Linux News for Sep 29, 1999

• Linux Journal: An Interview with Guido van Rossum (Sep 29, 1999, 23:18)
  "A conversation with the creator of Python about an effort to teach Python to non-computer science students."


• Linux Journal: Dispelling the Great "There Aren't Any Applications" Myth (Sep 29, 1999, 23:07)
  "There's just one problem with the "No Apps" myth: it's no longer true. The apps are here--it's up to us to prove it."


• Linux Journal: Andover.Net Goes Dutch in Stock Offering (Sep 29, 1999, 22:52)
  "Andover.Net's OpenIPO is set up specifically to make sure all bidders have an equal shot at the new stock."


• LinuxPR: Announcing LinuxNewbie.com web portal (Sep 29, 1999, 22:42)
  "LinuxNewbie.com - "LNC"...aims to introduce the public to the new OS, and guide them through the various aspects of the system from the many situations in which Linux can be used - both in the server and desktop environments."


• Linux Orbit: The Newbie takes on VMWare for Linux (Sep 29, 1999, 21:56)
  "Now you might ask, why would one need VMware when they already have the ability of running Windows and as many Linux systems as their hard drive can handle on the same PC. Well its because of the need to reboot."


• CNN: Don't blame Back Orifice for security problems (Sep 29, 1999, 21:41)
  "In Unix, an attacker would first have to get root privileges. Not in Windows. There's no such thing as limited privileges or administrator privileges or root privileges. This might have made some sense in the age of isolated desktop computers. But on the Internet, this is absurd."


• LinuxWorld: IBM's secret summit (Sep 29, 1999, 21:24)
  "I'm detailing this to make sure you understand. Linux is a very big deal at IBM."


• SRO: Inprise Joins Corel On The Linux Course (Sep 29, 1999, 21:18)
  "Kylix will represent the first full-featured, Windows-style RAD environment for Linux."


• SRO: Fujitsu To Distribute Caldera OpenLinux (Sep 29, 1999, 21:05)
  "This is more than just yet another company adopting Linux on its servers."


• Real Networks posts Fix for Linux Real Player G2 Alpha (Sep 29, 1999, 20:56)
  "Many Linux users found that their Real Player G2 programs stopped working this morning. Apparently Real Networks encoded an expiration date in the code. After some quick calls to Real Networks and some fast foot work by their technical people, the Linux G2 player has been patched so that it will not be expired."


• CRN: Red Hat Preps Linux OS Upgrade (Sep 29, 1999, 20:53)
  "Red Hat Linux 6.1, scheduled to be unveiled Monday, will feature a streamlined installation, online software updates, and enhancements for managing distributed computing architectures, according to company information."


• Inprise Developer News: Inprise signals Linux intentions (Sep 29, 1999, 20:43)
  "In a flurry of announcements, Inprise Corp. this week signaled its intention to be the industry's leading vendor of development tools and databases for the Linux platform."


• LinuxPR: Red Hat Linux Services and Software Help iCelebrate.com Meet Holiday E-Commerce Rush (Sep 29, 1999, 20:23)
  "Red Hat's On-site Consulting Services and Powerful Open Source Software Help iCelebrate.com Quickly Launch Holiday and Seasonal E-commerce Web Site."


• LinuxPR: Magic Software Donates $10,000 To Wildlife Group On Behalf Of Penguins (Sep 29, 1999, 20:18)
  "Company To No Longer Use Live Penguins To Promote Its Linux Products."


• LinuxPR: The U.S. largest Independent Music Distributor in support of Linux (Sep 29, 1999, 20:15)
  "We belive that the Linux community thinks, acts, and works very much like the independent music industry."


• SRO: Jesux Hoax Uncovered (Sep 29, 1999, 18:25)
  "Jesux started out as a joke (and it still is, to some degree or another)," says the author."


• LinuxWorld: Linux advocacy (Sep 29, 1999, 18:16)
  "Secondly, it matters because, when you become an advocate, you lose the right of free speech. As an advocate you begin to speak from a script that you may or may not have had a hand in writing."


• SJ Mercury: Fujitsu in pact to promote Caldera Linux globally (Sep 29, 1999, 17:52)
  "The Utah company said the deal represented Fujitsu's strongest commitment yet to the alternative software operating system favoured by many Web site managers over Microsoft."


