From the gnome-hackers list:
“Hello everyone,

I am sorry that I have not been able to respond earlier. I would
like to apologize to anyone who might have been confused about my
strategy with Mono and what I am trying to do. Also, I want to thank
everyone on the mailing list that has contributed to the discussion, I
used a lot of your ideas on this email.”

 
Before starting though, I would like to ask my readers to forget
everything they have heard about .NET, because it is a marketing term
used to describe many different Microsoft projects, and there is a lot
of information both correct and incorrect about it floating around.

   My goals with Mono are very specific, and I will address those
shortly, but for the sake of getting things done, please forget
everything you have heard about .NET.  

* First, the Facts

        GNOME is not adopting Mono or .NET as an implementation
    technology.  The headline from the Register is misleading,
    for a number of reasons:

                * The headline does not reflect any statements I
                  made on the interview (if you read the interview
                  you will notice this). 

                * The only future plans that have been approved by the
                  GNOME team (which has 11 voting members on its
                  board) are found here:

                        http://developer.gnome.org/dotplan/

                * I am not the GNOME foundation or control GNOME like
                  Linus controls his kernel, I am just its founder and
                  a contributor.

                * GNOME is not built by an individual, its built by
                  a team of roughly 500 contributors in many areas.

                * Decisions in the GNOME world are done by active
                  contributors and module maintainers.  I have given
                  my maintainership status on every module I
                  maintained to other members of the GNOME team as
                  I got more involved with Ximian and later on with
                  Mono.

                  So effectively I have no "maintainer" control.

        At this point on time, the GNOME team is working on shipping
    version 2.0 of the desktop and the development platform, a major
    upgrade to the desktop offering, and everyone is quite excited
    with this.  

* What is Mono?

        Mono is an implementation of three pieces of technology:

                * A compiler for a new programming language, similar
                  to Java, called C#.

                * A virtual machine for the Common Intermediate
                  Language (CIL) byte codes.

                * A set of libraries that encapsulate useful routines
                  and classes: from hash tables, to XML manipulation,
                  to database management, to GUI applications, to web
                  construction tools.

        These are usually referred in the Microsoft world as the `.NET
    Framework' as opposed to .NET.  When I say `.NET Framework' here,
    I am talking about these technologies.   

        Seasoned industry programmers will notice that the above is
    very much like Java and the Java VM.   They are right, the above
    is just like Java. 

        The CIL has one feature not found in Java though: it is
    byte code representation that is powerful enough to be used as a
    target for many languages: from C++, C, Fortran and Eiffel to Lisp
    and Haskell including things like Java, C#, JavaScript and Visual
    Basic in the mix.

        I wish I had the time to go in more detail, but for the sake
    of this argument, the above will suffice.

        Although Ximian can only finance the work of a C# compiler
    (that is all the resource I have at my disposal), I want to
    encourage other people to work on free implementations of other
    compilers.

        I want to encourage other developers to look at targeting
    existing compilers and interpreters to the CLI: JavaScript, Basic,
    Perl, Python, C++, and maybe even get gcc core to generate CIL
    bytecodes.

* The CIL and the promise of language independence:

        Bertrand Meyer (the father of Eiffel) wrote an interesting
    article that encapsulates my excitement about the possibilities of
    the CIL:

        http://eiffel.com/doc/manuals/technology/bmarticles/sd/dotnet.html

        This technology allows programming languages to be considered
    on the basis of how they will perform for a given task, and not
    based on the runtime libraries that you will depend.  Any software
    engineer should read this article:

        http://www.fawcette.com/dotnetmag/2001_12/online/online_eprods/bmeyer/default.asp

        So no longer should a software engineer pick Fortran, because
    that is the only language where his math libraries are available:
    he can now pick the right language for the problem at hand.

* Mono and GNOME.

        GNOME had always tried to have a good support for multiple
    programming languages, because we realize that no matter how much
    we loved C as a programming language, there was a large crowd of
    people out there that would like to use the GNOME libraries from
    their favorite programming language, which might not necessarily be
    C.  

        This strategy has paid off very well.  There are healthy and
    striving Python, Perl, Guile and Ada communities out there that
    use the Gtk+ and Gnome bindings to build applications.  From rapid
    prototyping to robust applications: we wanted to empower
    developers. 

