2004 July

Having worked in education for five years, I often think of schools as the perfect target market for Open Source. However, as Don Parris shows us in this Linux Journal column, Open Source is just as advantageous for the religious sector.
I’m not a religious man myself, so my reasoning for Open Source in churches is [...]

Scott Granneman’s latest column for Security Focus discusses the problems with e-mail privacy in respect to spammers (and others) using Web bugs and similar tactics to track you via e-mail. He provides a good outline on the development (and possibly future) of such techniques, and also touches on a few ways to defeat them.
Obviously [...]

If you’re new to Linux or are interested in learning more about Linux security, IBM has started a three-part article series that will put you in the right direction. In Part One, the authors define exactly what they mean by “secure” and the three important components of a secure operating system: confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

So what is next on Microsoft’s plate of Open Source software? Just as we are wondering, members of the Open Source community are trying to figure this out as well. When pressed as to what the “next big release might be”, Microsoft responded with, “nothing official to announce at this time”. Hmm, I guess we [...]

Companies can do quite well for themselves by utilizing both Open and Closed Source software. But trying to sift through all of the junk and to find the best application to meet the needs of your company can be a bit of a challenge. This is where the Open Source Advisors come in. These folks [...]

This has to be one of the most balanced Open Source myth busting articles I have ever read. Neil Gunton of Linux world really lets us have it as he shatters common misconceptions that most us have about Linux and Open Source software. He even goes so far as to state that Windows is a [...]

In a fair argument by Dan O’Dowd of Green Hills Software, Linux is not secure enough to trust with the U.S.defense system. His main concern seems to stem from the fact that many of the Linux contributors are based in foreign countries. In a comment that surprised me, he also went on to say that, [...]

Donors to the Open Source movement are just as important as the people who create the software. While private donors are certainly important, corporate donations are becoming more and more critical with each day. Without any question, Novell is one of the biggest donors out their in the world of corporate donors. I am not [...]

According to Karen Faulds Copenhaver, a former partner in the patent and intellectual property group of Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP in Boston, attacks on Open Source are a failing fad. She goes on to explain away a some common misconceptions in addition to interjecting some of her own opinions on the Open Source movement [...]

An article discussing an upcoming seminar created to help you to get Open Source software working for your company. Some of the key areas of discussion will include moving to Linux, planning IT architecture, in addition to examining the the cost/benefit of moving to Open Source software.

According to eWeek, exploiting a system can be as easy as “point, click, root” thanks to the latest release of the Metasploit Framework. Designed as an exploit tool, it allows it’s user to quickly take over a variety of target systems. The scariest part is that this exploit tool was just released at the Black [...]

KDE and Gnome have become the standard window managers for most linux distros these days.There are alternatives however, especially if you have an older system or you are more interested in performance than eye catching graphics.
This article recently posted on Newsforge highlights four such alternatives. These alternatives may not be for you but my [...]

A userspace filesystem hook for Linux 2.4. This is designed to allow implementation of filesystems in any language, plus enabling non-root users to mount filesystems, if possible without compromising system security. Many other features as well, this will most certainly appeal to the hardcore Linux users out there.

In the continued mud flinging contest, Kevin Johnson, Microsoft’s group vice president of worldwide sales, marketing and services told the press to “Get the facts” about Linux and Open Source software. The report from MS Insider goes on to say that Johnson spoke for about 30 minutes on how Microsoft was going to compete against [...]

If you’re going to put a Linux system in a car, why stop at multimedia and web surfing? A fella named Mike in New Zealand is working on the Linux Powered Car Project, the goal of which is to use Linux to do everything from controlling the motor and braking to monitoring current flow and [...]

Where the DashPC does it all, it appears most car-driving geeks are more concerned about music in their car than anything else. There are several ways to do it, ranging from software solutions like ALCAS (A Linux Car Audio System) to the now unfortunately defunct in-dash hardware system Empeg. If you want to get really [...]

If you’ve been looking for a computer system to install in your car, look no further than DashPC. This sucker does it all: GPS navigation, mp3, video, wardriving, web access, and more. It will even interface with your door and trunk locks! And it’s all powered by Linux.
While the DashPC is not a product per [...]

This article just goes to show you that not having access to Linux does not mean that you are kept from enjoying Open Source software. Don’t take my word for it folks, just look at this awesome Open Source software round up.

An unofficial MAME build, AdvanceMAME, provides better video support for TVs, Arcade Monitors, Fixed Frequencies Monitors, and PC Monitors. Runs on Linux as well as other operating systems. Looks very cool - I would definitely recommend checking it out.

“And the winner is…!” That is the phrase that has yet to hit the desktop market, however, it looks like that when it comes to the battle between Linux and Windows in mobile gear and other devices/gadgets, Linux takes home the gold.