OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Microsoft’s WMF Patch Leaks Out

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-04 Windows 43 Comments

The saga around the WMF flaw in Windows continues. "A cryptographically signed version of Microsoft's patch for the Windows Metafile vulnerability accidentally leaked onto the Internet late Tuesday, adding a new wrinkle to the company's round-the-clock efforts to stop the flow of malicious exploits. The MSRC (Microsoft Security Response Center) acknowledged that a slip-up caused 'a fast-track, pre-release version of the update' to be posted to a security community site and urged users to 'disregard' the premature update."

Interview: Team Leader of the Ubuntu Server Project

Submitted by matteo campofiorito 2006-01-04 Ubuntu 16 Comments

"With a message dated 14th December 2005 the Ubuntu server team was officially created. This group of programmers has the task of creating a server-specific version of Ubuntu Linux. This is particularly interesting, since up to now the Debian-based distro has been desktop-oriented. That's why I decided to ask some questions to Fabio Massimo Di Nitto, the server team leader."

Submitted by Ben2040 2006-01-04 Google 18 Comments

As many had already predicted, the LA Times rumour about Google entering the PC market has been squashed by both Google and Wall Mart. "Reporters calling Google's public relations staff about the rumor were told it is 'wholly inaccurate.' Similarly, Wal-Mart's rather busy PR team classified the Times speculation as 'a rumor without any truth to it at all.' And why would a high-flyer like Google want to enter the death match that is the PC industry? Slugging it out with the likes of Dell and HP for a few dollars doesn't seem appealing when you've got a high-margin ad business humming."

A Naive User’s Guide to Running Windows More Securely

Guest post by Alcibiades 2006-01-04 Windows 40 Comments

Like a lot of people who have worked in the business, I find myself in conversations about computer security with people who are having problems or know people who have problems. I wrote this to save me from explaining the same thing over and over again to different people, and to save them the trouble of having to make notes as we talked. It was meant to be something you could give to a 'naive user' and have them be able to read and follow it more or less unaided, and while not being a complete guide, at least be something that made them more secure than before they got it.

Shuttleworth on Why the DCC Will Fail

Submitted by John Mills 2006-01-04 Debian 37 Comments

Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu Linux, has explained why he thinks the DCC (Debian Common Core, but don't let the Debian guys hear that) will fail. "The vision behind DCC, which is indeed compelling, is that it would provide a common platform for certification, and that the distros that make up the DCC would all ship exactly that same core. But it strikes me that this approach has never worked in the past. In fact, every distro ALWAYS modifies elements of the core, and with good reason. And while we would love that not to be the case, the truth is that the reasons to specialise outweigh the benefits of homogeneity."

‘Opera Is Faster, More Secure, More Compliant Than Firefox’

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-04 Opera 168 Comments

"With Opera recently releasing their web browser completely free of Ads, it is a good time to let the truth be told. Not only is Opera faster then Firefox in all performance areas, it is much more secure and more compliant."

KDE 4 Set to Make Device Interaction Solid

Submitted by Anonymous 2006-01-04 KDE 44 Comments

"After a lot of hacking behind the scenes, a new initiative to improve KDE's interaction with network and hardware devices has been launched. Solid will provide a robust basis for the dynamic modern desktop in KDE, which needs to be aware of available hardware and networks, paving the way for innovative functionality. Users should see KDE applications taking advantage of Solid in KDE 4, from the most basic Plasma applets and complex applications to desktop-wide awareness. Developers will be able to take advantage of a robust, flexible and portable API and will be integrated into the Plasma engine. It will make use of existing technologies like HAL."

Windows XP Home: Obsolete Sooner Than You Expect

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-04 Windows 64 Comments

"Microsoft set out to adopt a formal and rigid support lifecycle in 2002, back at a time when most analysts were expecting to see Windows Vista within a couple of years. My own point of view was that this lifecycle business had a lot to do with Microsoft's then-new volume licensing scheme, which among other things is oriented towards selling software subscriptions. If you're buying a subscription for software, you can see how lifecycle plans become important. However, delays in Windows Vista coupled with a questionable approach to 'consumer' products means that 2007 will carry a few surprises unless policy changes are made at Redmond."

US-CERT: 5198 Linux, Windows OS Flaws in 2005

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-04 Privacy, Security 59 Comments

"The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team released its year-end summary of computer vulnerabilities. While Windows is regarded as the most insecure operating system, the US-CERT found four times as many vulnerabilities specifically related to Unix and Linux. Of 5198 reported flaws, 812 were for the Windows, 2328 for Unix and Linux, and 2058 more affected more than one operating system. Notably missing from the list of Windows vulnerabilities is the recently discovered Windows Metafile issue. No vulnerabilities were listed for Apple's Mac OS X, however several had been disclosed during the year. Also, since OS X is based on Unix, it is vulnerable to some of the flaws associated with its core operating system." Note: The link is fixed. I have no idea what happened there, sorry guys!

