IronPython is a new Python implementation targeting the .NET and Mono platforms. It is now available as Open Source Software on a single zip file containing both the source code and the binary executables. On other Python news, here is an example on how to use PyGame.

Flexbeta reviews TurboLinux 10f which includes the first commercial Linux DVD player, PowerDVD, along with Microsoft licensed media codecs and the ability to connect with Apple's iPods.

The Embedded Voice Toolkit allows developers to more easily build embedded speech applications using a graphical user interface (GUI) rather than “command-line” coding. The toolkit provides several key components: A set of Eclipse-based plug-ins generate, manage, and test grammar and custom pronunciations. It also provides extension to IBM's range of tools.

Most of us that work in the IT industry have been around for a long time. We started out in our parents basement writing code in some BASIC environment, ussually Commodore BASIC or QBASIC. Do you remember how thrilling it was? Your first program and it was something extremely basic but the point was it worked. Some of us got hooked right away and kept trying to solve problems and added more and more pushing the capabilities of whatever language we used. As we got older the environments progressed and the programming tools progressed and got more complicated.

This paper is meant to serve as an introductory guide to the basic security and server hardening functions present in AIX. Many of the features and functions shown throughout this guide are applicable to AIX 4.3 and above, but are more directed toward AIX 5.2. This guide attempts to cover a lot of ground and offers useful and necessary insight for anyone administering AIX machines.

Even though the Pocket PC Second Edition has been around for a few weeks, devices equipped with this system are rare, to say nothing about those with a VGA display. In this article, they examine how Microsoft managed to deal with a four times larger display area than we have been used to. Apparently, SE doesn't always give you "true" VGA, and so hacks like this are needed.

This paper compiles and distills the known unique classes of attack, which have presented a threat to web sites in the past. Each class of attack will be given a standard name and explained with thorough documentation discussing the key points. The formation of a Web Security Threat Classification will be of exceptional value to application developers, security professionals, software vendors or anyone else with an interest in web security.

The promise of Desktop Linux (DL) has been long coming. It's made significant progress since the mid-90s when GNOME and KDE came out, giving Linux users a somewhat modern desktop to work upon. However, it's been 7 years and DL hasn't progressed much at all since then. Today, DL is still nothing more than a UNIX-clone with a task bar, a start menu, and a desktop with some icons on it. But why has DL evolved at such a glacial pace?

Xandros announced the release of version 2.5 of the Xandros Desktop OS with an updated CrossOver Office suite. Xandros Desktop 2.5 now offers an upgraded CrossOver Office 3.0.1., supporting Lotus Notes 6.5.1, Microsoft Project 2000/2002, and Microsoft Outlook XP. Current Xandros Desktop OS users can upgrade the software with a single click. All versions of the Xandros Desktop OS now include Linux kernel 2.4.24 and version 1.6 of the Mozilla communications suite.

Microsoft said Tuesday that it was delaying an update to its Windows Server software as well as the first version of Windows to support 64-bit x86 chips such as Advanced Micro Device's Athlon 64.

In which Lindows, which already was in the process of changing its name to Linspire, receives $20M USD from Microsoft for a baker's dozen of domain names and a corporate and product name change which was a fait accompli. The net result? Bill Gates is subsidizing a rival who has its eyes on the desktop OS prize, says the author.

OOVM produces a virtual machine that allows programmers to hook in remotely and modify code on the fly without needing to reboot the environment: which is very useful indeed. It makes software updates transparent to the user.

This paper by Ulf T. Mattsson, Chief Technology Officer, Protegrity Corporation, presents a practical implementation of field level encryption in enterprise database systems, based on research & practical experience from years of commercial use of cryptography in db security.

How many Opteron or Nocona processors can a computer system support? Good question, and one that only AMD and Intel can answer. Since they're not saying, here are some system scalability facts you can draw upon when generating scalability guesstimates.