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NewsVac: News from around the Web
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Why Software Still Matters
1 day, 21 hours ago
No matter which operating system (or systems) you choose to use, you’re sure to find an abundance of software titles that are available for you to enjoy. By default, some operating systems come bundled with enough useful tools to keep you happy, but just because that may be so it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t explore alternatives. If you only use what’s presented to you, you’ll miss out on a wide range of open source, freeware, and shareware applications. -
OS Makers: Provide Videos for Your OS, Please
2 days ago
As time goes on, operating systems are becoming easier to use than many of us thought was possible, but we’re definitely thankful for these developments. Even Linux (which has been notorious in the past for its difficulty level) has become more accessible, although it’s still not on the level of OS X, or even Windows, at this point. -
Software Patents 101
2 months, 1 week ago
The four pillars of intellectual property—patents, copyright, trademarks, and trade secrets—all play roles in protecting software. No wonder this is one of the most slippery subjects for an engineer’s lawyer. -
Virtualization Battle Not a Sure Thing
2 months, 2 weeks ago
It wasn't what Microsoft delivered at Wednesday's "Heroes" event but what wasn't delivered that may make a difference. -
Is software becoming more or less proprietary? Look at the data
4 months ago
Reading Marc Fleury's post on the subject of open source and proprietary software (a response to my post on Benchmark's investment in Engine Yard), you'd be tempted to believe that the world is growing more proprietary. Reading InfoWorld's response to Marc, you'd be certain that yes, the world is definitely closing off. -
Why Users Wait for OS Upgrades
4 months, 1 week ago
Although I didn’t purchase it during its opening weekend, I did get my copy of Leopard soon after it hit store shelves. What can I say, I like being an early adopter even though I do know that there can be a price to pay. -
Is VMware a Dead Duck?
6 months ago
Microsoft, Red Hat, Citrix, Novell and now Oracle are all offering free or open-source virtualization of one sort or another. Can VMware survive? -
Virtualisation market needs choice
6 months ago
Panel at Microsoft's IT professional conference point to the immaturity of the virtualisation market and the lack of choice for enterprise customers. The virtualisation software market, while dominated by VMware, has barely touched the surface of what can be done, and lacks the range of options needed in the enterprise, according to industry leaders. Speaking at IT Forum in Barcelona following the announcement of Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualisation technology, a panel of Microsoft and Citrix virtualisation specialists argued that the virtualisation market is not as developed as established vendors would claim. -
The Current State of Computing
6 months, 3 weeks ago
The current state of computing and operating systems today remains a mess. Windows is still learning to listen to what the customers actually want (basic office suite included, hello?), OS X, while a fantastic OS, remains locked into a single hardware company, and Linux is still dealing with such basic issues as notebook power management and wireless hassles by supporting made-for-Windows chipsets. -
Ten years of pkgsrc
7 months ago
"10 Years ago - on October 3rd 1997 - the pkgsrc software management system was created by Alistair Crooks and Hubert Feyrer. pkgsrc, the NetBSD Packages Collection, was intended primarily as a packaging system for NetBSD. Derived from the FreeBSD Ports system, pkgsrc became a success story. Today, pkgsrc is a cross-platform framework, running on the BSDs, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, many Unix derivatives, and even on QNX and Windows. Ports- and pkgsrc-like software build frameworks are today standard on the BSDs and quite popular on some newer Linux distributions. In 2005 pkgsrc was adopted as the package management system for DragonFly BSD. Presently, pkgsrc provides more than 7300 stable packages. We continue the anniversary celebrations with a series of interviews: developers and users of pkgsrc and of related systems give insights into the history, the concepts, the problems and the future directions of packaging systems." -
Fedora Unity Releases Updated Fedora Linux 7 Re-Spins
7 months, 2 weeks ago
The Fedora Unity Project is proud to announce the release of new ISO Re-Spins (DVD and CD Sets) of Fedora 7. -
House OKs revamp of patent system
8 months, 1 week ago
Congress takes major step toward changes long sought by big tech companies. But there's no guarantee that proposal will become law. -