Submitted by Tyr. 2006-01-04 Apple 24 Comments

Paul Thurrot continues losing his religion by switching his wife to the Mac: "This conversion deserves a bit of background. I am, as you might know, one of the more prominent Windows-based writers on the Web. This simple fact makes the notion that I'd buy a Mac for my wife seems like an April Fools joke, I know. But the truth is, I've owned one or more Macs since summer 2005, and I'm a big fan of Mac OS X, albeit one who is perhaps more honest about the system's shortcomings than the typical Mac fanatic. That said, Apple's computer systems are viable for a wide range of users, including graphic artists, photographers, and other creative types. And a truly simple system like the Mac mini is perfect for the mass market, those people who simply need email, Web access, and word processing."

AMD’s ‘Live’ To Rival Intel’s Viiv

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-04 AMD 2 Comments

If Grand Funk Railroad is on your shopping list, Advanced Micro Devices has the computer for you. The processor maker will unveil its 'Live' brand at the Consumer Electronics Show, which takes place this week in Las Vegas. The brand - whose logo will be printed on a sticker on the chassis of a desktop or notebook - will indicate that the computer in question is tuned for home entertainment. Live PCs will come with 7.1 surround sound capabilities, for instance, said Hal Speed, a marketing architect for AMD.

MA Secretary Trimarco Confirms Administration Support for ODF

Submitted by Andy Updegrove 2006-01-04 Office 5 Comments

"Only a few blog entries ago it was my sad lot to report that Massachusetts CIO Peter Quinn had resigned, leaving the fate of his effort to mandate use of the OpenDocument format (ODF) hanging in the air. Tonight, I'm pleased to report, definitively (and exclusively), that the Massachusetts administration has confirmed that it will stand not only by open format standards in general (as earlier reported in the press), but behind ODF specifically as well."

Submitted by Tyr. 2006-01-04 Apple 4 Comments

"Don't have a shiny new iMac G5? But you want to make a Mac the center of your home entertainment system? Don't despair. Instead of shelling out thousands for a system, use this guide to connect an existing Mac to your home stereo and television."

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About C Types

Submitted by anonymous 2006-01-04 General Development 3 Comments

"The C type system has been adapted to a great number of architectures. As C was adapted to new systems, decisions had to be made. Should the int type be the same size on every new system, or should it be the most convenient size on every system, even if this meant it wasn't always the same size? The first article of the series introduces the type system itself, explaining the basic types and the system of type qualifiers and storage-class specifiers."

Submitted by Resolution 2006-01-03 Windows 51 Comments

Microsoft has updated its advisory today on the critical Windows flaw to state that development of the patch is complete, and they are now in the process of testing it. The expected release date for the patch is currently set for January 10, which will be included as part of Microsoft's monthly release of security bulletins. In the meantime, Microsoft advices against using a third party fix which appeared.

Submitted by diegocg 2006-01-03 Linux 58 Comments

Linux 2.6.15 has been released after two months and a week of development. You can check the comprehensible changelog or grep the full changelog. There are some new features like shared subtrees, UDP fragmentation offload, PPP MPPE encryption (VPN), NTFS write support (except for creating files), PPC64 thermal improvements, support for the late-2005 powerbook series, SATA passthru support (for SMART), console rotation for fbcon, nf_conntrack subsystem, some scalability and performance improvements, and lots of other changes. As always, download it from Kernel.org, or wait for your distributor to ship it.

Intel Launches Yonah, New Pentium Ds

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-03 Intel 45 Comments

"Intel has started shipping its 65nm dual-core mobile Pentium processor, Yonah, along with Centrino bundles based on the new processor. The five processors are clocked at 2.16GHz, 2GHz, 1.83GHz, 1.66GHz and 1.66GHz (single core), and operate on a 667MHz frontside bus, connecting across a FCBGA6 or FCPGA6 pin-out. All processors sport 2MB of L2 cache." In addition, "Intel has debuted its latest dual-core desktop Pentium D processors. The chip giant this week added four models to its price list; all containing 4MB of L2 cache split into two 2MB chunks, one for each of the two cores in the chip package. All four operate on an 800MHz frontside bus. The CPUs are clocked at 2.8GHz, 3GHz, 3.2GHz and 3.4GHz."

Microsoft Employees Ponder the Fate of Internet Explorer

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-03 Internet Explorer 95 Comments

"The saga of Internet Explorer, the piece of software that once brought the Department of Justice to the brink of breaking up Microsoft, continues to eat away at the company. Several Microsoft employees have been reporting on their blogs that they feel the browser is not receiving adequate attention from upper management, and that it reflects badly on Microsoft as a result."

More RISC OS 2006 predictions

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-03 RISC OS No Comments

"Looking pretty much like a blank canvas, 2006 is barely out of its box and plastic wrapping. With a whole year ahead of us, anticipation is mounting on what will appear over next 12 months. Sadly, we didn't get a time machine nor a lottery win for Christmas, so rather than confidently predicting what will emerge, we'll settle for making educated guesses instead."

Dell Puts Its Chips on Intel

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-03 Intel 26 Comments

It wasn't too long ago that having technology from AMD was a key differentiator for a systems maker. Now, staying only with Intel chips is setting Dell apart from its competitors. As vendors such as Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems grow their Opteron-based portfolios, and as AMD continues to gain market share, Dell executives say there are no plans to introduce servers or PCs running on AMD processors.