        Keeping language bindings up to date and shipping them on time
    has always been a consuming process, because no matter how
    automated this process has turned out to be, there is still a
    considerable amount of manual work that needs to be done. 

        I do go into more details about this at the following places:

        http://www.go-mono.com/rationale.html

        http://scriptingnews.userland.com/stories/storyReader$1275

* An upgrade to the development platform: Part I.

        Microsoft has terrible APIs to code against.  Anyone who has
    used Win32 and any combination of the various layered cakes that
    have been built on top of it has stuck to that platform only
    because of the size of the market, but it is one of the most
    horrible APIs ever built.

        To make things worse, an evolution of APIs, components, memory
    management contracts and patched up versions of COM have made the
    platform horrible.  

        Microsoft has injected fresh air into their platform by
    building and designing a new programming platform that addresses
    all these pains.  They have incorporated many ideas from Java, and
    they have extended it to address new needs that developers had.
    They took where Java left off.

        Now, the Unix platform, GNOME included has some of these
    problems: our APIs have been evolving.  Libraries have been built
    by disconnected groups (PNG, JPEG, Gtk+, Xml, Bonobo, CORBA spec
    apis, etc) and the end result is that a developer eventually has
    to learn more than he wanted to in the course of developing a
    large application. 

        Ximian funded for a long time the work on the Perl bindings,
    and we had a lot of work going into Bonobo (more than we do today)
    because we believed that this would help us achieve language
    independence and empower scripting language developers (that is
    why we were so psyched about CORBA/Bonobo support all this time).

        When C#, the CLR and the class libraries were launched, we
    looked at that, and we saw how they were solving the problem in a
    very nice way.  At least it appealed to me and others from a
    purely technological standpoint.  This new platform showed a lot
    of promise.

        After much researching and debating, we decided that a couple
    of developers at Ximian will join me in working on a free
    implementation of these specifications.   These people came
    precisely from the cross-language interoperability area: Dick
    Porter had been working before on ORBit and our SOAP
    implementation;  Dietmar Maurer came from the Bonobo development
    world and Paolo Molaro was working on Gtk+/Gnome/Bonobo bindings
    for Perl.  This is the original Mono developer lineup. 

* Evolution, Gnumeric and GNOME.

        I have written and maintained many lines of code as part of
    my GNOME work.  Ximian has developed Evolution which consists of
    roughly 750,000 lines of code. 

        Large software projects expose a set of problems that can be
    ignored for smaller projects.  Programs that have long life times
    have different dynamics when it comes to memory management than
    smaller programs.

        There is a point in your life when you realize that you have
    written enough destructors, and have spent enough time tracking
    down a memory leak, and you have spend enough time tracking down
    memory corruption, and you have spent enough time using low-level
    insecure functions, and you have implemented way too many linked
    lists [1]

        [1] indeed, GNOME uses Glib which is a massive step up from
    the Unixy libc APIs.

        The .NET Framework is really about productivity: even if
    Microsoft pushes these technologies for creating Web Services, the
    major benefit of these is increased programmer productivity.

        Evolution took us two years to develop and at its peak had 17
    engineers working on the project.  I want to be able to deliver
    four times as many free software applications with the same
    resources, and I believe that this is achievable with these new
    technologies.

        My experience so far has been positive, and I have first
    hands experience on the productivity benefits that these
    technologies bring to the table.  For instance, our C# compiler is
    written in C#.  A beautiful piece of code.

        It can be argued that I could be wrong, and that these
    technologies are too new.  But my personal experience and the
    experience of some of my friends with this platform has been
    amazing.   I want to share with others this simplicity.  And I
    want to empower developers: I want to enable a whole class of
    developers to create great desktop applications that integrate
    with GNOME. 

* Why is Mono related to GNOME?

        It is no secret that I have been working on Mono as a new
    platform for software development, and it is also not a secret
    that I want to help the GNOME project with Mono.  This has been
    the plan since the project was announced in July.

        Mono will use Gtk+, Gnome-Db, Libart, Gnome-Print and other
    GNOME technologies as part of its implementation of its class
    libraries, because that is what my team and I are familiarized
    with.

