IDG (via CNN): “They were known
as “nerds” and “geeks” in
high school.

But now we call them friends.

There are an estimated 27
million “technology
enthusiasts” in the United
States, representing about 13
percent of all adults. And
while they’re still likely to
watch “Star Trek” and play
chess, survey data indicates
that their lifestyles and
interests are much less geeky
than one might expect.”

eWEEK: “The Alpha processor proved a costly investment
that was increasingly difficult to justify, a senior Compaq Computer
Corp. executive said this week.

“This has been a very interesting week for Compaq,” said Mike
Winkler, head of Compaq’s global business units, admitted during a
news conference yesterday at PC Expo scheduled to tout two new
rack-mounted servers, but which gave way to a broader discussion
of recent events.”

Pekka Savola has posted a helpful HOWTO explaining how to use Red Hat’s Linux distribution to test and configure IPv6.

LinuxSecurity.com: “A remote attacker can use a netbios name containing unix path
characters which will then be substituted into the %m macro wherever
it occurs in smb.conf. This can be used to cause Samba to create a log
file on top of an important system file, which in turn can be used to
compromise security on the server.”

eWEEK: “The upstart Silicon Valley company this week officially unveiled its newest generation of Crusoe
processors: the high-performance TM5800, available at speeds up to 800MHz, and the
TM5500, which features half the on-die memory of the TM5800 and is offered at speeds up to
733MHz.”

Reuters (via MSNBC) reports that Sharp plans to sell its Zaurus line of PDAs in the United States. The company believes the key to U.S. success is the use of Java in Zaurus, which makes it easier for Sharp to provide technical support outside of Japan. One Zaurus feature that isn’t currently planned for release outside of Japan is replacing Sharp’s proprietary PDA operating system with Linux. That, too, could change if the company senses a wider demand for the use of that operating system.

ZDNet UK’s Jane Wakefield writes about her “whistle stop tour” through MIT’s labs, where “students and professors seem intent on making tech invisible.” One of those efforts is Bruce Gershenfeld’s Pengachu, “…a device little bigger than a cigarette
pack which has an embedded Linux computer, a radio interface and a Web server all for around
$50.”

Linux Journal: “Business history teaches the following lesson: When a market-dominating firm engages in a FUD campaign of this magnitude, it’s not merely because they’re
scared of competition from a new market entrant. Often, it’s because the new market entrant is seen to challenge the business model that has enabled the
market-dominant firm to make huge gobs of money. I believe the GPL does pose a threat to Microsoft’s business model, and that’s why the free software
licensing scheme is under such concerted attack. Specifically, the GPL threatens Microsoft’s ability to preserve what economists and legal scholars (as well as
the judge in the Microsoft antitrust case) call the “application barrier to entry”–the primary means by which Microsoft has been able to establish and preserve
commanding dominance in its core markets.”

Slashdot: “His name is Scott Handy, and his full title is “Director, Linux Solutions Marketing, IBM
Software Group.” You want to know how to market Linux? Or how IBM’s going about it?
Scott ought to know. One question per post, please. We’ll send 10 of the highest-moderated
ones off tomorrow, and expect Scott’s answers back in about a week.”

From a press release at LinuxToday: “IBM has introduced the IBM Start Now Solutions for e-business, a family of
offerings to help small and medium businesses (SMB) rapidly implement e-business solutions.

The eight Start Now Solutions, including three Linux-based solutions, fulfill the requirements of
e-business–from initial Internet access, through e-mail, research and information, Web site
management, simple and complex e-commerce, business intelligence, integrated activities and new
business opportunities.”