I’m setting up a new computer. I get through the registration screens, install my software, change my wallpaper, and everything’s working fine. I’m left, though, with a lingering, uneasy feeling: I don’t know if this machine is secure. I’m a computer guy, so I know how to set up strong passwords and firewalls, [...]]]> by Gunnar Hellekson

I’m setting up a new computer. I get through the registration screens, install my software, change my wallpaper, and everything’s working fine. I’m left, though, with a lingering, uneasy feeling: I don’t know if this machine is secure. I’m a computer guy, so I know how to set up strong passwords and firewalls, but I’m still not sure if I’ve done everything right. I turn to my vendor, who has hopefully published a hardening guide. If I’m very enthusiastic, I might even follow the NSA’s Security and Network Analysis Center Guides. If I do any of these things, I’m already being more diligent that 95% of users out there. And that’s a problem.

Personal responsibility and its sworn enemy, “I have something better to do.”

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Microsoft announced this week that they are releasing source code for Linux drivers that allow it to interact better with Windows, where Windows is the host OS and Linux is running as a guest OS. This [...]]]> The recent announcements by Adobe and Microsoft of source code releases under FOSS licenses are attempts to co-opt free software.

Microsoft announced this week that they are releasing source code for Linux drivers that allow it to interact better with Windows, where Windows is the host OS and Linux is running as a guest OS. This is great PR for Microsoft but really does nothing to improve Linux. Now if Microsoft added hooks to their OS that allowed it to better operate as a guest OS in a Linux host, that might be something to report. However, there are rumors that Microsoft has taken exactly the opposite tact. It has been reported that Windows Vista and Windows 7 refuse to run as virtual machines.

On the other hand, Microsoft has not backed down from patent threats against Linux, claiming it contains source code that violates intellectual property rights. Steve Balmer claims that “People who use Red Hat, at least with respect to our intellectual property, in a sense have an obligation to compensate us,” However, Microsoft has never disclosed which source code or applications violate it’s “intellectual property” rights. Many in the Linux community, including me, consider this to be a simple case FUD and attempted extortion. Novell agreed to license Microsoft’s intellectual property in exchange for a patent pledge to users of Novell’s SuSE Linux. In other words, they succumbed to the extortion. Red Hat refused. Many long time Linux users are now boycotting SuSE as a result.

Adobe announced at OSCON two new “Open Source Initiatives”. The products are Text Layer Format and Open Source Media Framework. To quote Dana Blankenhorn “Adobe is delivering an open source project so that open source, as a concept, can live in its world of corporate media.” Text Layer Format is an Action Script layer that adds typographical features to the Adobe Flash Player. Open Source Media Framework is an attempt to inhibit the use of the tag in HMTL-5 and the inclusion of Ogg-Theora open source video player as a part of that specification. By announcing the release of these “Open Source” initiatives, Adobe is attempting to preempt any criticisms against it’s proprietary product Flash, by being able to claim that it too is “open source”.

Microsoft and Adobe are pursuing the same divide and conquer Public Relations strategy. Big splashy announcements about “Open Source” while pursuing a strategy of market dominance with proprietary closed source products. HTML5 and the inclusion of the <video > tag threatens both Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Flash. Expect to hear more FUD from both in order to prevent the inclusion of truly open standards in HTML5.

- MPEG 1/2 movies (MPG files, VCDs, DVDs …) - MPEG 4 movies (DivX, XviD, H.264 [...]]]> Version 1.2.3.of GeeXboX is released. GeeXboX is a standalone media player, running under Linux and based on MPlayer. GeeXboX runs from a CD on any Pentium-class or Apple Macintosh computer. Nearly every kind of media file can be played with GeeXboX,

- MPEG 1/2 movies (MPG files, VCDs, DVDs …)
- MPEG 4 movies (DivX, XviD, H.264 …)
- RealMedia and Windows Media movies.
- OggMedia streams
- Matroska streams
- Audio streams like : MP3, Ogg/Vorbis, WAV (AudioCD), AC3, DTS, MusePack (MPC), FLAC …
- Network streams : WebRadio and WebTV through SHOUTcast.
- Watching analog TV and digital DVB
- Playing analog Radio streams.
- Playing files from your local network (LAN) through remote NFS, Samba (i.e. Windows) or UPnP shares.

To learn more ….

Red Hat is an open source software solution provider to enterprises worldwide. Founded [...]]]> At the close of trading Friday July 24, Standard and Poors, the leading index provider will replace CIT Group with Red Hat Inc, in the 500th place. As of July 17, CIT Group had a market capitalization of $275 Million.

Red Hat is an open source software solution provider to enterprises worldwide. Founded in 1993, Red Hat is the leader in enterprise Linux and is the most recognized open source brand in the world. Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Systems Software Sub-Industry index.

Standard & Poor’s is a provider of financial market intelligence. Standard & Poor’s is a source of credit ratings, indices, investment research, risk evaluation and data. Standard & Poor’s is the world’s largest index provider. Standard & Poor’s Indices provide a full spectrum of services assisting investors and asset managers to measure market performance.

Red Hat’s stock rose after the announcement

No [...]]]> Here’s an excellent article on automating backups on Linux systems. I use many of these same scripts to archive data to my backup server, nightly. If you haven’t already started using automated backups, I strongly urge you to do so. Remember if it’s not backed up, it must not be important. — Neil

No excuses: do-it-yourself, secure, distributed network backups made easy

Carlos Justiniano, Software Architect, Ecuity Inc.

Summary: The loss of critical data can prove devastating. Still, millions of professionals ignore backing up their data. While individual reasons vary, one of the most common explanations is that performing routine backups can be a real chore. Because machines excel at mundane and repetitive tasks, the key to reducing the inherent drudgery and the natural human tendency for procrastination, is to automate the backup process.

If you use Linux, you already have access to extremely powerful tools for creating custom backup solutions. The solutions in this article can help you perform simple to more advanced and secure network backups using open source tools that are part of nearly every Linux distribution.

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Few can argue with the success of modern computing [...]]]> Summary: Organizations today face two major challenges: deployment of an increasingly rich service mix and managing the associated massive base of computing platforms. In this article, discover a new(ish) means of viewing a key component of the organizational architecture—treating operating systems themselves as individual managed objects.

Few can argue with the success of modern computing technology. For better or worse, the global proliferation of computing access is historically without precedent. So too are the consequences; witness the advent of spam and online fraud as more and more people go online. However, there are a great many positive aspects to global computerization, such as access to information and a well-informed, flexible global workforce.

Underpinning the success of modern computing is the not-so-well-known data center in which vast numbers of servers and other hardware reside. The demand for computing services has grown to such an extent that many data centers are rapidly approaching (or have already exceeded) physical limits in relation to size and power consumption.

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Microsoft’s recent lawsuit against TomTom, alleging infringement [...]]]> A Linux developer has published a new kernel patch that provides a workaround to avoid Microsoft’s patents on the FAT filesystem. The patch, which has undergone extensive legal review by patent lawyers, could make it possible to use FAT on Linux without having to pay licensing fees to Microsoft.

Microsoft’s recent lawsuit against TomTom, alleging infringement of filesystem patents, has left many questions unanswered about the legal implications of distributing open source implementations of Microsoft’s FAT filesystem. A new Linux kernel patch that was published last week offers a workaround that might make it possible to continue including FAT in Linux without using methods that are covered by Microsoft’s patents.

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