        So when you copy your binary from Windows that was compiled
    with the Visual Studio.NET and run it on your Unix platform,
    it will just integrate nicely with your GNOME desktop.  

        We are also exploring a port to MacOS X, and for that
    particular case, we will integrate with Aqua, not with Gtk+, but
    you get the idea. 

* GNU was based on a proprietary technology.

        GNU is a free re-implementations of Unix.   Linux is a
    re-implementation of the Unix kernel.  Before the advent of Linux
    and the Berkeley Unix, Unix was a proprietary technology, built by
    ATT (which back in the day, was a monopoly).  

        Still, developers took what was good from Unix, and
    reimplemented a free version of it.   Down to the Unix programming
    language: C (which was also invented at ATT).  Even C++ was
    invented at ATT.  

        Think of Mono as following the same process: we are bringing
    the best technology out there to our beloved free software
    platform.  And at the same time it serves to be a magnificent
    upgrade on the development platform. 

* I can not force anyone.

        Whether people in GNOME or elsewhere will use Mono is
    independent of my opinion.  Mono will have to stand on its own
    feet, and will have to convince developers on its own merits
    before it succeeds.

        When I made my comments to the Register reporter, I was
    envisioning that in a couple of years Mono would be a really solid
    technology: a good JIT engine, good class libraries and would be a
    useful platform for innovation: it would allow people to focus
    more on the problems at hand and worry less about the low-level
    details of the platform. 

* Rewriting GNOME.

        Havoc brought up an important point recently, an article from
    Joel Spolsky:

        http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000348.html

        The short story is: rewriting code does not pay off, and I
    agree with the thesis of the article.  Rewriting GNOME in C# with
    the CLR would be a very bad idea, if not the worst possible idea
    ever.  

        But what makes the .NET Framework technologies interesting is
    that they are evolutionary technologies:

        * The runtime can be linked into an application.  

           Example:

                bash$ cat hello.c
                #include 
                main (int argc, char *argv [])
                { 
                        mono_init (argc, argv);
                        mono_assembly_load ("classes.dll");
                        mono_ves_execute ("Class.Main");
                }

           So existing applications can be "extended" with Mono, take
           a piece of code like Gnumeric, and write a new chunk of it
           using Mono for example.

        * There is no language switch required.

          You can keep using your fav language, and gradually start
          writing new pieces of code in another language that runs
          with all the benefits of "managed" execution. 

        I go into some more detail here:

        http://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-devel-list/2002-February/msg00021.html

* GNOME 4

        As you might realize by now, GNOME 4 is not planned, it is not
    possible to know what is in there.  So my comments on GNOME 4 only
    reflect the fact that I personally believe that people will see
    that Mono is an interesting platform to write new applications.

        So in the future the applications that will be shipped, very
    likely might contain Mono technologies.  Whether this is limited
    to new applications only, or this is something used in more
    fundamental pieces of the system is an entirely different matter.

        But for now, GNOME 4 is non-existant project. 

* Fighting the System.

        The .NET Framework will exist in the Windows world, and
    because of this they will be widely deployed.  It is a pointless
    battle to pretend that boycotting the use of those technologies
    will have any kind of effect on their reach.

        The .NET Framework stands on its own feet, and developers
    in the Windows world love it.  Even if this was not the case,
    Microsoft is using these technologies and distributing to as many
    people as possible.  We are witnessing the creation and deployment
    of a new standard.  Sure, it has a lot of corporate support, but
    it will become a widely deployed technology. 

* Other uses of Mono

        Despite my love for Mono as a tool for writing GNOME
    applications and giving developers new tools to write code in less
    time, there is an extra advantage in having a free implementation
    of the .NET Framework for Unix:

        * Windows developers know how to write code for it.

        * Lets make it easy to bring developers from the Windows world
          into our platform.

        * Training materials, tutorials, documentation, tips and
          tricks are already available in large quantities, lets
          leverage this. 
         
* Mono Financing.

        Right now Mono is financed by Ximian because we believe that
    this will reduce our cost of development for future applications.
    And thats why we are really focused on Mono for the desktop
    (amusingly the ASP.NET support in Mono has evolved more rapidly,
    because Gaurav and Leen have been very excited about this, and
    just have been producing code like crazy).

