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New Linux support policies are ominous By Jon Lasser, Security Focus Online Posted: 14/02/2003 at 11:33 GMT Opinion Red Hat and Mandrake are cutting support for older versions of their Linux distributions... The results will be a security nightmare for the Internet, says Jon Lasser. Open source opponents have for years warned, "You get what you pay for." Now some Linux distributors are planning to make good on that threat. Red Hat and Mandrake's recently-announced revised support policies might spell the end of the free ride for many companies using Linux. The policies are straightforward: Red Hat will support their...

Microsoft Corp. may in the future be forced to lower its software prices as a result of the growth of open source, the company cautioned in its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In its latest 10-Q quarterly filing, Microsoft said that the popularization of the open-source movement continues to pose a significant challenge to its business model. This threat includes "recent efforts by proponents of the open source model to convince governments worldwide to mandate the use of open source software in their purchase and deployment of software products. "To the extent the open source model gains...

Microsoft Corp. may in the future be forced to lower its software prices as a result of the growth of open source, the company cautioned in its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In its latest 10-Q quarterly filing, Microsoft said that the popularization of the open-source movement continues to pose a significant challenge to its business model. This threat includes "recent efforts by proponents of the open source model to convince governments worldwide to mandate the use of open source software in their purchase and deployment of software products. "To the extent the open source model gains...

<p>Will the licensing efforts of a key patent holder derail Linux's corporate growth?</p> <p>Every so often in the tech world, an intellectual-property lawsuit comes along that gets the coders clucking, predicting that it's the end of the digital world as we know it. A year ago, it was British Telecom's attempt to collect royalties on hyperlinks. And Amazon now and then comes under fire for some of its business-process patents.</p>

<p>The Bulls and the Bears may soon be standing on the unemployment line.</p> <p>Tux the penguin, Linux's beloved mascot, is rapidly becoming the financial services industry's totem animal of choice. In fact, it seems that the only steadily rising statistic on Wall Street these days is the number of companies moving to open-source systems.</p>

A growing number of Microsoft Corp. customers are angry and frustrated with what they say are the company's thinly veiled attempts to use its well-publicized security initiative to get them to upgrade or buy new software. Users contacted by eWeek last week reported various technical problems with Microsoft's automated services that let customers download and install patches for applications such as Internet Explorer 5.5 or Windows NT 4.0. They also said that when they contacted Microsoft support personnel, they were told that the software they were running was outdated. The solution: Upgrade to a more recent, more secure version. One...

<p>Is this thing on? Plug in that cord over there. Yes that one. NO NOT INTO THAT PLUG yes that one. Thanks. Testing 1 2 3.</p> <p>Hi everyone. Your friendly neighborhood AM here.</p> <p>Keywords. You've seen them. You love them. Maybe you have even abused them.</p> <p>Please don't abuse keywords. There are children in China doing without keywords.</p> <p>1) Having who added what keyword be revealed at the whim of sadistic moderators, such as myself.</p>

Front Door | Enterprise | Search | One Week View http://www.news.com Microsoft fails Slammer's security test By Robert Lemos Staff Writer, CNET News.com January 27, 2003, 4:27 PM PT http://news.com.com/2100-1001-982305.html Microsoft's policy of relying on software patches to fix major security flaws was questioned Monday after a series of internal e-mails revealed that the software giant's own network wasn't immune from a worm that struck the Internet last weekend. Special ReportCode Red for security Virulent worm calls into doubt our ability to protect the Net. The messages seen by CNET News.com portray a company struggling with a massive infection by the SQL Slammer worm, which...

Langa Letter: Linux Has Bugs: Get Over ItFred Langa contends that some Linux proponents harm their cause by hiding from the facts--it's just as buggy as Windows XP. By Fred Langa, InformationWeekJan 27, 2003 (12:00 AM)URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030124S0013I made a private bet with myself when I ran an item in my newsletter called "Linux Hacks On The Rise". It cited a study of software problems reported by CERT--the Computer Emergency Response Team that impartially tracks computing security threats. (CERT is part of a federally funded research and development center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.) Among other things, the article said:...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mike Petitjean has been a dedicated Microsoft user for more than a decade, but now the software developer says he's so fed up with the high prices and unreliable systems that he's switching to Linux (news - web sites). Linux's popularity with programmers has already managed to make a huge dent on the market share of rival software Unix (news - web sites) and now it's gradually threatening to do the same with Microsoft's dominance of the business software market. And giants such as IBM (NYSE:IBM - news), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - news), and Dell Computer...

