Steve Langasek proudly announced last evening, March 22nd, that it is now possible to install library packages of different architectures on your Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system via multiarch. This is great news for all Ubuntu developers and users alike, because it means that commands such as the one below can now be easily configured to work in an x86_64 chroot:
sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer:i386
Writing about Debian is not a simple thing. You know it's the giant that has spawned pretty much every other distro out there. It's almost like a Roman Empire, almost a taboo. Furthermore, it's not a desktop distro per se. It's more sort of a template you use to build your platform. It's also a SOHO server distro, therefore it more fits into the business category, comparable to CentOS and similar.
Google finds itself in hot water once again. It could find itself fighting off critics after it was found that the Android OS infringed on Linux code.
According to IP expert Florian Mueller the outcome could be worse than the current war between Oracle and Google - where Oracle is claiming that Android infringes on large amounts of copyrighted Java code.
Linus Torvalds released Linux kernel 2.6.38, featuring both an overhaul of the Virtual File System and an "automatic process grouping" patch touted as greatly improving performance. Other Linux 2.6.38 changes include support for AMD Fusion processors, new GPUs and Wi-Fi chips, plus Btrfs and page-memory enhancements.
It may not be as cool as Ubuntu or as cutting-edge as Fedora, but I’ve always had a soft spot for openSUSE Linux. Like MEPIS, another old favorite of mine, openSUSE just works and works well. The last couple of versions didn’t really get me excited though. They seemed more incremental than real advances. Now, though, now, I’m excited by the brand new openSUSE 11.4 release.
I recently had a chance to take a look at the Alpha 3 release of Ubuntu 11.04, the latest version of Canonical’s Linux desktop OS that is due in April. 11.04 is considered to be a major release for Ubuntu because it represents a significant departure from the default GNOME UI to the new Unity UI.
Unity doesn’t so as much replace GNOME interface entirely but acts as a replacement shell layer for the default GNOME 2.3.x shell.
A bug in the Caiaq USB driver, which could be used to execute arbitrary at the kernel level has been reported by Rafael Dominguez Vega of MRW InfoSecurity.
The device drivers are vulnerable to buffer overflow condition when an USB device with an unusually long name (over 80 characters) is connected to the machine. This is due to the use of strcpy() which length is not being tested, enabling the attacker to execute malicious code on the target machine.
Novell has customized a version of its Suse Linux Enterprise Server software for heavy users of SAP software, the company announced Tuesday.
For SAP shops, deploying this version of the Suse Linux, called SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications, could cut time and work needed for installation and upgrades, the company claims.
This is a comprehensive collection of Linux security products and explanations in the most simple and structured manner on how to safely and easily configure and run many popular Linux-based applications and services.
A new version of Debian was once cause for celebration in Linux circles - no doubt it still is in some quarters. Debian's offspring Ubuntu, though, has managed to steal much of the thunder lately.
Of course without Debian, Ubuntu would cease to exist. Part of the reason Ubuntu has been able to focus on polishing the Linux desktop is that Debian provides the core packages Ubuntu relies on. No Debian, no Ubuntu.