        So even in the Mono world, I do not get to make all the
    decisions: people work on what they are interested in developing.
    
        The Mono community is great!  Lots of passionate programmers
    work with us, and I feel very happy that I have had a chance to
    work with all of them. 

        At this point in time Ximian has only a small team of full
    time developers working on Mono (five) and a lot of the work is
    being done by contributors on their spare time, or hackers that
    want to see the .NET Framework run in other platforms, or
    people who share our enthusiasm for the platform, or people who
    just like to hack on a particular area and just love to code.

        But I would like to hire more full time developers: the open
    source development model is great for getting the fun/short things
    done, but it is terrible to get the long-haul, boring, repetitive
    or dull things done.

        I want to be able to bring more people to work full time on
    Mono.  I would like to offer the services of Ximian as a project
    manager to keep driving this project forward, and get cash
    infusions to hire developers to work on this project.   

        The only restriction is that all of our work has to be free
    software.  But other than that, I am ready to take money from
    anyone or listen to any kind of proposals for making this happen.

        Some people wonder if we have got a Microsoft investment or
    contract (because I like this Microsoft technology).  The answer
    is no.  But I would take one if they wanted to fund my free
    software project ;-)  Man, I wonder what that would be like!  

        Implementing the .NET Framework is a massive effort, and I
    want to enroll as many contributors as possible.  


* API compatibility.

        I believe that the `Embrace and Extend' philosophy is bad for
    users and developers.  Whether its a large corporation doing it,
    or ourselves.  I want to be as compatible as possible with the
    APIs that were published by Microsoft.

        This achieves various things:

                * Allows developers to move back and forth.

                * Reduces training.

                * Helps us leverage existing knowledge.

        Of course, this should not stop anyone from implementing new
    APIs.  And I even encourage people to write new classes, APIs and
    components that will be reusable both on Unix and on Windows.       

* What if we never can keep up?

        There is the issue that we might not be able to keep up (right
    now, we dont, as .NET Framework 1.0 is already out there, and we
    are, well still underway).  Also, theoretically there is the risk
    of a given API being unimplementable on Unix.

        Even if that is the case, we still win, because we would get
    this nice programming environment, that althought might not end up
    being 100% .NET Framework compatible, it would still be an
    improvement and would still help us move forward.  So we can reuse
    all the research and development done by Microsoft on these ideas,
    and use as much as we can.  

        So far all it seems like everything in .NET can be emulated in
    our environment. 

* Richard Stallman

        I am not sure what people told Richard Stallman about my
    plans.  Given the confusion surrounding .NET, it is very possible
    that people were asking `Miguel wants to depend on Passport' or
    something just as bad as that.

        My only intention is to write applications using the CLI as a
    development platform, which is really not very exciting for a news
    paper to report: "Programmer to use new compiler, new garbage
    collector, news at 11".

        Really, programmer's lives are boring, I wish my life would be
    as exciting as other people's life appear to be.  
        
* Further debate.

        I have just scratched the surface in this email, I do like a
    lot the technology behind the .NET Framework as you might have
    noticed from the interviews, no secret there.  I can go on for
    hours, but I have to set a limit to this email.

        I hope this explanation will get us through, feel free to
    e-mail me if you believe I have missed something or if you are
    interested in contributing to make this vision happen.

PS:

        I would like to thank Nat Friedman for providing moral,
    technical support all these years and his unconditional
    friendship.  It has been a fun adventure.  

        Without Nat I would probably have gone crazy by now.   

PS2:

        I kind of got sentimental after reading all the nice e-mail on
    the GNOME lists. After all, writing software alone is not that
    interesting, the most interesting part is interacting with other
    developers, and watching how community projects grow.

        I would like to thank all the people I have worked over the
    years: every GNOME developer past and present, every Mono
    developer past and present and all my friends at Ximian who have
    created a great place to work.  

        This community is great, and I have loved working with an
    increasing number of people as free software becomes more
    popular.   I know sometimes I have been unreasonable, but I am
    trying to learn from my mistakes.  Am just too good at being 
    mistaken.

Miguel.

