Linux

Novell today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire SUSE LINUX, one of the world’s leading enterprise Linux companies, expanding Novell’s ability to provide enterprise-class services and support on the Linux platform. With the open source expertise of SUSE LINUX and Novell’s world-class networking and identity solutions and support, training and consulting services, Novell will be able to deliver Linux and all its components – from the server to the desktop – and give organizations a secure, reliable and mature Linux foundation.

The installation of Vector was a relatively simple affair, using a non-graphical, but nevertheless easy-to-use, dialog driven installer. The kernel choice was simple (IDE or SCSI) and the installer even checks the base install file for errors, which is handy. One issue for a new Linux user would be the partitioning.

Kaspersky Labs Ltd., a Moscow security software developer, has released a new version of its anti-virus software for mail servers running on Linux and Unix operating systems. The software, Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Linux/Unix Mail Servers Version 5.0, offers several new features, including the ability to check all e-mail data streams centrally in real time, the company said in a statement earlier this week.

An open-source advocacy and development group has released a test version of the next Linux kernel, which may be finalized by the end of the year.

In a presentation that underscored Oracle Corp.'s support for Linux in the enterprise, Jim Enright, director of Oracle's Linux Program Office took the keynote stage at the Enterprise Linux Forum here on Wednesday to describe how the open-source OS helps Oracle customers and the company itself.

The adoption of Linux on the desktop is progressing, but there won't be a "David and Goliath" struggle that suddenly slays the dominance of Microsoft's Windows, advocates said at the Enterprise Linux Forum Conference and Expo in Washington, DC yesterday.

Nat Friedman, vice president of research and development for the Ximian division of Novell, said desktop users often asked him, "When will Linux be ready for the desktop?"

But those are the wrong questions, because for many desktop users, Linux is already ready, said Friedman, a developer of the Gnome Linux desktop.

The rivalry between Microsoft Windows and Linux comes down to the basic question of whom customers should trust, according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Ballmer on Tuesday acknowledged Microsoft turned its focus to matters such as patch management "probably later than we should have," but claimed that Microsoft has made dramatic strides in its Trustworthy Computing efforts, while users can question the quality of Linux security patches.

Ballmer made his comments during an executive interview before about 3,000 IT managers at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo.

Is Linux built more securely than Windows? According to a new survey, Windows and Linux developers both say yes—and for the first time, ranked it ahead of Windows XP. The September 2003 study from market-research firm Evans Data Corp. surveyed more than 500 North American participants, including VARs, ISVs, OEMs and corporate developers, according to Esther Schindler, senior analyst with Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Evans.

Zebra is open source TCP/IP routing software that is similar to Cisco's Internetworking Operating System (IOS). Flexible and powerful, it can handle routing protocols such as Routing Information Protocol (RIP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), and all of their various flavors. This article shows how our authors set up Zebra and used it to manage routes dynamically in conjunction with real Cisco hardware.

Two companies that sell Linux for computing devices such as network equipment or DVD players have settled a lawsuit involving alleged mishandling of open-source software.