W.I.L. Tech-News Highlights for March 2005

Operating Systems

Giving Microsoft the boot – Part 1: What you gain and lose by ditching Windows, Part II: Getting the most out your PC hardware.

Installing software: A Linux vS. Windows comparison – link.

Linux

Michael Robertson not only took on the record industry in court and in the marketplace, but now he is eyeball-to-ankle with Microsoft – link.

A history of Free and Open Source – link.

Stallman on the state of GNU/Linux – link 1, link 2.

The role of WINE in Linux desktop enterprise migration strategies – link.

Help for Linux newcomers

Installing Linux (uses Kanotix distribution) – The warm up, Upgrading.

Resurrect your old PC for music, with (Knoppix) Linux / My First Linux – link.

Which Linux distro does one recommend when they all “suck”? – link.

And the best Linux desktop is ... (it depends) – link.

Grub boot-loader from the ground up – link.

TUX Magazine debut signals new vitality in Linux market – link.

Jim Curtin, CEO of Win4Lin, a company that makes software that allows users to run Windows from within Linux, interviewed – link.

Xfce is a nimble Linux desktop without the overhead that can bog down the alternatives – link. Xfce 4.2.1 is out – link. XFce readies new file manager – link.

Blackbox is back – link.

Why Novell’s internal migration to Linux desktops is a landmark story – link.

A Linux Island in a C:\ of Windows: a series on adding Linux to your workplace desktop – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

KDE 3.4 is out, reviewed – link. KDE talks up v3.4 – link. KDE 3.4 features improved speed, stability, looks – review.

SuperKaramba is an application that lets you add a wow-factor to your KDE desktop, and makes many small tasks easier and provides some new ways to go about them – review.

GNOME 2.10 released – link. The GNOME 2.10 desktop and developer platform features outlined – link.

Linux.com’s “CLI Magic” series latest – Antiword, Birthday, Wait or Sleep?. Series index here.

Linux kernel 2.6.11 has been released – link. What new features should be included in 2.6.12? – link. Linux 2.6.x.y kernel releases for major stability and security fixes – link. Is the kernel development process broken? (not really) – link.

Linux still struggling for desktop acceptance – link. Is Linux ready for the desktop? – link.

Intel starts big reseller desktop Linux push – link.

Xen is a paravirtualization technology for the Linux kernel that lets you test new upgrades without disturbing the original system – link.

Basic color management for X – link.

Europe is now the undisputed leader in developing strategies for migration to Linux and open source software – link.

Creating images of your Linux system with SystemImager HowTo – link.

XOrg catches up with Longhorn/OS X’s 3D desktop acceleration – link.

Tom’s Hardware Guide interviews Groklaw founder Pamela Jones – link.

Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 for Linux is a welcome addition to the Linux software landscape – link. Discussion here.

Two Australian banks considering providing Linux-based bootable CDs to consumers to ensure Internet banking security – link.

How much will Linux training cost you? – link.

A comment on the bugs, security flaws, etc. in Linux and OSS vs. Windows and closed source programs – link.

FellowshipChurch.com explains its change from .NET to Linux/Apache/PHP/PostgreSQL – link.

ISVs keep Linux Standard Base rolling – link.

BSDs, other Unixes

Debian vs. FreeBSD as a Web serving platform – Part 1, Part 2.

BSD Certification Group announced – link.

A Solaris Carol – link.

Windows and DOS

WinXP tweaking: a guide to protecting your PC from the outside world – link.

64-Bit Windows XP coming next month – link.

The Ultimate Troubleshooter helps clean the junk files out of a Windows installation, and shut down unnecessary running processes – review.

Microsoft says Longhorn and other software products will include six brand new typefaces created especially for extended on-screen reading – link.

Microsoft rejoices as Argentina launches “cheap PC” program. Bridging the digital divide ... one Windows licence at a time? – link.

Longhorn could be tough sell for Microsoft – link.

MS-DOS paternity dispute goes to court – link.

Enhanced DR-DOS v7.01.07 has been released – link.

TextOS, a floppy-based OS/programming language built on top of FreeDOS, v. 1.0b6 released – link.

Mac

Mac Mini as an embedded development platform – link.

Apple users fixated on aesthetics – link.

Apple reenters the productivity application arena with the $79 IWork ‘05 package, which updates Keynote presentation app and includes revolutionary new word processor, Pages – link.

Other OS’s

Novell’s Brainshare 2005 coverage – Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

Hurd developer Marcus Brinkmann interviewed – link.

AmigaOS4 Pre-release reviewed – link. New AmigaOS4 video available – link.

MorphOS 1.4.4 released – link.

eComStation roadmap 2005 – link.

Zeta 1.0, a successor to BeOS, is almost ready for release – link. A close look at the Zeta “Venture” kernel – link.

Applications

Resolving the mail servers identity crisis: how to get Dspam, Postfix, and Procmail to play well together – link.

