The Red Herring explains what, exactly, the much talked about Global Positioning System (GPS) is, and the history of the system.

Reuters reports that the Wi-Fi, also known as 802.11 protocol is vulnerable to attack. The Wired Equivalent Privacy security system can be overpowered, finds a Berkeley study cited in the article.

Computer World reports that Open Source software is making a debut in the European banking infrastructure. Dresdner Bank AG launched its Openadaptor custom back end system last week, and hopes that by making it open sourced it will be adopted quickly by other banks.

Kelly McNeill writes: “As a technical consultant that provides Linux solutions, I am often called on to provide insight or comments in published technology articles about Linux. For example, I was recently asked by a reporter to comment on the development issues of the Linux kernel. She asked if I agreed that it was time to turn Linux kernel development over to a management team because IBM, Intel and others had now invested money in Linux. She also stated that the Linux 2.4 kernel was late in part because Linus Torvalds had a full-time job already. Finally, she asked that while the Open Source development model had worked well so far, couldn’t it move faster with a dedicated team pushing it? The story which resulted from her research was published on January 26th on Tech Web, amid serious controversy — and without the comments I sent to her. Those comments form the basis of this editorial at OS Opinion.”

Linuxlookup.com tip of the week: Breaking up is easy to do:
“Last week I had some large files that I needed to break up for further testing. The large files were actually just a bunch of small files cat’ed together, but they needed to be broken apart before testing. I was planning to use the “split” command, but it can only generate fixed-size output files. What I needed was to split the file apart into its original parts… ”
Read the full tip of the week at Linuxlookup.com. Submitted by an anonymous reader.

CNet has a story on the fairly new, CollabNet-backed site called MozDev.org for Mozilla developers. “Mozilla.org, founded by Netscape to develop its browser in an open-source environment, has
long touted its technology as a potential foundation for building applications such as word
processors or spreadsheets for the Web — an area Microsoft and others covet. One of these
technologies, dubbed XUL (XML-based User Interface Language, pronounced “zool”), launched
with Netscape’s promise that it could spur a ‘programming revolution’ beyond the realm of
browser development.”

LinuxWorld asks Jon “maddog” Hall about getting paid to be a Linux evangelist: “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.”

Posted at LWN.net: “‘glibc’ is the main library in a linux system and is used by
virtually all programs out there.
Local vulnerabilities were found in the glibc package shipped with
Conectiva Linux that would allow an attacker to overwrite any file on
the system. Many environment variables were honored when running a
SUID program, and it was shown that even ‘trusted’ libraries could be
used to overwrite files on the system.”

An eWeek columnist talks about big promises to Linux frpm IBM, Oracle, and Intel, but says “any large commitments from customers remain a well-kept secret. Or they don’t exist.”

InfoWorld reports on the not-so-good prospects of the Secure Digital Music Initiative: “More than two years have passed, and more deadlines have been missed than can easily be remembered. Public tests have been announced and then concluded with only quiet comments. Dissension, if not a feeling of outright irrelevance, is growing among members, and the executive director, the man who guided the group since its founding, recently resigned. This is the condensed history of the Secure Digital Music Initiative.”