In three months, Microsoft users will finally reap benefits from the company's new focus on security. The release of the second major update to Windows XP answers many long-standing design criticisms of its operating system.
But this was not a pain-free learning exercise. Indeed, Microsoft paid a steep price in the coin of user dissatisfaction--and in some cases, lasting mistrust.
The new Linux 2.6 kernel offers many improvements over the 2.4 version. One area of technical advancement is in the kernel networking options. Although there are enhancements in most of the files associated with the networking options, this article focuses on major feature improvements and additions that affect entire sections rather than on specific files.
The new Linux kernel includes support for and improvements in many areas of networking: from tunneling and better file security to encryption and privacy protection. This article covers how these improvements affect users even as they make Linux more secure and more enterprise-ready.
Linux company Lindows is continuing its experiment of offering software via peer-to-peer networks. The company said on Thursday that it is set to distribute its LindowsOS through P2P networks for $25 (£13.72), half the normal price, from its Web site. Lindows has been targeting consumers with its packaged version of the open-source Linux operating system, which has a reputation of being geared more for technically savvy individuals.
When Joseph L. Guallar-Esteve was laid off from IBM (NYSE: IBM) in the summer of 2001, he thought it would take months to find another job in technology. After all, he had seen some of his friends remain unemployed for nearly a year before finding work.
But Guallar-Esteve had an edge: He knew Linux .
I started with Slackware a long time ago and jumped to Redhat until 6.2 and then to Mandrake v8.X, v9.X, till now. I have been using Linux at home for desktop for more than 5 years. At the start was very difficult because a lot of applications only worked on windows at the time that I decided to jump to Linux. With Mandrake 9 everything changed and going thru all Mandrake 9 releases everything got better and easier, and today with Mandrake 9.2, it's very easy do all my work without felling any need to go back to a Windows or Mac environment.
Most stories about government deployments of Linux involve a distributor helping various federal and municipal agencies install the open source operating system. But in this case, a federal agency is helping Linux.
The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), also known as the codemakers and codebreakers cryptologic division within the Department of Defense, has helped to harden Linux with newly-released Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux) kernel modifications.
An IBM technical manager based in Sweden apparently spoke out of turn recently when he told several publications that Big Blue was working with Microsoft on porting Office to Linux.
Representatives of Microsoft and IBM have denied there was any validity to the rumors.
"No, it's completely erroneous," said Mary Rose Greenough, director of communications for IBM's Lotus software division. "None of it is true."
A more secure version of Linux created by the US National Security Agency is free to download
Don't be naive enough to think that because you run Linux you won't be a target for hackers. If you rely on Linux for hosting or transmitting sensitive data, you should check out Security-Enhanced Linux, created by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and available for free.
The long-awaited 2.6 kernel is finally here. The author takes a look behind the scenes at the tools, tests, and techniques -- from revision control and regression testing to bugtracking and list keeping -- that helped make 2.6 a better kernel than any that have come before it. Some interesting changes took place in the way the Linux kernel is developed and tested. Several key changes have improved overall stability as well as quality.