Firefox tries viral marketing at schools
8 months, 2 weeks ago
"Firefox Campus Edition includes version 2.0.0.6 of the Firefox browser and three add-ons designed to appeal to the campus set .... " -
Install and configure Network Information Service +
8 months, 2 weeks ago
"NIS+ is a network-wide naming and administration service that works on a client-server model. The server maintains all the details of the users and clients in a central database. In this article, get step-by-step instructions on how to install, configure, and administer NIS+ .... " -
64-bit PCs still searching for software
9 months, 2 weeks ago
Now that they're 64 (bits, that is), personal computers are still searching for developers to need them and feed them. - More News
Linux.com : Software
KnowledgeTree co-founders explain their commercial open source business strategy (video)
KnowledgeTree produces document management software that is available either under GPLv3 or, for commercial use, under a proprietary license that restricts code redistribution. In this video, KnowledgeTree co-founders John Thorne and Daniel Chalef explain why they decided to go open source, the differences between their open source and proprietary versions, and why supporting a "community version" helps both the company and KnowledgeTree's many users.
Social networking gets a Ringside seat
Bob Bickel, co-founder of Ringside Networks, says companies need to harness the power of social networking and entice customers to visit corporate Web sites with the same eagerness they show for sites like Facebook. He believes the Ringside Social Application Server -- an open source platform that puts social networking tools on any existing Web site -- is the answer CEOs are looking for.
SugarCRM CEO John Roberts tells us how his company developed (video)
SugarCRM Inc. was one of the first application-specific open source companies. It has gone from three employees to over 160 between 2004 and 2008. SugarCRM has taken some heat over its dual-licensing system. Roberts explains why this licensing scheme is a financial necessity for the company, and offers some excellent advice for people who want to start their own open source-based companies.
Linux.com's 2007 holiday gift guide
Admit it -- you put off your holiday shopping this year and now it's crunch time and you don't know what to get everyone on your list. Because we feel your pain, we've put together a last-minute shopping guide with ideas for some of your geekiest friends.
Make your home come alive with Heyu
I have used X10 modules on assorted lights and devices for home automation for several years, and although the remote control facet has always worked well, tying the system into my Linux boxes has never been easy. Numerous small, typically one-person X10 controller projects have come and gone. But one application has survived: Heyu. It runs on desktop Linux machines without requiring the overhead of a Web or database server, and it enables direct X10 control, event scheduling, and more.
Tricks and treats for your desktop
Even if you're too old for trick-or-treating this Halloween, you can still get in the spirit of things with these free software games, tools, and applications. Why should kids get to have all the fun?
HDTV reception and network streaming in a box
I have been a TiVo owner since almost day one; seven years with a Series 1 box. But TiVo's elimination of lifetime subscriptions has made me plan on migrating to a do-it-yourself DVR, probably running MythTV. As I spec out hardware, I am increasingly frustrated at the paucity of PCI slots bestowed on us by motherboard makers today. I want good sound, good NTSC, FM, and HDTV, and hopefully multiple tuners, but there is scarcely a mobo in sight that has that much room in the interior. However, I found an alternative in Silicondust's HDHomeRun, a standalone, dual-tuner HDTV receiver that streams video over the network, and supports Linux right out of the box.
Bubba makes an exciting SOHO server appliance
Have you considered setting up a server on your home LAN, but shied away from the idea because you didn't want to dedicate a machine to the task, or want to spend a lot of time setting it up and managing it? If so, you might be interested in Excito's Bubba, a cute little Linux-based server appliance from Sweden that makes running and managing a server easy and fun.
Review: Stratus ftServer 4300
Lots of companies sell Linux servers, but how many promise 99.999% uptime? Not very many, but Stratus Technologies sells systems that offer the kind of fault tolerance that will handle mission-critical applications and leave admins with peace of mind. I had a chance to test out one of the company's ftServer 4300 systems, and it's an impressive system.
