Linux News for Jan 30, 2009

• Installing PowerDNS (With MySQL Backend) And Poweradmin On Ubuntu 8.10 (Jan 30, 2009, 23:33)
  HowtoForge: "This article shows how you can install the PowerDNS nameserver (with MySQL backend) and the Poweradmin control panel for PowerDNS on an Ubuntu 8.10 system. PowerDNS is a high-performance, authoritative-only nameserver - in the setup described here it will read the DNS records from a MySQL database (similar to MyDNS), although other backends such as PostgreSQL are supported as well. Poweradmin is a web-based control panel for PowerDNS."


• Sun Enhancements to OpenSolaris Take Aim at Linux (Jan 30, 2009, 23:03)
  eWeek: "The updates to the free Solaris-based OS shows that Sun will not follow IBM and HP in letting Linux take over the platform space once dominated by Unix."


• OpenChange, KDE bring Exchange compatibility to Linux (Jan 30, 2009, 22:33)
  Network World: ""We're working with the Microsoft Exchange protocols and work it mostly does," Hards said. "Mail is easy the stuff, what is hard is the address book, calendar, free-busy lists, and notes. These are a big deal in the enterprise.""


• Displaying Weather on the Desktop with ConkyForecast (Jan 30, 2009, 22:03)
  Linutop Mag: "But besides the usual stuff like RAM usage, processor load, and wireless signal strength, you can use Conky to display something more interesting like the current weather conditions and a four-day forecast complete with snazzy weather icons."


• All About Swap Part 1: Introduction (Jan 30, 2009, 21:33)
  Idea Excursion: "On the most basic level, swap acts as storage space auxiliary to system memory. Fortunately for developers, modern systems need not know or care about swap."


• AccessApps: The Braveheart Of Computing (Jan 30, 2009, 21:03)
  Raiden's Realm: "All muddy-faced and wild-haired, Aussie Mel growls in his best faux-Scots accent: "They may take our lives, but they'll never take our FREEDOM!""


• OLPC XO-2 to be open source hardware (Jan 30, 2009, 20:33)
  Heise Online: "According to a report from the Guardian, the next version of the OLPC (XO-2) will be open source hardware."


• A glimmer of hope from whitehouse.gov (Jan 30, 2009, 20:03)
  Free Software Magazine: "The new US presidential website shows some promise that indeed, we now have a US president who isn’t afraid of the future."


• Pandora open-source handheld console inching closer to debut (Jan 30, 2009, 19:33)
  ars Technica: "The long-awaited Pandora open-source handheld has inched one step closer to completion, as the OpenPandora team has put on display the nearly finalized case design. We review what we know about Pandora to date, and what the project is hoping to accomplish."


• Even Microsoft's anti-Linux message isn't this bad (Jan 30, 2009, 19:03)
  The Open Road: "This anti-Linux Microsoft "ad" hit the Web a few weeks ago, but I just came across it last night and thought it was funny."


• Off-line GMail: one more step to the Google desktop (Jan 30, 2009, 18:47)
  Cyber cynic: "No, no, Google isn't getting ready to release a full desktop with office suite. Not them. Yeah. Right."


• Fonality CEO Discusses Digium Rivalry, Asterisk And Open Source (Jan 30, 2009, 18:33)
  The VAR Guy: "The big picture: Is Fonality really an open source company?"


• Unix and Linux Humor - Inspirational Posters (Jan 30, 2009, 18:03)
  The Linux and Unix Menagerie: "After this week, we probably all need a laugh (I'm being presumptuous in assuming your week was at least 51% miserable, too)"


• IT Management Slideshow: 10 Areas Where Open Source is Open for Business (Jan 30, 2009, 17:33)
  CIO Insight: "The recession is helping to drive home the fact that open source is enterprise-ready in a lot of areas. Flexible pricing and mature products make the once-exotic software ready for prime time."


• How can companies that rely on technology consistently not pay for it? (Jan 30, 2009, 17:03)
  Linux Journal: "...how can companies, that rely on technology to make money, continue to fail to spend the money necessary to keep that technology not only functional, but recoverable."


• 26 Open Source Security Apps with Commercial Support (Jan 30, 2009, 16:33)
  Datamation: "A little over a year ago, we took a look at 10 Commercial Open Source Security Vendors. As we set out to update that list, two facts jumped out: 1) the number of open source security apps with commercial support has grown substantially and 2) the line between open source and commercial applications continues to blur."


• Easy image resizing and rotating in Ubuntu (Jan 30, 2009, 16:03)
  IT Wire: "Easy, quick and simple image resizing and rotating is important to many people. When using Windows, you're able to download and install the Image Resizer "PowerToy". You can then manipulate images directly from Windows Explorer. But how do you do the same task in Ubuntu?"


• Linux Is In Business and Business Is Good (Jan 30, 2009, 15:33)
  Blog of Helios: "Not every business makes a high-profile public announcement like Ernie Ball did early in the century. Most businesses don't migrate in one fell swoop...their adaptation of Linux and Open Source is subtle and measured."


