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Monthly Archive:: March 2007

‘What Apple Gets Right and Why Linux Keeps Slipping Behind’

The founder of the Open Graphics Project writes: "Good design and usability are very important. I haven't paid enough attention to the discussions between Linus and GNOME developers, so I can't address it directly. But what I can say is that a learning curve is not a bad thing. While it's good to think about the total novice, it's even more important to have consistent and logical mechanisms. This way, if someone has to learn something new to use the computer, they have to learn it only once. This is why I think it's good that Apple and Microsoft have UI development guides that encourage developers to make their apps act consistently with other apps in areas where their functionalities conceptually overlap. And this is where I start to get disappointed with GNU/X11/Linux systems."

2006 Operating System Vulnerability Summary

In this article, Matthew uses nmap and nessus against actual installs of various operating systems as part of his research. A variety of operating sytems were tested including Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista Ultimate, MacOS, FreeBSD, Solaris, Fedora Core, and Slackware. "As far as 'straight-out-of-box' conditions go, both Windows and OS X are ripe with remotely accessible vulnerabilities. Even before enabling the servers, Windows based machines contain numerous exploitable holes allowing attackers to not only access the system but also execute arbitrary code. Both OS X and Windows were susceptible to additional vulnerabilities after enabling the built-in services. Once patched, however, both companies support a product that is secure, at least from the outside. The UNIX and Linux variants present a much more robust exterior to the outside. Even when the pre-configured server binaries are enabled, each system generally maintained its integrity against remote attacks."

OpenOffice.org 2.2.0 Released

"The OpenOffice.org Community announce the release of OpenOffice.org 2.2, the latest version of the leading open-source office suite. With upgrades to its word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, and database software, the free software package provides a real alternative to Microsoft's recently-released Office 2007 product - and an easier upgrade path for existing Microsoft Office users. OpenOffice.org 2.2 also protects users from newly discovered vulnerabilities, where users' PCs could be open to attack if they opened documents from, or accessed web sites set up by, malicious individuals."

Solaris JumpStart for x86/x64 Platforms

"Sun's Solaris JumpStart technology is used to automate the installation of the Solaris Operating System and other associated software on multiple nodes of a network. Using Solaris JumpStart software on the Solaris 10 OS for x86/x64 platforms is essentially the same as on Solaris 10 OS for SPARC platforms. However, there are some subtle differences that need to be addressed for correct operation. This document provides the steps and explanations necessary to set up a JumpStart server for Solaris 10 on a Sun x86/x64 machine, along with configuring JumpStart for two or more clients."

Ongoing Investigation Forces Dell to Delay Quarterly Report

Dell is delaying the filing of its fourth-quarter financial report as the PC vendor continues an internal investigation into its own accounting and financial practices. In a March 29 statement, the Round Rock, Texas, company revealed that its own internal auditing committee had found a number of accounting errors, evidence of misconduct and deficiencies in the way the company's finances were controlled.

Microsoft Unlocks Windows Home Server

As momentum grows around its new Windows Home Server line, which is due for release towards the end of this year, Microsoft is looking to keep the love flowing with its hardware partners, software developers and end users alike. Joel Sider, Senior Program Manager for Windows Home Server, told APC that the company intends to release a software development kit for the platform early next month.

Murdock Aims to Close Solaris ‘Usability Gap’

Ian Murdock says he drew a lot of puzzled looks from his colleagues in the Linux community when he joined Sun Microsystems in its newly created position of chief operating platforms officer. 'What's a Linux guy doing at Sun?' he was asked. After all, Ian Murdock is the 'Ian' in Debian Linux, the distribution he created with his wife, Deb. Only eight days on his new job, Murdock spoke at a Software Developers Forum Tuesday in Santa Clara, California, where Sun is based. Murdock, 33, outlined what he thinks needs to be done in his new job in an interview with Robert Mullins.