• LWN: Web-100: Getting that 100% (Sep 29, 1999, 17:42)
  "The benefits would be many: better network usage, Linux at the forefront of Internet research, and perhaps even federal funding paying for Linux kernel hackers to improve the system."


• E-Commerce Times: OpenSales Opens Door To Free E-Commerce (Sep 29, 1999, 17:31)
  "And, with our full support of Linux and open-source developments, we look forward to enhancing our solutions while contributing to a technological movement that will liberate users from the limitations of restrictive systems and solutions."


• E-Commerce Times: Corel, EBIZ Roll Out Linux-Based PC, Spark Controversy (Sep 29, 1999, 17:21)
  "As is often the case with Linux-related news items, TheLinuxStore's partnership with Corel has attracted criticism. One participant in an online Linux posting group commented, "Does anybody else find it ironic that a company called The Linux Store runs their shop on a Windows NT setup?"


• CNET News.com: Corel, others legitimize alternative IM software (Sep 29, 1999, 17:17)
  "...alternative instant messaging products are cropping up that intend to both compete and interoperate with AOL's market-leading messaging systems."


• E-Commerce Times: Will Microsoft See the 'Sun' Rise? (Sep 29, 1999, 17:12)
  "Additionally, the version of StarOffice that I ordered was designed to run on Windows. This minor detail makes me question the soundness of Sun's strategy. Does it hope to convert Microsoft Office users by allowing them to download a product that runs on Windows? Somehow the logic escapes me."


• CNET News.com: Does Microsoft fear rising tech stocks? (Sep 29, 1999, 17:03)
  "...the boom has made it harder for Microsoft to match its upstart competitors in deal-making and is causing the company to lose some of its best talent to 'dot.coms.' "


• TechWeb: Caldera To Push Back IPO, Sign Fujitsu Deal (Sep 29, 1999, 16:58)
  "Caldera Systems likely will file for an initial public offering after Jan. 1, 2000, rather than next month as originally planned."


• CNET News.com: Could Sueltz bring end to Sun, HP Java fight? (Sep 29, 1999, 16:48)
  "...Sueltz, who formerly led IBM's Java efforts, could well signal the first step by Sun toward a more accommodating approach to companies like HP over Java-licensing conflicts."


• Wired: PrivacyX Browser Boomerangs (Sep 29, 1999, 16:40)
  "...the company on Tuesday invited cryptographers to bring the browser back under an as-yet-unspecified open source license."


• ComputerWorld: Microsoft to ship NT-based thin-client software (Sep 29, 1999, 16:37)
  "...based on Windows NT 4.0 Embedded, is a leaner version... intended for single-task workers and niche applications such as retail cash registers."


• Zope Weekly News for September 28, 1999 (Sep 29, 1999, 16:29)
  


• ZDNet: Windows 2000 Reality Check (Sep 29, 1999, 16:24)
  "Microsoft told us the next version of Windows NT would be the Mother of All Operating Systems: Robust, stable, easier to use. ... When Win2000 appears, it will be a compromise, with many promised features still missing."


• Linuxtopia.com: Is Linux for you? (Sep 29, 1999, 16:06)
  "Some people hear the phrase "command prompt" and run away like Forrest Gump runs from a bully. Others are intrigued by the fact that a computer can run all day and not crash."


• The Register: Linux distributor Caldera delays IPO (Sep 29, 1999, 15:46)
  "Caldera is to follow fellow Linux distributor Red Hat down the IPO trail later rather than sooner. The company's plan to go public will now not take place until next year and not next month after all."


• IT-Analysis: The Linux-PlayStation double whammy (Sep 29, 1999, 15:30)
  "One way or another, the consumer space is likely to be linked with the Internet. It's looking as if the Sony PlayStation and Linux based wireless devices could be the two principal technologies that dominate that space."


• From UNIX to the desktop: a semiotic perspective on digital (r)evolution (Sep 29, 1999, 15:08)
  "By drawing an analogy with how violently people reacted against abstract art in the beginning of the 20th century and how users today react against non-iconic user interfaces, one understands why the amount of realism involved in iconic representations is a sensitive issue."


