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Does getting rid of UNIX favor Linux? Or Does it play right into Microsoft's hands?

Like dozens of other federal, state and local entities, the U.S. Marshal Service is adopting open-source software for some information technology projects, a move that's making Red Hat a potent symbol within the service's IT department. Red Hat Linux may not directly nab more criminals, but it is helping the service run more efficiently.

Look I did not discover this story, but I think it gives perspective to some of the problems Microsoft is confronting and they are not all Linux/Free/Open Source driven. Indeed, I think the headline on the SlashDot entry is a misnomer. Moreover, Google denies it intends to compete for the desktop. The importance is that MS is being challenged by another corporate entity that is really unpredictable and innovative. Furthermore, that challenge emanates from a Linux based company! Microsoft has been too comfortable too long and it senses it is in danger.

Leader in Linux Email and Calendaring to Participate in Lab's Data Center and Desktop Linux Working Groups

This edition of The Locksmith provides a breakdown of the latest update to the SANS-FBI list of the top ten most exploited security threats in Linux/UNIX systems. [BIND, Web servers (Apache, etc), weak passwords, CVS, MTAs, SNMP, OpenSSL, NFS, databases, kernel.]

Massey University took delivery last week of its new Double Helix cluster computer and says it packs anywhere between five to ten times the computational power of the university's existing supercomputer, the 64-node Helix 1.

Red Hat Linux, Solaris 9, Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 Server Added to Supported Platforms

New Product Combines Two Most Popular Microsoft Alternatives Into One Cost-Saving Package

Steve Ballmer's warning to Asian officials that they risk legal action should they dare use Linux instead of Windows has drawn a strong response from a leading open source group.

Open-source software, increasingly popular with budget-conscious companies, is beginning to expand into a new area: The lucrative infrastructure-software market dominated by industry giants such as Microsoft.

This column gets results. A few months ago I suggested that Internet users would do well to give up on Microsoft Corp.'s buggy and insecure Internet Explorer browser and check out some well-crafted alternatives. And so you have, in a big way.

How is the FBI supposed to track down bad guys -- including terrorists -- if it can't rely on cross-agency handling of fingerprints? With new open source software developed on Linux and written primarily by a programmer working for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), fingerprint quality and the ability to match prints taken by a disparate variety of print scanners is improving dramatically.

Software licensing fees can cost firms millions, but most government agencies and businesses are still hesitant to make the transition to open source software.

Known as Lindows in the past, Linspire wouldn’t have many problems if it was based in Brazil. For those who remember, Microsoft sued Lindows over its name alleging something like "it could puzzle users". In Brazil we have Freedows, a Linux-based operating system just like former Lindows. There are two interesting highlights, tough. It's almost completely identical to Windows XP (Lindows wasn't that similar) and it has sort of the government hand on it.

Open-source, GPL, and other forms of freeware sometimes run afoul of myopic company licensing standards. But any organization that's cutting itself off from GPL and other legitimate forms of licensed freeware is seriously hurting its own business, Fred Langa says.

If developing code in open source languages and spending time with luminaries in the local developer community sounds like a good way to spend a few days off work, you should probably consider spending early December in Melbourne at the inaugural Open Source Developers Conference. (OSDC)

Whether Linux is suitable for the desktop yet is a point debated by analysts, journalists, hobbyists, and pundits worldwide. It's easy to find stories about enterprise adoption of Linux for servers, and corporate CIOs are ever so willing to extol the virtues of open source software -- as long as it is kept in the back. No one ever goes all the way and puts Linux on the secretaries' computers (OK, maybe it happened once). Perhaps the way to see Linux adopted globally in the enterprise is to start developing desktop users at a tender age. That's what Scott Belford and the other members of the Hawaii Open Source Education Foundation (HOSEF) are counting on.

With a relatively hostile environment that has pitted proprietary software against open source as a backdrop, the Free Software Foundation, the steward of the GNU General Public License, is working on the first revamp to the license in 13 years.

Sun is moving closer to an open-source process for its Java software this week with the public posting of the source code of "Mustang", its next version for desktop computers.

Most wireless network interface cards (NICs) lack a bundled Linux driver, but of course they come with a Windows driver. Some open source community developers, on their own time, study the product specifications and create their own drivers, and allow the community to use and develop them further. But some popular chipset vendors don't release their specifications, making it impossible for their device to work for the Linux community. End of the line? No way.