Sun Microsystems answers the fifteen questions asked by Microsoft regarding its new software strategey. Check out the opening shots: “We think Chuck (Humble, of Microsoft’s PR agency Waggener-Edstrom) has a dilemma. You see, he thinks the race just started and is feeling good because Microsoft sees Sun in his rear view mirror. Poor Chuck. He doesn’t understand that Microsoft is about to be lapped.”

Reuters reports that Pope John Paul is thinking about making Saint Isidore of Seville the
patron saint of Internet users and computer programmers. “Saint Isidore, who lived in the seventh century, was believed to have written the world’s first
encyclopaedia, the Etymologies, which included entries on medicine, mathematics, history and
theology.” Here’s a prayer to say before logging on. How will this affect all those, ummm, very secular chat rooms?

“Microsoft’s Product Activation technology has triggered a row in the company’s
official Whistler beta newsgroups, with testers threatening defection to Linux or
piracy over the matter. The irate testers – who, as far as we know, haven’t actually
been hit by a real live Product Activation Whistler build yet – seem to have been
sent further up the wall by the intervention of a Microserf, who referred them to a
couple of FAQs on the site.” From a report at The Register.

IDG.net: “Last month’s unveiling of the National Security Agency’s attempt to create a
truly secure Linux was the first good security news of the year. On Jan. 2 the NSA
announced that it had been figuring out how to harden the popular open-source
OS, and that it was sharing its prototype, dubbed Security-Enhanced Linux, and
source code with the public.”

From the esteemed Microsoft.com: “While the Linux software is practically free, implementation of it is far from free because a rollout will take up substantial developer and administrator
time due to the lack of complete programmer toolkits and consistent standards for things like object technologies. Meanwhile Small Business Server 2000
delivers full-featured functionality and better ease of use for both customers and technology providers right out of the box. Plus, all of the
applications delivered in Small Business Server are integrated to enable a unified setup that’s efficient and predictable, as well as centralized
management capabilities. The familiar Windows user interface further contributes to the ease of installation and management of the server.”

“The Simi-Conejo Linux Users Group will be holding LUGFest IV on April 21st and 22nd,
2001, in Simi Valley, California.

A LUGFest is an opportunity for Linux users to demo Linux (or other Open Source
operating systems), Linux applications, attend seminars, and BOF (Birds Of a Feather)
sessions. Additionally, Linux vendors may participate and show off their wares.” Read more at LinuxPR.com.

Hall speaks to LinuxWorld.com: “Linux evangelism means going out and promoting the Linux operating system. This is different from promoting open source or even free software. While
I am a fan of both of those myself, I do not agree that all applications have to be open source, nor do I agree that all applications have to be freely available. I do
feel very strongly that all platform code necessary for an application to run (including compilers and even some debugging tools) should be both freely available
and open source.”

From OSOpinion: “Linux was developed by Linus Torvalds as an individual from the beginning. As a benevolent
dictator, he has continued shaping the direction and quality of the core Linux kernel based on his
vision, feedback from users as well as individuals developing parts of the kernel.”

Wired.com:
“The nation’s capital is not only home to Mack-truck-gulping potholes, cocaine-snorting politicos and murder rates higher than Genghis
Kahn’s on a very bad day.

No, the District of Columbia is instead — no joking — an up-and-coming tech center, according to a report from a local civic group released Monday.”

From Wired.com:
“In 1972, Robert Draper discovered he could make free long-distance phone calls using a whistle from a Cap’n Crunch cereal
box. The whistle emitted a 2,600-hertz tone that got him into the internal authorization system at the phone company.

With another noisy device known as a blue box, Draper — soon to be known as “Cap’n Crunch” — made it possible for many
to reach out and touch someone without having to pay for the privilege.

And so was born the modern technology hack. It certainly wasn’t the first effort to rig something up to avoid conventional
protocols, but it definitely helped trigger a decades-long, sometimes-underground movement to maneuver through security,
avoid paying for things, and even cause some malicious damage here and there.”