There's something fishy about freeware Jacques Loubser, programme director for enterprise consulting services at Business Connexion, says companies seduced by "free" operating systems will ultimately find their choice constrains them.While many users try to measure the operating system in medium to large organisations purely on the cost per desktop by product, owning a desktop environment has costs that far outweigh that of the associated licensing.Installation is one of the first issues businesses stumble across. After organisations find their free-to-buy software they need somebody to install it. While it's not at all difficult to find someone who can put Microsoft's Windows...

<p>A few penguins swimming leisurely every now and then at the San Francisco Zoo is nothing new. But dozens of them doing laps in unison all day to the point of exhaustion has zookeepers perplexed.</p> <p>"We've lost complete control," said Jane Tollini, the zoos penguin keeper. "It's a free-for-all in here. After 18 years of doing this job, these birds are making mincemeat of me."</p>

There's Linux code to turn an old PC into a personal video recorder. Some people don't like that idea at all. Take one digital video capture card, a big cheap hard disk, a home-brew infrared receiver, and a seven-year-old PC out of your nearest closet or dumpster. Add some free software and—voila!—you have a personal video recorder, your own homemade Tivo. As with Tivo, watch what you want, when you want. Thumb your nose at the head of Turner Broadcasting or whoever else is angry that you have broken your "contract" to sit through commercials and are "stealing" programming if...

November 26, 2002  | Paul ThurrottMost Unsecure OS? Yep, It's Linux According to a new Aberdeen Group report, open-source solution Linux has surpassed Windows as the most vulnerable OS, contrary to the high-profile press Microsoft's security woes receive. Furthermore, the Aberdeen Group reports that more than 50 percent of all security advisories that CERT issued in the first 10 months of 2002 were for Linux and other open-source software solutions. The report muddles the argument that proprietary software such as Windows is inherently less secure than open solutions. And here's another blow to the status quo: Proprietary UNIX solutions were responsible...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Bought the latest whiz-bang personal computer, but don't know what to do with your older, fully functional PC? One option would be to try breathing new life into it with Linux (news - web sites), the software standard that is presenting itself as an alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) Windows operating system. With better stability, security and pricing in a desktop operating system with a look-and-feel similar to Windows, Linux advocates say they are getting ready to take on Microsoft, which dominates the desktop market. Since Linux is free to be copied and modified, unlike...

A NEW STUDY on future trends for Linux operating systems backs up claims made by several server makers that Linux should show strong growth in the data center over time, proving itself as a competitor to Unix and Microsoft's Windows. The report, entitled "Fear the Penguin," was released last week by The Goldman Sachs Group and presents a case for Linux playing a larger role in the overall mix of server operating systems present in companies' data centers. Goldman Sachs argued that a steady maturation of Linux, coupled with its presence on relatively low-cost hardware that uses chips from Intel...

<p>OSLO, Norway -- A Norwegian teenager has been cleared of DVD piracy charges in a landmark trial brought by major Hollywood studios.</p> <p>The Oslo court said Jon Johansen, known in Norway as "DVD Jon," had not broken the law when he helped unlock a code and distribute a computer program enabling DVD films to be copied.</p>

From the title of this paper you may have guessed that I am less than pleased with the guys in Redmond. One might even say that my dislike for Microsoft is a pet hate gone out of control in an almost quixotic fashion. Why is this? Of course I have been accused of personal antipathy, of being jealous of Bill Gates and his billions, and of being prejudiced against all things Microsoft without any reason whatsoever. But none of this is true. I have nothing personal against Bill Gates. Why should I? I don't know the man, I've never met...

<p>I have trouble understanding why anyone would use Windows for anything other than a few, specialized graphics or other specialty programs.</p> <p>Perhaps Windows users love viruses, high software costs, and all the rest of the fun that comes with using Microsoft's most popular proprietary program. I personally prefer Linux and other open-source software, and I think Windows users should be glad that a growing number of smart computer users share my preference for software freedom.</p>

The question of whether Linux's total cost of ownership (TCO) is lower than that of Windows or other operating systems has inspired many fierce debates among enterprise IT professionals. On initial review, the answer seems simple. Linux's low- or no-cost license fees should drive down the TCO of the open source OS, compared to Windows or other flavors of Unix. But the debate--like the larger debate of Linux vs. Windows--is complicated by administration and support costs that vary for each installation. TCO is hard to pin down Most analysts, if asked whether Linux has a lower TCO than other...