Thom Holwerda Archive

Google Summer of Code 2006

Google 12 Comments
"A number of you have emailed us with one question on your minds: Will there be a Summer of Code this year? The answer, as you might have guessed, is yes! The SoC is our program to introduce students to the world of Open Source software development. Last year of the 8744 applicants, 419 students were accepted into the program and more than 80% of them succeeded, which means they received the full stipend of $4500. As of today, we're taking in applications from mentoring organizations, so watch that list of mentoring organizations grow!"
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Demystifying Regular Expressions

  Submitted by Mark General Development 18 Comments
"In this article a simple usage of regular expressions is described. Its intention is to bring users to try the most powerful search and replace paradigm available and hopefully start using it. This however can not replace good tutorials available on the sites that are also mentioned in this article. The article is written reproducing actual steps I took to complete my task, to show the specifics and possible problems."
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‘Try KDE’ Aims to Market KDE

KDE 21 Comments
"Try KDE is a new resource listing ways that you can try out KDE without commiting to a full GNU/Linux or BSD install. It includes links to live cds, VMware player images and Klik bundles as well as links to KDE desktops available over NX, with explanations of these technologies. It is linked to from the KDE frontpage and will be updated regularly as more resources are discovered. You the community can help us out, by sending your comments and suggestions to the email address listed at the foot of the Try KDE page."
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Lessig, Stallman on ‘Open Source’ DRM

Open Source 18 Comments
When Sun trumpeted its 'open source DRM' last month, no one at first noticed an unusual name amongst the canned quotes. Lending his support to the rights enforcement technology was Free Software Foundation, Electronic Frontier Foundation board member, and Software Freedom Law Center director, Professor Lawrence Lessig. A name usually associated with the unrestricted exchange of digital media. Debian activist and copyright campaigner Benjamin Mako Hill noticed, and thought this was odd. "The fact that the software is 'open source' is hardly good enough," he wrote, "if the purpose of the software is to take away users' freedom - in precisely the way that DRM does." And on a related note, here are some photos from inside the FSF headquarters in Massa Massat Mass.
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How Piracy Opens Doors for Windows

  Submitted by JCooper Windows 45 Comments
Microsoft estimates it lost about $14 billion last year to software piracy - and those may prove to be the most lucrative sales never made. Although the world's largest software maker spends millions of dollars annually to combat illegal copying and distribution of its products, critics allege - and Microsoft acknowledges - that piracy sometimes helps the company establish itself in emerging markets and fend off threats from free open-source programs.
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Why Windows Is Less Secure Than Linux

  Submitted by Dylan Privacy, Security 112 Comments
"Windows has grown so complicated that it is harder to secure. Well, these images make the point very well. Both images are a complete map of the system calls that occur when a web server serves up a single page of html with a single picture. The same page and picture. A system call is an opportunity to address memory. A hacker investigates each memory access to see if it is vulnerable to a buffer overflow attack. The developer must do QA on each of these entry points. The more system calls, the greater potential for vulnerability, the more effort needed to create secure applications."
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Distrust for Windows Could Help Apple

Apple 68 Comments
A new report out by market research firm Forrester suggests that Apple could double its market share through defections from the Windows platform alone. The firm said that much of this has to do with customers' deep distrust of Microsoft. Apple, along with TiVo, was the only company whose brand trust increased in the last two years. Consumers trust technology brands like Bose, Dell, Sony, Panasonic, and Hewlett-Packard the most, while Toshiba, Hitachi, Gateway, and LG joined Microsoft at the bottom.
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Mozilla Plugs Firefox Code Execution Hole in 1.5.0.2

Mozilla, Gecko 46 Comments
Mozilla has released a new version of the Firefox Web browser with what is described as 'significant security and stability improvements'. Details on the security vulnerabilities being patched were not available April 13 when Firefox 1.5.0.2 was shipped as a high-priority update. However, a source told eWEEK that the most serious flaw could allow 'remote code execution' attacks. A Mozilla spokesperson said information on the security patches will be publicly released soon.
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FreeBSD Status Report: 1st Quarter 2006

  Submitted by Joel Dahl FreeBSD 3 Comments
The latest FreeBSD status report has been released. "The highlights of this quarters report certainly include the availability of native Java binaries thanks to the FreeBSD Foundation, as well as progress has been made with Xen support and Sun's Ultrasparc T1. Futhermore we are looking forward to FreeBSD 6.1 and TrustedBSD audit support has been imported into FreeBSD 7-CURRENT. All in all, a very exiting start to 2006." And on a related note, FreeBSD now boots on the Intel Macs.
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Ubuntu: a Ramble Through Drake Lake

  Submitted by Mark Ubuntu 36 Comments
"I like Ubuntu. I just do. There's a simplicity about it that appeals. Every successive release adds an additional layer of abstraction between the user and the 'plumbing'. While some might pass this off as soft-hearted pandering to a demographic that was never meant to use Linux in the first place, 'Debian for the Lazy', there is a gentle delight in taking a smooth, working OS and working your way down into its innards."
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When Do Users Donate?

  Submitted by mouser Open Source 6 Comments
"This article is a one-year report on the experiments with Donationware at DonationCoder.com. Throughout the article I will focus on the specific experiences of our site in attempting to strike a kind of middle ground - keeping software free but making enough money from donations to fund the site."
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FreeBSD 6.1-RC1 Released

FreeBSD 22 Comments
FreeBSD 6.1-RC1 has been released. "The FreeBSD Release Engineering Team is pleased to announce the availability of FreeBSD 6.1-RC1. It is meant to be a refinement of the 6-STABLE, branch with few dramatic changes. A lot of bugfixes have been made, some drivers have been updated, and some areas have been tweaked for better performance, etc., but no large changes have been made to the basic architecture."
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Vista Won’t Show Fancy Side to Pirates

Windows 151 Comments
With the new operating system, Microsoft is offering plenty of new graphics tricks, including translucent windows, animated flips between open programs and 'live icons' that show a graphical representation of the file in question. But before Vista will display its showiest side, known as Aero, it will run a check to make sure the software was properly purchased. "Those who are not running genuine Windows will not be able to take advantage of the Windows Aero user experience," a Microsoft representative told CNET News.com on Wednesday. Note: We had a slight problem with our submission system today, but it is now fixed. Submit away, boys and girls!
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Leaner Virtualization Coming to Windows, Linux

OS News 20 Comments
Virtualization software that's all the rage today - chiefly VMware, Microsoft Virtual Server, and Xen - lets a single computer run multiple operating systems. Now, a newer variety of virtualization is emerging that employs a lighter-weight approach so that a single operating system can be sliced into independent sections. While details of the concept are just beginning to emerge, it's likely only a matter of time before it shows up in Windows and Linux.
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