Help Net Security: “ISS X-Force has discovered a buffer overflow in the “rpc.espd”
component of the Embedded Support Partner (ESP) subsystem. ESP is
installed and enabled by default on all current SGI IRIX installations.

Impact:

There is a buffer overflow in “rpc.espd” that may allow remote attackers
to execute arbitrary commands on a vulnerable host. A local account is
not required to exploit this vulnerability.”

The Register: “A little quiz for you. Consider the following quote: “ASP is faster and more
effective for simple Web applications than Java.” Which company said it?

Microsoft would be the obvious choice, since it’s the one that came up
with ASP (Active Server Page) technology in the first place and it has a
spotty record on Java support.

But if you picked it, you’d be wrong. So who is the culprit? Step forward…
er… Sun.”

Interactive Week: “He’s a happy penguin, designed to look like he’s “just
polished off a pitcher of beer and had the best sex of his
life.” But what in the world does that have to do with open
source software code?

Not much, really. He just seemed like the appropriate
mascot at the time, according to the
soon-to-be-published Just for Fun: The Story of an
Accidental Revolutionary, by David Diamond and Linus
Torvalds.”

Kimbro Staken writes “The dbXML Project has released version 0.6 of the dbXML Native XML Database. With this release the server is closing in on feature complete status prior to a 1.0 release. The dbXML Core is released as Open Source software under the LGPL. http://www.dbxml.org/news/05162001-1.html“

Slashdot has an item on the recent announcement from ICANN, stating that .info and .biz will soon be open for registration. Seems that ICANN is giving trademark holders first crack at the reservations; the commoners will get to pick over whatever is left. There’s the troubling fact that ICANN still hasn’t asked the Department of Commerce for permission to implement those new domain names. Oh, and those pesky At-Large elections that allow public input into the ICANN process? They’re not going to fund them anymore.

From BusinessWire: MontaVista Software Inc., the company
powering the embedded revolution, today announced that STMicroelectronics has designated MontaVista,
provider of Hard Hat Linux for embedded applications, as the first and preferred supplier of Linux
for its system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for consumer electronics and other markets.

From PR Newswire: Lineo, Inc. a leading innovator
in embedded systems, real-time and high availability solutions, today
announced the shipment of Lineo RTXC Quadros, a new member of the Lineo
operating system product line. RTXC Quadros derives its name from four
real-time operating system (RTOS) configurations that allows users to select
the optimal configuration for an application through the use of a host-based
system configuration utility. The four RTOS models include a small footprint,
high performance kernel using a common stack; a task-based kernel for
application tasks that require separate stacks; a model that includes a
combination of the first two configurations; and a multi-processing model.

The humor site, Segfault makes fun of the recent database benchmark Linux scored over Windows. “We are extremely pleased with the result.” commented an SGI spokesperson, “We saved a
fortune using the free Linux operating system. It took us a 750 thousand dollars more in hardware
costs, but we feel that the extra expense was validated by the results.”

ZDNet reports on the response by Open Source leaders to Microsoft v.p. Craig Mundie’s speech early this month. The story has a response from Microsoft: “We appreciate the dialog on this issue — it’s exactly the type of discussion Craig was hoping to foster.”

TheRegister reports on the deal that will putOpera 5.0 for QNX on IBM’s NetVista Internet appliance. More from CNet.