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U.S. entertainment companies could use new Australian copyright law

Author: JT Smith

From a story at Fairfax IT: “Changes to Australia’s copyright laws, the first significant amendments since the 1960s, could be used in the Australian courts by offshoots of United States entertainment companies seeking to clamp down on illegal de-scrambling of copyright-protection software.”

Anti-patent demonstrators crash Amazon’s French debut

Author: JT Smith

Amazon’s dubious patent activities came back to haunt the company last week at the Paris launch of amazon.fr. Amazon had pushed the boat(s) out for the occasion, inviting 4,000 guests to a party on the Seine, but was faced by a small clutch of demonstrators from campaigning groups APRIL and AFUL, handing out leaflets and “free cookies, not patented by Amazon,” reports The Register.

Linux 2.2.17 official now out

Author: JT Smith

From Alan Cox: “Linux 2.2.17 official is now out. This is the same as 2.2.17pre20 without
the -pre20 id string. This is the version waiting Linus.” The announcement is at LWN.net.

Category:

  • Linux

Using Postfix guide

Author: JT Smith

Tired of the sendmail’s cryptic configuration, or do you find yourself complaining about its speed? Well then, postfix could be the MTA for you. The Postfix website defines postfix as a MTA which “attempts to provide an alternative to the widely-used Sendmail program.” If it’s speed and security you’re looking for, Postfix is a very nominal choice for a MTA. According to the project’s web site, Postfix is up to three times faster than its closest competitor, boasting the capability to send up to 1,000,000 different messages in a day. The story is at BSD Today.

Category:

  • Unix

BUGTRAQ security alert

Author: JT Smith

The following message was just send out over BUGTRAQ. In it Ivan Arce
of CODE SDI discloses a security vulnerability that affects almost all
UNIX systems, including Linux. The vulnerability can normally only be exploited locally, but there are
some instances where it may be possible to exploit it remotely via
TELNET. The problem is the result of a new class of vulnerabilities
that were discussed on BUGTRAQ during the last few months. This
type of vulnerabilities are being termed “format string” vulnerabilities. The advisory is at LWN.net.

Category:

  • Linux

Report: FTC considers blocking AOL merger

Author: JT Smith

America Online must make a formal promise to provide open access to its high-speed cable lines, or the Federal Trade Commission will seek to block the company’s merger with Time Warner, the Washington Post is reporting in its Monday edition. One version of the story is at Inter@ctive Week.

Category:

  • Open Source

Zimmermann responds to PGP flap

Author: JT Smith

Phil Zimmermann, the creator of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), responds to the recent flaw discovered in Network Associates implementation of the Additional Decryption Key feature. This is a key escrow account that allows a responsible third-party to gain access to encrypted messages when the original key is lost. The story is at Network World Fusion

Category:

  • Linux

Comparing Linux with Windows 2000

Author: JT Smith

A Slashdot discussion examines the differences between Linux and Windows 2000.

Category:

  • Linux

IBM to market tape drives

Author: JT Smith

IBM has unveiled a range of super-fast, high-capacity tape drives – using a new open standard. Big Blue is the first to adopt LTO (Linear Tape-Open) Ultrium technology, developed by a consortium involving IBM and its bitter storage rivals, Seagate and Hewlett-Packard.
IBM said the main market was Unix, NT and mid-range alternatives. IBM’s AS400 and RS6000, and various Unix flavours from HP and Sun were also supported, and Linux would be accommodated soon. The story is at Austrialian IT.

Category:

  • Unix

Security firms to release Linux security appliance

Author: JT Smith

Medium-sized firms are the target for a Linux-based Net security appliance, to be released by security firms Intrusion and Check Point Software this month. The small device is aimed at medium-sized firms and branch offices, and will have Check Point’s VPN-1/FireWall-1 security software preinstalled. It will also be available as a managed service, reports IT Week.

Category:

  • Linux