Review: Open-Xchange
Looking for a Microsoft Exchange replacement, or a first groupware application for your organization? Check out Open-Xchange. I took it for a test drive and found it to be a solid product that works well with open source groupware clients, though its Web interface is a bit clunky.
Review: Zimbra messaging software
Zimbra calls itself a "leader in open source messaging and collaboration," but does it live up to the name? I spent some time evaluating the suite, and while Zimbra isn't perfect, it's a decent collaboration suite that is well worth looking at if you don't already have something in place.
Zimbra sets sights on Exchange, and beyond
There's no shortage of messaging and collaboration suites trying to unseat Microsoft Exchange, but many of the suites are still playing catch-up with Microsoft in terms of features. Zimbra, on the other hand, seems to be on par with Exchange in many ways -- and ahead of Exchange for hosting providers and in collaboration features.
First look: Scalix 11 Community Edition messaging server
While the release of the new open source Scalix 11 Community Edition messaging server is still a few months away, the binaries have been brought out in a preview package that is, according to the license that comes with it, "pre-release software with known issues and is not suitable for production use." We tried it out, just to see where Scalix is heading. The good news -- it's heading in the right direction for small and medium-sized businesses.
Scalix is sneaking Linux in through the corporate mailbox
Scalix recently announced that its enterprise email platform will be going open source. Right now preparations are being made, the bugtracking system and code repository are being set into place, and code is being cleaned. That's an exciting story, especially when you consider OSDL's Desktop Linux Client Survey last year, which said that the non-existence of a proper enterprise email client to replace Outlook was the greatest hurdle for the introduction of the Linux desktop.
Special Report: Can open source messaging servers replace Microsoft Exchange
This week Linux.com is taking an in-depth look at three of the highest-profile open source-based challengers to Microsoft's dominant Exchange that run on Linux. Over the next few days we'll review Scalix, Open-Xchange, and Zimbra. We'll also interview Scalix and Zimbra executives about how their marketing efforts are doing. This series of articles is a result of many reader requests for an in-depth look at ways to remove Microsoft Exchange from their server rooms while still providing Exchange-like functionality to executives and administrative staff who depend on those features to function.
Stratus plus Red Hat AS 4: Lots of nines
Stratus Technologies, Inc. and Red Hat today announced the coming availability of 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) AS 4 across six server models, serving both the telecommunications and enterprise markets. Stratus's Director of Product Management Denny Lane and Public Relations Director Ken Donoghue briefed NewsForge last week on today's announcement.
Linux Terminal Server Project releases 4.2
Boston, Mass. -- The Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP), which makes it easy to connect thin client terminals to a Linux server, announced the 4.2 release of the software at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo. The new release adds improved local device support, reduces memory requirements, and offers scanner and multi-head support and a 2.6 kernel.
Nitix server suits "one-person IT department"
Recently, Standard Air and Lite, an HVAC wholesaler in Pennsylvania, moved its Web presence and email software from a Sun Cobalt Qube 3 server appliance to a Linux-based Nitix server. The company is so satisfied with the new system's reliability that it is considering adding an intranet and hosting it on another Nitix machine.
A little piece of computer history for sale
A little piece of technology history is up for sale at eBay.com. Jason Braverman, the IT director at HYC Logistics in Memphis, Tenn., is selling his vintage Matchbox handheld PC at a fraction of its original cost. Braverman put the starting bid at $300 for the five-cubic-inch computer, which runs Linux and operates as a fully functional Web server.
Review: Sun Fire V40z
The Sun Fire V40z is Sun Microsystems' "entry-level" server, but that classification doesn't fit the performance level and feature set included in this system -- it's far more powerful. I spent two weeks testing this machine in a production environment, trying different operating systems and measuring the performance of database calculations, and I was pretty impressed with its performance.
