Linux

At the Open Source in the Voluntary Sector conference in London on Wednesday, charities described how they'd managed to make the most of their IT budgets by using Linux, including a London-based charity which saved more than £28,000 by using Linux Terminal Server to build its network. Homeless charity Alone in London spent less than £2,000 to set up a network of 30 PCs from scratch, compared to a similar-sized charity which spent £30,000 on building a network using proprietary solutions and new PCs, according to James Holland, who ran the project at Alone in London.

Gentoo Linux is the BSD of GNU/Linux distributions; it's elegant and customizable and you know exactly what you're getting when you install it. If you do it right, Gentoo is usually faster than your average GNU/Linux distro because everything can be compiled with higher compiler optimizations. The 2004.2 edition of Gentoo Linux lacks the improvements I had hoped to see, but this is still the best community GNU/Linux distribution for desktop tinkerers. Some even say that it makes a good server, too.

A bug in Usermin, a widely used administration console for Unix and Linux, could allow a hacker to run malicious code through a specially crafted email, reported security researchers.

According to an advisory released by Gentoo, a bug in the installation script of Webmin and Usermin could also enable local users to execute a symlink attack at installation time.

Terra Soft has released the third release candidate of the upcoming Yellow Dog Linux 4.0: Good news! Yellow Dog Linux RC3 is now available from YDL.net Enhanced and now offers an installable ISO for the post-June G5 Power Macs, including the latest water-cooled models. In addition: MOL for OS X is solid, a new version of KDE has been introduced, auto-partitioning fixed, and the installer auto-detects the presence of Mac OS partitions, automatically adding them to yaboot. We have only one more show-stopper to go - support for the G4 Xserves.

Motorola made a lot of noise last year when it said it would start using Linux for handsets. The hardest of the hardcore geeks' ears perked up, and analysts spelled doom for Symbian and Microsoft. But more than a year later, Linux has failed to set the mobile industry on fire. But BusinessWeek says, yes, Linux is still coming to a phone near you.

Having started an open-source initiative in Texas, I can identify many of the pitfalls appearing on the horizon for California. As a former resident of southern California, I understood the unfriendly business climate and the power of special interests in the state, as described by Governor Schwarzenegger during his campaign.

Longhorn's delay may be Linux's gain, according to Linux vendors and analysts. With Longhorn shorn of most of its most important features, such as WinFS (Windows File System), Linux supporters are hopeful that the Linux desktop can finally make inroads into the hearts and minds of corporate desktop users.

Dr. Frederick Berenstein, chairman and CTO of Xandros Inc., thinks Linux can do more than just catch up with Windows. He thinks Linux can do better.

The Linux vendor has released a mobile device with 30GB storage that allows users to turn any computer into their personal Linux desktop without making any changes to its hard drive

Linux vendor MandrakeSoft on Thursday announced the release of Globetrotter, a mobile hard drive loaded with its operating system that turns any computer into a Linux box.

The hard drive runs from the USB port of a computer and allows users to turn most PCs into a Linux desktop without modifying the host computer.

Consulting security engineer and Linux strategist Mark Lachniet has released a comprehensive feasibility study aimed at enterprises contemplating a move to Linux desktops. Lachniet is making the study available as a free download from DesktopLinux.com in order to promote understanding and dialogue on the pros and cons of migrating to the Linux desktop, and to provide a full scope and understanding of the issues.

As further testament to the growing popularity of open-source software among regional governments, South Korea's education ministry could soon switch to the Linux operating system.