NewsFactor Network writes: “The 2001 Computer Crime and Security Survey from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Computer Security Institute makes it clear that cybercrime is on the rise. But for the first time, according to survey respondents, incidents precipitated by outside hackers outnumbered those originated by internal threats. Experts said that trend is likely to continue as increasing numbers of outside intruders mount more attacks on computer networks and PCs. However, others pointed out that internal perpetrators remain the most difficult threats to fight, as they go straight for a company’s crown jewels and often know how to cover their tracks.”

Daniel McKean writes: “LynuxWorks today announced BlueCat® 4.0 Linux and VisualLynuxä
Integrated Development Environment (IDE) support for the for the new ARM920Tä
processor. Developers will now be able to quickly develop embedded Linux software applications for the ARM920T processor, which features high-performance and low-power characteristics for handheld devices, network computers, smart phones and other processor-intensive applications.

LynuxWorks’ BlueCat 4.0, the company’s latest Linux distribution is based on the 2.4 Linux kernel, which offers enhanced productivity and performance. With VisualLynux, developers have access to a fully integrated and tested cross development environment to rapidly facilitate specific development requirements. VisualLynux is an extension of Microsoft Visual Studio, developed for Windows-hosted development, with the added benefit of all the commands and standard GNU tools needed to streamline the design and creation of applications targeted to run on BlueCat Linux.

“We are pleased to offer a complete BlueCat Linux development environment for the ARM920T processor,” said Greg Rose, director of product management at LynuxWorks. “Our commitment to supporting the latest processors is one of the reasons BlueCat Linux is becoming so popular with OEMs.”

Pricing and Availability

The BlueCat development environment for the ARM920T is available now as part of a standard bundle from LynuxWorks. Bundled BlueCat solutions start at $2,699. Numerous host/target processor combinations with options for various tools and technical support are available. To learn more about all BlueCat solutions, visit the LynuxWorks website at www.lynuxworks.com.

About LynuxWorks

LynuxWorks is a world leader in the embedded software market, providing operating systems, software development products and consulting services for the world’s most successful communications, aerospace/defense, and consumer products companies. Established in 1988, the company is a founding member of the real-time operating systems (RTOS) industry, and a leading participant in the Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC). LynuxWorks’ headquarters are located in San Jose, California. The company’s products include the open-source BlueCat Linux and the scalable, Linux-compatible LynxOS real-time operating system. World class companies use LynuxWorks’ products, including: 3Com, Alcatel, Boeing, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin, Lucent Technologies, Marconi, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NEC USA, Raytheon, TRW and Xerox. For more information, please visit www.lynuxworks.com.

###

LynuxWorks is a trademark and LynxOS and BlueCat are registered trademarks of LynuxWorks, Inc. Other brand or product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective holders. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvald

 

 

 

“

– By F. Grant Robertson –

When I heard about Fluxbox, my first reaction was surprise. Having been a user of Blackbox for several years and many versions, I was a bit skeptical about Fluxbox’s ability to extend a window manager that in my opinion, was already great. Nevertheless, after reading the list of enhancements to the desktop over Blackbox 0.61, I was excited to give it a try.

My test system is an AMD k6-II 350 running Mandrake 8.1. Consulting the Fluxbox download page, I decided to first try the binary rpm package. The package wasn’t specific to a Mandrake version it was created for, and it had one dependency that wasn’t installed on my test system. After reading the directions at the Fluxbox download site, I got the impression that compiling the source RPM might work a little better. An uneventful “rpm –rebuild” later, I was ready to go.

It should be pointed out that the instructions at the Fluxbox site for making Fluxbox your default window manager only apply if you are starting X from the console. If you have Mandrake configured for a graphical login, there aren’t any other steps necessary beyond installing the rpm. This worked very well on my test system. I only had to logout and log back in selecting Fluxbox as my window manager. Instructions for users that run “startx” from the console are included at the Fluxbox Web site and, are reasonably well written.

The differences in Fluxbox, and its ancestor, Blackbox are not immediately apparent. Visually, you may first notice the window tabs, something absent altogether from Blackbox. Window tabs are hardly the only difference, as Fluxbox provides support for KDE and Windowmaker dock applications. This is a little strange, coming from years of Blackbox use, because the lack of docked application support has always been one of its defining features. I do believe that Blackbox’s stability, speed and simplicity are still retained in Fluxbox and, if you’re not inclined to run docked applications, you’ll never notice a difference. If you have ever looked at Blackbox and said, “That’s nice but, I wish I could run that,” your wait is over. Support for docked applications is well done, and works just as you would expect.