• When Hackers Are Funny (Jan 30, 2009, 15:03)
  Datamation: "Zombies ahead . . . the end is near . . . run for cold climates!"


• Cray and atsec Achieve CC Security Certification of Cray Linux Environment (Jan 30, 2009, 14:33)
  CNN Money: "Cray Inc. and atsec information security announced today that the Cray Linux Environment (CLE) has been certified by the National Information Assurance Partnership's (NIAP) Common Criteria Evaluation and Validation Scheme as conformant to EAL3+"


• Canonical's $30 Million and Redmond's Gathering Storm (Jan 30, 2009, 14:03)
  TechNewsWorld: ""Microsoft has been "completely overvalued for a long time because their main asset is customer relationships, but it's a scary and abusive relationship and everyone who knows there's something better out there would like desperately to leave..."


• S&P Endorses Linux, Raising Red Hat (Jan 30, 2009, 13:33)
  24/7 Wall St.: "You do not see too many upgrades in corporate credit ratings during this part of the business cycle, let alone in technology and software. But Red Hat, Inc. was just raised by Standard & Poor's ratings today on the corporate credit side. You might even wonder if S&P is almost endorsing Linux after all these years after you look through the notes"


• Thin clients now as flexible as PCs, claims Igel (Jan 30, 2009, 13:03)
  Network World: "Yeo said that Linux-based clients, used as "desktop appliances", are by far the majority of Igel's shipments, with Linux being particularly popular in its home market of Germany."


• OpenOffice.org - The Fun Has Gone? (Jan 30, 2009, 11:33)
  Heise Online: ""When the anthropologists look back on the 1980s and 1990s and do the archaeological digs, and get their calipers and brooms and microscopes out, they will blame the massive reduction in productivity during the 1980s and 1990s entirely on Microsoft Office.""


• KDE 4.2: I'm tired of Pundits, Here's MY Take (Jan 30, 2009, 10:03)
  Random Technical Outbursts: "I've been using KDE since around the time version 2 came out, and while KDE 4.2 is not perfection, it is better than the 3.5 series, and as of right now 4.2 is easily my favorite Linux desktop... and this rant will address some complaints I've seen and to dissect which complaints are warranted and which are not."


• Old School Keyboard Control and HTML Character Entities On Linux And Unix (Jan 30, 2009, 08:33)
  The Linux and Unix Menagerie: "Basically, what we want to do in this part of today's post is prevent folks with physical access to our Linux machines from rebooting them by hitting the control-alt-delete keys. Most people just disable this behaviour in /etc/inittab and use echo to issue a stern warning. I like to take it a bit too far ;)"


• Convert DVDs to xvid (avi) using dvd2xvid in opensuse (Jan 30, 2009, 07:03)
  SUSE & openSUSE: "Dvd2Xvid is free opensource simple easy to use utility to convert DVDs into Xvid video formats. dvd2xvid is a simple GUI for MEncoder aimed at converting DVDs to xvid formats."


• EnterpriseDB and Sun Reaping Benefits from Open Source Databases (Jan 30, 2009, 05:33)
  OStatic: "In Sun's case, some of the folks who questioned whether $1 billion was too much to pay for MySQL should take a second look."


• JBoss Portals and AJAX - Part 1 (Jan 30, 2009, 04:33)
  Packt: "In this article by Ramanujam Rao, we will see that how AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), as the rich user interface design is commonly called, has gained wide acceptability in traditional web applications, and portals are no exception to this."


• JBoss Portals and AJAX - Part 2 (Jan 30, 2009, 04:03)
  Packt: "Special tags are added to layout JSPs that facilitate the placement of AJAX features on a page. Similarly, renderers are used to interpret the tags and to render AJAX-driven content. The obvious advantage is the in-built support for the auto-creation and control of AJAX components on portal pages."


• AMD Catalyst 9.1 Brings OpenGL 3.0 (Jan 30, 2009, 03:03)
  Phoronix: "...what's there to get excited about in Catalyst 9.1? Well, first and foremost there is improved Composite support during video playback, Hybrid CrossFire support, and a number of fixes. Oh, and there's also OpenGL 3.0 support!"


• How To: Build A Read-Only Linux System (Jan 30, 2009, 01:33)
  Logic Supply: "From time to time, we receive questions from customers looking to make their Linux platforms read-only in order to maximize the longevity of their flash devices. I thought I'd take the opportunity to create a blog post describing one way to do this."


• Migrating Away From Windows: It All Starts With Linux (Jan 30, 2009, 00:03)
  Linux Today Blog: "I have friends who go nuts at the ice cream shop when they don't get enough colored sprinkles, but when it comes to computers they go all shy and stupid. "Awww, I don't mind wasting tons of time and money on this junk, it's just the way it is." The tech industry needs a whole lot more customer spunk and consumer rights advocacy."