LinuxSecurity: “A locally exploitable format string bug has been fixed in the code that
handles batch SMTP.”

– By Grant Gross –

Linux is starting to show up on some gaming machines, but they’re not coming to your desktop. While Linux is still playing catch-up to Windows in the desktop gaming market, a couple of companies are using Linux with games you’d see in a bar or on a casino floor.

Since last fall, the Illinois-based Incredible Technologies, makers of the popular Golden Tee and other bar games, has been using Linux to create a new hardware platform for its games.

Working with Linux/Unix company Caldera, Incredible Technologies plans to release its new Arcade/Coin-op machines this fall. The specialized Linux machines are being created using Caldera’s eDesktop 3.1 with KDE 2.1, says Chuck Zenkus, a game designer and project manager at Incredible. Caldera’s Professional Services team has helped Incredible work through hardware issues, such as getting xWindows and KDE to run with the company’s new Intel i815 chipset.

Previously, the company designed its own processor, video, audio, and operating system, developing on Microsoft products, Zenkus says. “We have a need to cut our time to market,” he says. “We need to have an operating system that is not going to cost us an arm and a leg, and one that is going to be stable to run 24/7 365 days a year. This is
why we choose to use Linux.”

David Taylor, vice president of Professional Services for Caldera, says in addition to the the low cost and stability of Linux, its ability to be customized and its small footprint on a variety of devices convinced Incredible to make the switch. “Microsoft operating systems aren’t terribly well known for their lack of appetite for hardware,” Taylor says. “And Linux is open. Someone like Incredible is quite frustrated that Microsoft wouldn’t let them in the door to customize it in any way.”

Taylor predicts growth in Linux use in gaming, especially crossing over from coin-operating markets to home entertainment consoles. “That’s the potential here, as you see Linux permeating into these parallel industries, but there could be some crossover as well. There are others secretly evaluating this stuff, and I think there’s a start of a trend here.”

Incredible is moving all its development from a Windows platform to Linux, Zenkus adds, and the company has been happy with the transition after going through a Linux learning curve.

“I’ve never seen people come together before, like the people involved in Linux,” he says. “From kernel updates daily (www.kernel.org), to the desktop environment KDE, to a FREE!! development IDE like kDevelop (www.kdevelop.org), not to mention all the other great FREE programs written to make life easier. Why would I want to go back to
Blue Screens of DEATH?”

In slightly different twist on Linux gaming, video gambling device maker Shuffle Master is also using Linux, in this case Red Hat, to be part of its Shuffle Master Operating System for video slots, video poker, and other games. The company is now testing the Linux system.

Last month, Wells Fargo’s Van Kasper gave Shuffle Master’s stock a “buy” rating, in part because the company’s Linux-based game platform, “which is intended to standardize the operating software functionality of slot games, could contribute to future growth,” according to a press release.

Fred Lychock, director of product development for slot products at Shuffle Master, says the company plans to market its video gaming machines to other gaming software companies. The company itself is licensed to provide games in 130 jurisdictions.

Linux provides Shuffle Master a secure, configurable platform, Lychock says.

The Straits Times reports that CityCab, Singapore’s second largest taxi company, will be investing heavily in pilot projects to add high-end wireless technology to their cabs, allowing clients to browse while driving, and order and pay for cabs more easily.

ZDNet reports that the owner of Sucks.com has won a case against precedent allowing him to keep a domain name which had a trademark of another company in it, followed by ‘sucks’.

The Globe and Mail argues that the Canadian Government’s plan to give broadband Internet access to all Canadians won’t work, and will cost Canadian taxpayers too much money.

O’Reilly’s Onlamp discusses the need and methodology behind rotating log files specifically under BSD, but the information also applies to most unices.

ZDNet discusses how crackers can help people learn about the security of their systems, and some tips for what you should do if you believe a system is cracked and no administrator is around.

International Data Group reports that Intel has started shipping samples of a Gigabit ethernet adapter (1000baseT), which will be available later this year for $99 (US funds).

Kelly McNeill writes, “As most of us have come to realize, Microsoft’s Hailstorm and .NET are direct threats to AOL, and GPL software has become a direct threat to Microsoft. It seems therefore rational that AOL should consider an open-source route to counter Microsoft’s Internet strategy. AOL, working in partnership with Linux-Mandrake, could produce a scaled-down version of the OS branded specifically for AOL, but with an interface redesigned to be similar to AOL 6. With so many excellent open-source applications available and pre-installed on Mandrake, AOLinux would have a range of functionally that people come to expect on a Windows machine. Let’s explore the reasons why AOL should indeed create a GNU/Linux-based AOL OS.” The column’s at osOpinion.

Kelly McNeill writes “Inmarsat has launched the world’s first broadband IP (Internet protocol) service, designed to be picked up anywhere on the globe. Unlike most competing wireless broadband services, this new service is satellite-based — it is available worldwide at a steady 64,000 bits per second (bps). Michael Butler, the carrier’s managing director, told reporters that the service operates at the same speed as an ISDN (integrated service digital network) connection. Butler said usage fees will be based on the data carried, rather than the time taken.”