Open Source equivalents to Windows software – link.

TSClient is a remote desktop application supporting major remote desktop protocols -- link.

Macro Magic: m4 tutorial – Part One.

Databases

Josh Berkus, one of the PostreSQL core team members, interviewed – link. Discussion here.

Do XML-based databases live up to the hype? – link.

Seeds of Open Source Ingres continue to grow – link.

Ingres and Open Source, a success story – link.

When to switch from MS SQL to MySQL – link.

Internet applications

Are you safer with Firefox? (Probably, but not obviously) – link. Discussion here.

Putting Firefox on steroids – link.

GreaseMonkey plugin for Firefox a two-edged sword – link.

Opera 8 Beta 3 released – link.

2005 text mode browser roundup – link.

BitTorrent 4.0 is more business-friendly – link. Legitimate use, open source, keep BitTorrent out of court – link. Getting started with BitTorrent and Azureus – link.

Wordpress is a strong blogging platform and an exemplary open source application – link.

Email, IM, and even iPods are becoming popular alternatives to peer-to-peer networks – link.

OpenOffice.org news

OpenOffice.org beta 2.0 gets some looks – link 1, link 2.

OpenOffice.org Beta 2.0 could spell trouble for Microsoft – link. Database functionality included in OO.o 2.0 will go a long way toward making the system a viable alternative to Microsoft Office – link.

Open Office.org team interviewed – link.

OO.o vector-graphics editor Draw can make short work of creating all kinds of charts – link.

Several new features of OO.o 2 beta use the Java Runtime, which concerns some members of the FOSS community – link. Discussion here.

Desktop-oriented applications

Department of Justice signs 5-year deal with Corel to use WordPerfect – link.

AnandTech Guide to Better Photos: Post-Processing – link.

Nero CD burning app comes to Linux (NeroLinux) – link.

Xara X1 puts the big-name vector graphics editors to shame when it comes to speed, and is not lacking in features – review.

ScanSoft’s PDF Converter Professional 2 turns PDFs into editable Word files, and converts any file into a PDF file – review.

Keynote is an open source note-taking application for Windows, written in Delphi, is powerful, highly configurable, and comes packed with features that really help you take control of your information – link.

AmaroK is a step up for Linux audio players – link.

Make your Windows desktop apps open source – link.

Ham (radio) and Wine go well together – link.

3D home planning software suggestions sought – link.

Open source translation tools – link.

ImageMagick: A graphics wizard for the command line – link.

Using KOffice to create good-looking reports – link.

Building an Internet radio recorder with VLC Player – link.

Programming

OpenCroquet is a “a true collaborative internet-enabled three dimensional design environment” based on Squeak. Alan Kay is among the project leaders – link.

Unified Modeling Language version 2.0 discussed – link.

Key open-source programming tool suite, GCC, due for overhaul – link. Discussion here.

A look at what is coming in the next major version (22) of GNU emacs – link.

Language Driven Development is a new theory about designing and implementing software and systems – link.

On the possibility of True Visual Programming – link.

Most of IBM’s latest gift to the Open Source community is de facto abandonware, but at least they did not actually abandon it – link.

GNU Arch is an Open Source version control management system that is an alternative to CVS or Subversion, or closed-source Bitkeeper – link.

A big setback on software patents – link.

GUI, Web programming

Qt GUI test tool froglogic Squish 1.3 released – link.

Open Clip Art Library release 0.11 announced – link.

JPGraph is a set of programs written in PHP that plots data into a wide range of graphs and formats the results – link.

Adobe unveils Open Source library – link.

HTML WYSIWYG editors come to Linux – link.

How XHTML 2.0 is changing the way people think about Web linking – link.

Tim Bray on the origin of XML – link.

Faster XML ahead? – link.

Using XQuery to build a database of Academy Awards trivia – link.

Building richly interactive Web apps with Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript + XML) – link.

Web Design Garage is targeted at the “garage” level designer: small business professionals, hobbyists, and technophiles – book review.

C/C++/Java family

Eclipse is taking the Java development world by storm and is likely to prove the IDE of choice for that community for some time to come, but provides a conundrum for CIOs and managers of IT development teams – link.

Buoy makes simple Java UI programming a snap – link.

OCaml vs. C++ for Dynamic Programming – link.

Scripting and high-level languages

Dynamic programming languages on the rise – link.

Komodo, an IDE for Perl, Python, PHP, and TCL, version 3.1 released, and the Linux version shows major speed improvements -- link.

Efficient Web application development with Ruby on Rails tutorial, Part 2 – link. Part 1 – link. Exploring Ruby on Rails – link. Agile Web Development With Rails is due out in July.

Teaching Ruby objects how to persist – link.

Big talk with the creator of Smalltalk, and much more – link. Discussion here.

PHP 5 Power Programming is a good introduction to the language – book review.

Evidence that Python is advancing into the enterprise – link. Discussion here.