Fluxbox also adds a native key grabber to the base functionality it inherits from Blackbox. The key grabber gives the ability to not only handle keyboard shortcuts for common window manager commands, but it also allows sophisticated multi-key sequences to be assigned in a manner similar to Emacs. Personally, I’m not big on keyboard shortcuts; however, the functionality is easy enough to configure and works as advertised. For users who were running a separate program to manage keyboard shortcuts, this provides an integrated solution. Fluxbox’s Web site also provides a conversion utility for current users of Bbkeys.

Finally, on the list of enhanced features, are the changes made to Blackbox’s signature taskbar. All of your iconified windows are displayed on the taskbar, with a single click returning them to their previous state. This is a little more efficient than finding them through the middle mouse button menu but, you might find it cumbersome if you tend to have many windows iconified at once.

What hasn’t changed: Fear not, all of your Blackbox themes are still 100% compatible. If you are a current Blackbox user, the change to Fluxbox is almost invisible. You will, obviously, have to add your collected Blackbox themes to your new Fluxbox configuration and then select the theme you wish to use. This also gives Fluxbox the benefit of a well defined base of community provided themes, even though it’s a relatively new project, with version 0.1.6 the current release.

Overall, Fluxbox makes a very nice set of enhancements to the “no-nonsense” style of Blackbox. I have been a faithful Blackbox user over the years and, what it has lacked in flash and features has always been well worth the trade-offs in speed and stability. I found Fluxbox to be just as stable and fast, and the features it adds are definitely worth checking out.

I can happily recommend Fluxbox to current Blackbox users and to users of other window managers who would like a more nimble environment, without giving up some of the creature comforts available in heavier window managers.

SWsoft, Inc., an advanced
server and networking technology company, responded to increased demand
for Internet-based application sales by announcing a alliance program
with initial members Macromedia, Miva, Planet Intra and other top ISVs
to enable sales, provisioning, licensing and billing of software in a
hosted Linux environment. The alliance program builds on SWsoft’s
successful relationships with Intel and Dell and enables efficient
software sales in hosting environments through SWsoft’s flagship
product, HSPcomplete.

Virtuozzo, the technology behind HSPcomplete, allows upwards of 800
virtual operating systems, or instances of the Linux operating system,
to exist on a physical Intel-based server. It is the only technology
that supports shared, dedicated and complex dedicated hosting
environments, creates a seamless and customizable reseller channel and
gives service providers a unified interface by which to manage all
aspects of their business. Customers can buy additional value-added
services online and migrate to different service plans automatically,
requiring little or no effort on the part of the hosting company.

“There is huge demand for the right types of Internet-based
applications,” says Craig Oda, VP of Business Development for SWsoft.
“Our customers were getting many requests for applications, but were
having a difficult time with deployment, license management and
billing.”

Similar to Microsoft’s .NET program, SWsoft’s partner program is based
upon the Linux O/S and gives companies access to technologies that
enable Internet-based applications. However, instead of using the .NET
framework, SWsoft uses open-architecture Virtuozzo, a technology that
sprang from concepts proven by IBM’s mainframe. Instead of Windows,
SWsoft uses Linux, an OS phenomenon that is increasingly being used for
Internet servers. In an effort to help Linux gain an even stronger
position in the server market, SWsoft has focused its engineers,
including Alexey Kuznetsov, leader of Linux TCP/IP networking code
development, to raise Linux to that of 24×7 telecommunications
standards.

“In light of the recent failure of companies like Exodus and PSINet, Web
hosting companies are looking for ways to effectively scale operations
and cut costs,” said Jeb Bolding, Senior Analyst with Enterprise
Management Associates. “Virtuozzo [and HSPcomplete] saves these
companies valuable time and money, enabling them to affordably offer
managed applications and services.”

