Mandrake Linux 9.2 Beta 2 Released
MandrakeSoft has released the second beta version of Mandrake Linux 9.2. A list of changes and download locations can be found here.
Beta Seeds: Panther, Panther Server, Visual Studio “Whidbey”
Apple provided testers and developers with a new pre-release seed of Mac OS X 10.3, code-named Panther. The company also seeded a new Jaguar build, Version 10.2.7. Apple also seeded build 7B20 of Mac OS X Server 10.3 to developers. The new build of Panther Server was posted as two installation CDs. Microsoft has started the next big Visual Studio release "Whidbey" Alpha program that's expected to ship in 2004.
Linux Rated Less Secure than Windows
"This week, however, Linux was also awarded with CC security certification, and as one might expect, this announcement greeted with cheers from the open source community. There's just one catch: Linux got a lower security rating than Windows 2000 did last year." Read it at WinInformant. Update: The WinInformant article is a little slanted in its reporting, since the ratings discussed have little to do with how secure either OS is in real-world use. Keep in mind that to achieve the higher rating, the computer is not allowed to be connected to any network, since network-connected computers are inherently vulnerable. A CNN article shoots a little straighter on the subject. The certification is not a contest to see which is more secure, simply a test to see if the OS matches a certain objective set of criteria. You have to severely cripple a modern OS to make it meet government high security certification.
Microsoft’s plans cloudy for server OS
Microsoft has laid plans for a server version of Longhorn, the next release of Windows. But it remains unclear what the software will include and when it will debut.
GNOME Development Series Desktop 2.3.5
The GNOME Development Series Desktop 2.3.5 "Jebe", is ready for your bug-busting and testing pleasure! It is available for immediate download on ftp.gnome.org and mirrors.
Xandros Desktop 2.0 Beta Program
Xandros, Inc., today announced the opening of the beta program for the 2.0 release of its award-winning Xandros Desktop. Users interested in testing Xandros Desktop 2.0 are invited to apply at the Xandros web site. Xandros is also looking for IT administrators considering mass deployment of the Xandros Desktop to test the forthcoming release of Xandros Networks Enterprise. For more info check here.
ZDNet interviews Michael Robertson, founder of Lindows
"Lindows CEO wants a piece of Microsoft": Q&A with Lindows.com CEO Michael Robertson who wants to turn the Linux operating system into a real alternative to Windows--but he's fighting an uphill battle.
Uncool “Switcher” Flirts Back With The PC
I'm 31 and an old school geek who started on computers with an Atari 800 as a kid. Growing up moved me into PC land until I became a "Switcher" before being a "Switcher" was cool. That's right - I got an original iMac when they first came out and I never looked back. I write software, and I bought the iMac thinking it was time to expand my horizons and maybe make a few more dollars by selling software on both platforms.
Evans Data: Linux Developers Prefer KDE
A recent study by analyst Evans Data concluded that KDE has a small edge, preferred over Gnome among Linux developers 65% vs 56% (with some respondents using both).
Cheap Outsourcing Trends
Primates are becoming the latest high-tech outsourcing trend in a collapsing economic market.
SCO Announces Linux Licensing
"We believe it is necessary for Linux customers to properly license SCO's IP if they are running Linux 2.4 kernel and later versions for commercial purposes. The license insures that customers can continue their use of binary deployments of Linux without violating SCO's intellectual property rights." SCO will be offering an introductory license price of $699 for a single CPU system through October 15th, 2003. UPDATE: SCO may countersue Red Hat, SuSE joins the fray. Read it at Slashdot.
Interview with AROS Developers
The following is an interview with Ola Jensen and Adam Chodorowski, two of the core developers of the Amiga Research Operating System (AROS), a project to develop a open source Amiga OS clone.
Gentoo Linux 1.4 Released
Linux World Expo is underway, and Gentoo has announced the release of version 1.4. It's available at the usual mirrors.
Cross-platform packaging facility OpenPKG 1.3 released
The OpenPKG project released version 1.3 of their unique RPM-based cross-platform Unix software packaging facility.
Four professional Linux OSes compared at InfoWorld
In this extended review - "Linux servers battle for enterprise recognition" - InfoWorld compares four different and well-known Linux products dedicated to business environments, mostly for server use: Mandrake Linux ProSuite 9.1, Red Hat Linux Enterprise Server ES 2.1, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server and TurbolinuxEnterprise Server 8. Many tests, including load tests, have been performed on three different systems. This article underlines the overall excellent quality of all these Linux solutions, with notes from 7.6/10 (TurboLinux) to 8.4/10 (Mandrake).
Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic
If your computer is having persistent stability problems, it may be bad RAM. Now that Windows is a bit more stable than it was back in the bad old days, Microsoft would like to give users a way to point the finger back at their own hardware if their computer is acting up. It released a memory diagnostic utility yesterday.
OSNews Speaks With Ximian’s Miguel de Icaza
The big news today is no doubt Novell's acquisition of Ximian, Inc. So it was that much more interesting to get the chance to speak to Ximian's lead primate, Miguel de Icaza, today and ask him some questions about Ximian, Novell, and their future.
Red Hat Files Complaint Against SCO
"The purpose of this complaint is to demonstrate that Red Hat's technologies do not infringe any intellectual property of SCO and to hold SCO accountable for its unfair and deceptive actions." The article is here.
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this story.
Attorneys Criticial of SCO
An anonymous contributor writes "An interesting legal commentary on SCO can be found at web page for the Law Office of Lewis A. Mettler which includes some highly critical comments about SCO, their actions, and their legal approach. Another attorney, Tom Carey warned that SCO needs to include some interesting terms in its new licenses. Otherwise, "SCO will have committed the business equivalent of extortion, assuming they lose their case against IBM..." Mark Radcliffe, from the same firm as Carey, although he appears to have some doubts about Eben Moglen's OSDL position paper, also points out some issues with SCO's position in the same article."
Novell Acquires Ximian
From the press release: "Novell, Inc., today announced it has acquired privately held Ximian® of Boston, Mass., the leading provider of desktop and server solutions that enable enterprise Linux adoption. This acquisition expands Novell's capacity to provide flexible information solutions to customers worldwide. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed." I happen to be a huge Novell and Ximian fan, so I can only imagine what they have in mind...