Linux

In what's certainly a different twist in operating-system marketing, Lindows is offering a CD bundle of not just its own Linux operating system, Linspire, but also the latest versions of two other popular Linux distributions: Fedora and Mandrake. The Desktop Linux Comparison Kit, or Linux Shootout, includes Linspire 4.5, Red Hat Inc.'s Fedora Core 2, MandrakeSoft SA's Mandrakelinux 10.0 Community Edition and what Lindows describes as a comprehensive, online and printable checklist.

One of the most significant benefits of Linux, I find, is system security.

I've watched, bemused, as one vicious worm after another has chewed its way hrough the Microsoft world. Each time another worm is unleashed, I pray that the Internet hasn't become such a Microsoft monoculture that it collapses under the onslaught. While Microsoft software has inherent security problems, its size also makes it a more inviting target. Virus- and worm-writing sociopaths focus on Microsoft systems, knowing they'll get more results from their efforts.

Can a company count on Linux to lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) of an enterprise system? Reaction to this question from CIOs and IT managers usually goes something like: "Well, of course it saves money on the bottom line. No sky-high enterprise licensing fees every year. No over-the-top support subscription costs; you can maintain the code in-house. Way fewer security and access issues, keeping the system down time low. No paying for unnecessary bells and whistles on end-user software. No worrying about mandatory upgrades every year and a half."

Linux represents a threat and an opportunity for every software and hardware company. Apple is once again at the crossroads. While it will take a couple of years before we know whether the company will make the right choice, one thing is clear: Apple's path is about to become vastly more interesting. I'm currently reading a science fiction book that refers to Bill Gates, and I was watching a movie recently in which one of the streets is named Microsoft Way, which happened to be on the moon.

I think of myself as a Linux expert. I was a Unix administrator before Linux existed, and these days I run Linux on four servers and four desktops in my home office.

I also know my way around hardware, and I'm something of a network maven. And despite all that, I can't get Wi-Fi networking working on my Centrino-enabled Toshiba laptop.

Argh!

Linux seller Red Hat and chipmaker Intel released prototype Linux software this week to support a security technology designed to curtail the spread of viruses.

The security technology, called NX for "no execute," is built into several "x86" processors from Intel, AMD and Transmeta. The technology is designed to block vulnerabilities that viruses and worms use to spread, but operating system support is required for NX to work.
On Wednesday, Red Hat programmer Ingo Molnar announced a Linux patch for NX support based on a prototype from Intel.

The end is in sight for Windows NT Server 4.0. Microsoft has announced that in December 2004, it will end its extended incident and security hotfix support for this workhorse technology that serves as the platform for a wide range of significant enterprise applications including e-mail, file and print services, network management and Internet functionality. So what should organizations still using Windows NT Server 4.0 do? Is Linux the answer? This article tells you what you need to know and do before the demise of the NT Server 4.0 reaches us.

Novell's local operation is taking a leading role in an ambitious year-long plan to move all the company's 6000 worldwide staff onto Linux desktops.

The migration, which will see staff across the globe using SuSE Linux systems running OpenOffice, is partly motivated by broader commercial concerns. Novell completed its $US210 million acquisition of SuSE in January this year, and the company wants to use itself as a showcase for both SuSE and Ximian, which it also purchased last year.

Lindows has won the latest round in its trademark fight with Microsoft, with a Dutch court ruling that it can keep its name for general corporate purposes in the Netherlands.

The Linux distro had lost an earlier case in the Netherlands over the use of the Lindows name and had to change the name of its operating system and its web site to Linspire. However, it kept Lindows as its official company name.

As Iraq emerges from years of stagnation wrought by a closed political system and tough sanctions from other countries, Iraqi interest in computing technology is finally burgeoning.