Linux News for Mar 12, 2003

• Report: Global Enterprises Turning to Linux Servers (Mar 12, 2003, 23:30)
  "A new report on Linux released this week by Forrester Research has found that global enterprises are increasingly turning to cheap Intel-based Linux servers to run a variety of datacenter applications..."


• Debian GNU/Linux Advisory: qpopper (Mar 12, 2003, 23:29)
  "Florian Heinz posted to the Bugtraq mailing list an exploit for qpopper based on a bug in the included vsnprintf implementation..."


• Mandrake Linux Advisory: usermode (Mar 12, 2003, 23:27)
  "The /usr/bin/shutdown command that comes with the usermode package can be executed by local users to shutdown all running processes and drop into a root shell. This command is not really needed to shutdown a system..."


• Boston Globe: Kapor Quits Board of Groove Networks (Mar 12, 2003, 22:00)
  "Local software legend Mitch Kapor won't confirm or deny a published report that he quit the board of Beverly-based Groove Networks Inc. because of its involvement in a program that could help the federal government analyze personal information about millions of Americans..."


• Two on EU Microsoft Antitrust Case (Mar 12, 2003, 20:30)
  Two stories, both ultimately coming out of Reuters, give conflicting views of what is the status of the European Union's antitrust case against US software company Microsoft.


• Computerworld: Oregon Bill Touts Open-Source Option (Mar 12, 2003, 19:00)
  A detailed follow-up to the Oregon open-source bill: "The idea, said Democratic State Rep. Phil Barnhart, is to offer cheaper and more flexible options to government agencies through the use of open-source, standards-based software rather than proprietary applications..."


• CNET News: Red Hat Revamps Premium Linux Plan (Mar 12, 2003, 17:30)
  "Linux seller Red Hat on Wednesday will unveil a new phase in its plan to profit from a premium product, introducing a new lower-priced version of its Advanced Server software, along with a new brand name..."


• Computerworld: Bug Disclosure, Fix Process Improving (Mar 12, 2003, 17:30)
  "Several users welcomed the growing willingness of vendors and security researchers to work together to identify and fix software vulnerabilities in the wake of last week's disclosure of a major hole in a widely used e-mail protocol..."


• SearchEnterpriseLinux: Linux Analysts, Users Offer Varied Predictions on SCO Suit (Mar 12, 2003, 16:00)
  "But the cacophony of voices has yet to produce any clarity on the issue, as industry watchers offer radically different views on the potential import of SCO's claim that IBM improperly donated portions of SCO's System V Unix code to the Linux kernel..."


• Alan Cox: Linux 2.4.21pre5-ac3 (Mar 12, 2003, 15:51)
  Changelog, link within.


• ZDNet UK: SuSE to Give Allies a Slice of Revenue Pie (Mar 12, 2003, 14:30)
  The Linux software company is announcing a new plan designed to boost sales tied to IBM servers


• CNET News: Red Hat Revamps Premium Linux Plan (Mar 12, 2003, 14:15)
  "Linux seller Red Hat on Wednesday will unveil a new phase in its plan to profit from a premium product, introducing a new lower-priced version of its Advanced Server software, along with a new brand name..."


• SearchEnterpriseLinux: SuSE CEO on SCO Suit, UnitedLinux and More (Mar 12, 2003, 14:15)
  "In this one-on-one interview... [SuSE CEO Richard] Seibt further details his goals for SuSE, UnitedLinux, SCO's lawsuit against IBM, Linux innovation and development for the enterprise, and more..."


• Linux Journal: Buffer Overflow Attacks and Their Countermeasures (Mar 12, 2003, 13:00)
  "This article attempts to explain what buffer overflow is, how it can be exploited and what countermeasures can be taken to avoid it..."


• OSNews: Tcl Core Team Interview (Mar 12, 2003, 11:30)
  "Several of the 'core team,' including the lead maintainer, Jeff 'The Tcl Guy' Hobbs, Andreas Kupries, Donal Fellows and Mark Harrison, were kind enough to take some time to respond to some questions about a variety of topics via email..."


• AP/Boston.com: Saving Firms Money to be Top Theme at Shrunken CeBIT Technology Fair (Mar 12, 2003, 10:00)
  CeBIT: "Technical advances that can save companies money will be a top theme at the at the CeBIT fair opening here Tuesday, as the high-tech world gathers to look for new directions even as the prospect of war in Iraq dims the already gloomy outlook..."


• Business Standard: Red Hat Plans Training Center in Mumbai (Mar 12, 2003, 08:30)
  "Red Hat... is planning to set up the second Red Hat training center in India..."


• Computerworld Australia: Supercomputer has Local Roots (Mar 12, 2003, 07:00)
  "Melbourne developers played an integral role in a new range of SGI supercomputers making their debut in the Extreme Linux roadshow touring Australian cities now..."


• Debian Weekly News - March 11, 2003 (Mar 12, 2003, 05:00)
  Community Roundup: The latest news from the Debian Project.


• GNUe Traffic #71 (Mar 12, 2003, 05:00)
  Community Roundup: The latest news from the GNUe project.


• SEUL.org: Linux in Education Report #91 (Mar 12, 2003, 05:00)
  Community Roundup: The latest news from the SEUL/edu Project.


• Release Digest: KDE, March 11, 2003 (Mar 12, 2003, 05:00)
  Today's KDE apps: KGoodStuff 3.0.1, MySQL Navigator 1.4.2, qDecision 1.2, XDrawChem 1.6.7, KMess 1.0, Kmc 0.9, imgSeek 0.6.6rc1, Kvolmet 0.2p1, and Kover 2.9.1.


• Release Digest: GNOME, March 11, 2003 (Mar 12, 2003, 05:00)
  Today's GNOME apps: Eel 2.2.2, Nautilus 2.2.2, Bug Buddy 2.2.103, and glunarclock 0.30.1.


• Australian IT: States' Open Source Punt (Mar 12, 2003, 03:00)
  "Open source software has taken a big step closer to the mainstream, as Australia's two largest state governments have created policy units to investigate wider use of open platforms in the public sector..."


• The Inquirer: Linux, the Movie (Mar 12, 2003, 01:00)
  "By coincedence, a day after it came out that SCO/Caldera is suing IBM over alleged misappropriation of UNIX trade secrets, a neat visual aid tipped up that can help IBM's lawyers counter SCO's allegations..."