“We integrated Virtuozzo to handle business customers in high volume
and found that our SMB customers were asking for Internet-based
applications,” Gregor Loocke, CTO, Hostica, a hosting provider with over
10,000 SMB customers. “Through Virtuozzo, within the HSPcomplete
solution, and SWsoft’s software partners, I can sell these SMBs the
customized services they want – in high volume. We pass the cost
savings on to customers, giving them managed application services at
affordable prices. This would not be possible without the HSPcomplete
solution.”

“The most critical thing for operating systems on the Internet is scale.
IBM’s Linux mainframe scales extremely well and is penetrating into data
centers,” said Alexander Tormassov, Chief Scientist, SWsoft. “Virtuozzo
compliments the mainframe, bringing this functionality to low-cost x86
boxes and, essentially, to the mass market. As Linux is optimal for
scalability, I predict that going forward, we’ll only see Linux on
mainframes and Linux with Virtuozzo-like features. ISVs are quickly
realizing the potential of this technology.”

Macromedia www.macromedia.com
Macromedia’s (NASDAQ: MACR) Web site development software enables
developers to rapidly and cost-effectively build Web applications.
Design tools such as DreamWeaver and Flash, in addition to server
products like ColdFusion, can now be bought and automatically
provisioned from Web hosting companies that use the HSPcomplete
solution.

Versign www.versign.com
Versign is the leading provider of digital trust services to the
end-user, SMBs and enterprises. The most widely used security products
on the Web, Versign provides embedded protection against fraud and
enables activity over the Internet to be conducted safely and freely.

Miva www.miva.com
Miva is the leading provider of e-commerce platforms for channels that
target small to mid-size businesses. The Miva e-commerce platform is
used by many Web hosting companies to enable customers to quick and
effectively implement e-commerce activity on their Web site.

Planet Intra www.planetintra.com
Planet Intra’s information management software provides companies a
central place for ideas, documents and images, while also creating an
internal community for employees. The partnership with HSPcomplete will
allow prospective customers to purchase and begin using the software
instantly.

“We provide customers a way to better manage company communication and
knowledge sharing, without costly installation and training,” said
Suresh Mathai, CEO, Planet Intra. “By allowing customers the ability to
sign-up online and automatically provision our software through the
HSPcomplete solution, we now help them manage these aspects quicker and
more efficiently.”

SWsoft is looking for other top ISV to join the Partner Program, for
more information, contact partnerships@sw-soft.com.

For more information on the VirtuozzoT 2.0 technology, please see
www.virtuozzo.com or www.sw-soft.com or contact sales@sw-soft.com.

About SWsoft, Inc.
SWsoft is an advanced server and networking software technology company
focused on the development of its patent-pending VirtuozzoT technology
with end-to-end solutions and services for hosting service providers
such as Internet data centers, application service providers, managed
hosting providers and Web hosters. SWsoft’s products deliver powerful,
comprehensive solutions that can help data centers automate management,
accelerate operations and provide excellent return on investments.

The Register reports on a recent OSDN (owners of NewsForge) and Boston Consulting Group study. “Open source hackers are very likely to be programmers with a decade of professional experience employed by a commercial software company, and very unlikely to be the stock high school math-club geeks of popular press reports.”

Posted at LWN.net: LinuxTag is Europe’s largest Linux conference and
exhibition. Last year 15,000 visitors came to find the latest
information on Linux, Free Software and Open Source solutions. The
event is aimed at professionals, enthusiasts, researchers, developers
and the community at large.

The letter is at News.com. Jon “maddog” Hall of Linux International writes: “I think we need to fix the DMCA, then enforce the laws we have already, rather than generate more restrictive laws that remove the freedoms that generated the economy we enjoy today. Increase the penalties on copyright infringement, but don’t make people criminals for the inoffensive use of fair-use copying.
“

NewsFactor Network writes, “Microsoft recently made two important security-related announcements. One is that the company is taking the entire month of February to address security issues in its code. The second is that it named Scott Charney as its new security chief. Some people have tried to dismiss Microsoft’s new focus on security issues as just propaganda. To think that Microsoft is not serious about security, however, is a mistake that could lead its competitors into trouble. Read it at osOpinion.

Slashdot readers discuss reports that the Free Software Foundation’s Richard M. Stallman challenged Ximian’s Miguel de Icaza after it was reported that de Icaza said the Mono project would be based on Microsoft’s .Net.

See a story from The Register for more info.