• The Register: New Transmeta patent reveals x-86 killer design (Sep 29, 1999, 14:52)
  "But don't you think that, with the latest information going into the public domain, that Transmeta's secret is more or less blown? Might as well announce it then - over to you, Linus."


• Upside: Growing the Open Source Organism (Sep 29, 1999, 14:42)
  "We think the operating-system space is covered pretty well," Weiner says. "Let's move on to the next generation: applications, groupware, platform integration tools."


• BW: Red Hat Linux Services and Software Help iCelebrate.com Meet Holiday E-commerce Rush (Sep 29, 1999, 14:24)
  "iCelebrate purchased Red Hat's on-site consulting services to help create the ultimate holiday shopping site, quickly installing, integrating and tuning Red Hat Linux on Oracle database software and Dell systems."


• BW: Apropos Retail Management Systems To Install...Retail Management Software for St. John Knits (Sep 29, 1999, 14:21)
  "Linux is the operating system of choice for St. John Knits for the in-store systems at all retail locations. "Most of our new clients are choosing Linux for new store implementations," said McNall. "The track record of success we've had with Linux implementations is absolutely outstanding."


• PRNewswire: Inprise Launches Web-Based Newsmagazine for Developer Community Site (Sep 29, 1999, 14:15)
  "Developer News provides a new edition every weekday, consisting of in-depth industry news, events, products and trends. The content for Developer News is based on a daily rotation of topics of particular interest to developers including: Visual Basic, Java, C++, Delphi and Linux."


• Security Portal: DNS Security - closing the b(l)inds (Sep 29, 1999, 14:08)
  "However many DNS servers, and the information they provide, are woefully unprotected. Bind 8.x provides several facilities to control access to your DNS servers."


• Crossroads: RTLinux: An Interview with Victor Yodaiken (Sep 29, 1999, 06:04)
  "For Linux tasks, the realtime system can look just like a device that can read and written. You can write a realtime application as a Perl program or even a shell script that gets data from the realtime "device" and sends commands to that "device."


• Crossroads: The Texas Tech Tornado Cluster (Sep 29, 1999, 05:57)
  "A Linux/MPI Cluster For Parallel Programming Education And Research."


• Crossroads: Parallel Computing With Linux (Sep 29, 1999, 05:50)
  "No two Beowulf clusters are the same. In fact, their hardware and software configurations are so flexible and customizable that they present a wide array of possibilities."


• Crossroads: Introduction to Linux Networking and Security (Sep 29, 1999, 05:43)
  "People often ask, "How secure is my machine?" The answer is that any publicly accessible machine is necessarily insecure and vulnerable to security problems."


• The Interact + PC IT '99 Linux Pavilion -- How it all went (Sep 29, 1999, 05:42)
  "The Interact + PC IT shows are the largest IT industry events in Australia, regularly pulling in crowds of over 40,000. As such, this was a prime event and an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate Linux to the great majority of non-Linux using PC users."


• Crossroads: Linux DSP Shell (Sep 29, 1999, 05:33)
  "If the image acquisition component of the telepathology system had the potential to render preliminary diagnostic results in certain cases, this would allow the physician to make a complete diagnosis in a shorter period of time. This approach to telepathology is a primary motivation behind the Linux DSP Shell."


• Smart Computing: Microsoft Alternative (Sep 29, 1999, 04:52)
  "Although versions of Linux may some day claim a broad enough share of the market to force Microsoft to shift its business model, many proponents say the whole point right now is choice, not dominance."


• Wine News for September 27th (Sep 29, 1999, 02:26)
  You can now read the Wine project news for September 27th.


• EETimes: Tcl adds extensibility to design tools (Sep 29, 1999, 01:44)
  "The Tcl scripting language has several properties that suit it for onboard use in embedded systems. The embeddable nature makes it easy to incorporate into embedded systems."


• Linus development kernel Linux 2.3.18ac10 released (Sep 29, 1999, 01:34)
  


• LinuxPR: Fujitsu and Caldera Sign Strategic Linux Agreement to Distribute OpenLinux 2.3 (Sep 29, 1999, 01:25)
  "Hardware OEM Leader Chooses OpenLinux 2.3 to Distribute On GranPower Server Series and Agrees to Joint Promotion/Development."