Miguel de Icaza explains how to “get” Mono – link. Mono 1.1.5 released – link.

Security & Privacy

Securing your online privacy with Tor – link.

What value your security certification? – comment.

Spies infiltrate zombie computer networks – link. Study finds botnet attacks worse than expected – German researchers say hackers control more than a million PCs – link.

SmoothWall is a free application that enables one to convert an old PC into a dedicated firewall, and has a friendly interface and more configuration options than standard hardware firewalls – link. Two free floppy-based Linux firewalls, floppyfw and Coyote Linux – link.

World under attack, says Cyber Alert – book review.

Phishing scams and spam are on the rise, while botnets are shrinking, Symantec says – link.

Paris Hilton a victim of T-Mobile’s Web flaws? – link.

How shall I own your mobile phone today? – link.

Hackers grab LexisNexis info on 32,000 people – link.

Internet users massacre cookies, companies and customers loose faith – link.

Utility companies are been urged to review cyber security risks as the industry moves over from proprietary technologies to cheaper Windows-based systems – link.

OpenSSH 4.0 released – link.

“DVD Jon” reopens iTunes back door – link.

Business school “hacks” raises ethical questions – link.

Identity thieves thwarted by perl hacker – link.

Kevin Mitnick’s sequel fails to hack it – book review.

MessageLabs offers e-mail service that encrypts messages sent between business partners – link.

Tips for when hackers strike – link.

Holes, patches, defenses

Kaspersky unveils a slew of security products, for businesses, home users, and mobile devices – link.

Alternative browser spyware infects IE anyway – link.

The strange decline of computer worms – link.

Where, oh where, is a decent Windows server firewall? – link.

What to do if you suspect your PC is infected with a virus – link.

Identity thieves are going wireless in their quest to steal your personal info – link.

Desktop anti-spyware software is not doing the job, IT professionals have concluded – link.

Securing a site’s production environment – Part One.

Linux specialist Astaro claims first product on any OS to combine network firewall protection with an anti-spyware gateway – link. Astaro Security Linux 5.1 reviewed – link.

IBM to offer service to bounce unwanted e-mail back to the computers that sent them – link 1, link 2.

Symantec warns that Mac OS X is a hacker target – link. Company backs off bounty for Mac OS X virus designed to counter Symantec claims, after concerns about legal liability were raised – link.

Trojans, malicious programs that pose as benign apps, are usurping network worms to become the greatest malware menace – link.

The sad story of secure mobile browsing – link.

Lawsuits drive “Spam King” Richter to bankruptcy – link.

ISPs join to fingerprint internet attacks, looking to create possibility of quicker response to hacker attacks – link.

Miscellaneous

Digital memories: cheap to take, cheaper to lose – link.

Open Source spirit lives in the next generation of kids – link.

Chocolate that is good for you – link.

Business

Analyst hopes HP and its next CEO can deliver on the strategy that Michael Capellas and Carly Fiorina formulated, and Carly chose to ignore – link.

The why’s of Dell’s withdrawl from the white box market – link.

When it comes to inconveniencing your customers, and sometimes even offending them, are some sales tactics worth it in the long run? – link.

Google and Amazon: The next media empire? EPIC 2014 is a provocative Flash movie – link.

The Internet

Google algorithms exploited by the unscrupulous, to the extent that it will take less than a year for the Google search engine to become virtually useless – link.

Founder of the popular open source weblog software admits to gaming the web’s search engines by hosting tens of thousands of “articles” that contain hidden, paid-for keywords – link.

Gang rape victim fights back with web aid – link.

If bloggers are journalists, then everyone is a journalist, right? – link.

Home Internet use plateaus, growth shifts elsewhere – link.

Microsoft patent too close to IPv6, lawyers say – link.

Why start a new Web site when you can sell ads against other people’s sites? – link.

Extreme IPv6 is a Web site for people who want to follow the news on that topic.

Verisign set to hang on to .net domain (the 4th largest, after .com, .de, and .uk) – link 1, link 2.

WIPO publishes case book of domain name decisions – link.

Supreme Court justices question peer-to-peer lawsuits – link.

Telecommunications

Sorry, Howard Stern ... good-bye TIVO ... something better is coming along and it is going to revolutionize the broadcasting industry – link.

High Definition and the future of viewing – link.

U.S. and U.K. have conflicting visions for the future of TV – link.

Wi-Fi remote-access options expand – link.

AT&T puts WiMax to the test – link.

WiMAX hype peaks – link.

Innovative VoIP gear for small businesses offered – link.

Industry Group sets out to secure VoIP – link.

Say hello to Skype – link. 2005: A Skype Odyssey (on Linux) – link.

BlackBerry in a jam? – link.

Spectrum-starved U.S. prepares to feast – link.

Supreme Court will examine whether broadband cable networks must be open to competing ISPs – link. Supreme Court justices ask why cable modem services face fewer restrictions than DSL, other telecom offerings – link.