The GPL Has No (Networked) Future

"There are both popular and unpopular ways of circumventing the Free Software Foundation's General Public License. A very unpopular method, we've come to find out, is via promises of patent protection for users of specific software. However, if you're looking to leverage Free Software without completely fulfilling the requirements of the license, a better method would be to exploit the software as a service loophole, which the latest draft of the GPL3 just legalized."

Microsoft’s Linux Woes

Software behemoth Microsoft could be one of the biggest losers from proposed license changes to the Linux operating system unveiled Wednesday. That’s a possible outcome of updates to the license pushed by the FSF. The FSF wants to make mutually exclusive pacts such as the Novell-Microsoft open-source agreement a violation of the next iteration of the GNU GPL, the license that governs Linux use. "It is unfortunate that the FSF is attempting to use the GPLv3 to prevent future collaboration among industry leaders to benefit customers," said Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s vice president of intellectual property and licensing.

The Cube: Out of the Mountain Too Early

About one year ago, I sold my iBook G4 in order to buy the then upcoming MacBook. Due to an unexpected change of plans (I moved to a new house), that MacBook never reached my desk; I still really missed having a Mac around. Now, almost a year later, I am again back on Mac. So, what did I buy? A sleek black MacBook? An all-powerful Intel PowerMac quad-core? No. David, OSNews' owner, sent me his G4 Cube.

Announcing Fedora 7 Test 3 (6.92)

Fedora 7 Test 3 has been released featuring both GNOME and KDE based live CDs, a prime spin which combines desktop, workstation and server functionality. The merge of Fedora Core and Fedora Extras repositories and infrastructure is in progress. The major components included in this release are GNOME 2.18, KDE 3.5.6 and a 2.6.21rc5 based Linux kernel.

Torvalds ‘Pretty Pleased’ About New GPL 3 Draft

Linus Torvalds, leader of the Linux kernel project and a major figure in the open-source programming movement, said Wednesday he's 'pretty pleased' with changes in a third draft of the GPLv3 released Wednesday. The Linux kernel and many higher-level software packages are governed by the current GPL 2, and Torvalds has expressed strong displeasure with earlier version 3 drafts. After a preliminary analysis of GPL 3, however, some of those concerns are gone or moderated, he said.

Linux-Based OpenGL Development System Without X

An .iso image of myOS has been released. "Minimalistic GNU/Linux system, stripped down of everything, but core necessary files to compile and run OpenGL/C code. It has simplified directory structure and cleaned up internal cross referencing. It can fit single floppy disc without development components. With Scithech SNAP/MGL drivers (based on Mesa) it was possible to run OpenGL without X. Stripped down and modified GNU gcc compiler, mixed with diet libc includes and selected shared files seem to be able to compile all relevant libraries and produce stable and relatively small code. Apart from Necromancer's file manager and OpenGL developing tools, this is pretty much your average Linux thanks to BusyBox."

DragonFly BSD 1.8.1 Released

Dragonfly BSD 1.8.1 has been released. "Security updates for BIND, File, libmagic, and TCPDUMP; X.Org added to various paths, including periodic directories for cron and manual paths; the dynamic loader now properly searches objects, solving problems with a number of pkgsrc applications; the fwe network interface is now properly dependant on Firewire; a bug in Vinum was fixed; update the EST module (CPU voltage/frequency reporting); the virtual kernel now properly handles spurious SIGTRAPs; MFC a bug fix for SMBFS which fixes a kernel panic."

New GPLv3 Draft Takes New Approach to Patents

The FSF has released the third draft of the revised third version of the GNU General Public License. Some of the changes in the new draft, such as the increased clarification and legal language, or the housekeeping changes that reflect new aspects of the license are likely to be accepted. However, the license also includes a new approach to the controversial issue of lock-down technologies as well as more explicit language about patents, including language designed to prevent a re-occurrence of agreements such as the one that Novell entered into with Microsoft - all of which is apt to kindle heated debate as the revision process enters its final stages after fifteen months of intensive work.