonomic environments for business transformation.

Vendors have attempted to thwart Linux(R) through lawsuits and legal actions and, most recently, are fueling the FUD surrounding Linux and the security threat it poses to our nation's defense systems. Open software standards and interfaces remain widely misunderstood and misrepresentative claims by technology companies continue to be the norm, not the exception.

Could it be that Microsoft's core business, the Windows operating system on desktops and laptops, is really under threat from Linux? "I think it's inevitable," says AJ McKee, the public relations officer for the Irish Linux Users Group (ILUG), an organisation that supports the open source operating system in Ireland. "I think that the sheer number of developers working on Linux, constantly improving it, means that it will eventually become much more widely adopted."

We recently highlighted some of the new features of the Linux 2.6 kernel. Now, we'll look at the process of compiling and installing a new kernel safely, without overwriting the existing kernel.

PeopleSoft Inc. will support Red Hat Linux for PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne, meaning that customers who choose to run their applications on Linux can reduce their total cost of ownership by using an open source, secure, and stable operating system, the company says.

This tutorial introduces different types of database objects and programming methods. This is the first tutorial in a series of seven tutorials that you can use to help prepare for the DB2 UDB V8.1 Family Application Development Certification exam (Exam 703).

You may never have heard of Swatantra Software, but Linux, open source and free software should ring a bell. In January, attending the fourth World Social Forum (WSF) as a freelance journalist, I got to know this term. Swatantra in the Hindi language means freedom. This is what the Free Software Foundation of India is promoting: Freedom in the use, modification and exchange of software.