Why Red Hat Owns Linux

Red Hat 51 Comments
"Red Hat is the biggest bandwidth user on the East Coast," company vice president Mark de Visser said. "If we wanted to make a killing in the retail market, we could, but that's not the intent. The intent is to get it into the hands of the most people." Read the article at NewsFactor. The article in a single sentence: Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the upcoming leader of the Linux market: Red Hat.
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NSA Backdoor Key Into All MS OSes Since WIN95 OSR1

  Submitted by Wade Gilbreath Privacy, Security 51 Comments
This is old news, but still, everyone should be aware of it. And on a theoretical basis, the co-creator of UNIX, Ken Thompson wrote a paper on which he explains that it is possible to add a backdoor to a closed source compiler and when you first compile any other compiler (e.g. GCC), any concequent compiles from this new compiler, would include the backdoor by default. Pessimistic thought of the day: nothing is safe. Neither Windows or Unix. I wonder how "safe" the Security-Enhanced Linux from NSA is. It might secure you from others, but does it secure you from NSA itself? ;P Update: More info here (Ms reply on the issue) and here.
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Bill’s Bet on .NET Fails to Impress

.NET 30 Comments
"Mounting anger over Microsoft's business tactics could hamper uptake of its .NET application development platform. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates claims to have "bet the company" on .NET, which is both an over-arching business strategy and a software development platform to rival Sun Microsystems' Java technology. But Gartner research shows resentment of Microsoft's licensing practices and fear of relinquishing control is feeding scepticism of .NET among IT executives." Read the report at News.com.au.
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UnitedLinux Releases Version 1.0

Linux 33 Comments
Today the UnitedLinux group announced the release of Version 1.0 of its UnitedLinux product, a standards-based Linux operating system targeted at the business user. Founding companies of UnitedLinux are Linux industry leaders Conectiva, SCO Group, SuSE and Turbolinux. UnitedLinux Version 1.0 is the engine that powers products to be sold by the four companies, each with its own local language support, value-add features, and pricing. There is already a new article, describing UnitedLinux, at DeveloperWorks. Our Take: Erm, great, but why there isn't a "buy now" link or a "contact me" form anywhere in that site?
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Lycoris Desktop/LX Linux – A Step Away from Windows XP

  Submitted by Eric Murphy Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 43 Comments
"I am impressed with Lycoris. They have made a good start at making Linux accessible to the casual user. There is a long way to go yet but the makers should be proud of the work they have done. It is capable of competing with Windows in the home, something which other distro's of Linux have not yet achieved. However Lycoris could not compete with Red Hat or similar distro's in a workstation environment. Then again, you wouldn't use XP Home edition as a workstation OS. Lycoris is to XP Home what Red Hat is to XP Professional." Read the review at TechSeekers.
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FreeType 2.1.3 Released

Wayland 28 Comments
This Freetype release contains many important enhancements, including much improved automatic and Postscript hinters, resulting in higher quality of anti-aliased text. Announcement here, more information about this release here, and here is how you enable the bytecode for best quality (patented, not enabled by default - scroll down to read how to).
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Windows Longhorn Alpha Leaks to the Web

Windows 37 Comments
"An internal alpha build of Microsoft's next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, made its way onto the Internet early Tuesday. The leaked build, which is numbered 3683, appears to be from late September and sports quite a few new feature concepts—although many are not yet functional. The oft-rumored Longhorn Sidebar can be enabled via Taskbar settings and uses XML to display customizable tiles such as a clock, virtual desktop manager and Internet search. The Start Menu can also be docked within the Sidebar, completely removing the Taskbar that has been a staple of Windows since 1995." Read the eWeek article for more information.
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Interview: Ballmer Speaks Out

Microsoft 20 Comments
Under the leadership of CEO Steve Ballmer, Microsoft is free to turn its attention to such initiatives as acquisitions, .Net, shared source code and a more componentized Windows. Ballmer addressed these issues and others, including why Office 11 requires Windows XP, in an interview at Microsoft headquarters, in Redmond, Wash., with eWeek. Read the interview at eWeek.
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SCO Linux 4.0 Announced

SCO 2 Comments
"Coincident with Tuesday's release of the UnitedLinux distribution, the SCO Group is announcing shipment of SCO Linux 4.0, based on the UnitedLinux product. Though it will be the SCO Group's first release under the "SCO Linux" name, the numbering convention is in keeping with the company's previous existence as Caldera, whose last distribution was 3.1.1." Read the report at LinuxAndMain.
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SuSE to Push Desktop Linux

SuSE, openSUSE 12 Comments
"Anybody who is using a desktop computer' is a potential customer for SuSE Linux in its latest push for the open-source operating system. SuSE plans to announce in January an effort to bring the open-source Linux operating system to desktop computers, an attack on Microsoft that will be bolder than similar initiatives from Red Hat and Sun Microsystems." Read the report at ZDNews.
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Ballmer: ‘Tablets Will Displace Laptops’ and Gates: ‘PCs are the Past’

Microsoft 43 Comments
Although tablet PCs represent just a sliver of the PC market today, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer says the new category could eventually account for one-third of all computers--by supplanting the laptop. However, Microsoft is to shift focus from PCs to other computer gizmos: Software giant Microsoft will emphasize devices other than the personal computer in the coming year, Chairman Bill Gates said Sunday. Microsoft's attention is on Internet services, multimedia devices, handheld computers and tiny chips to make everyday objects computer-powered, Gates said.
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