Monthly Archive for August, 2004

Run Windows apps on your Linux OS

Just read a fascinating article in InfoWorld about a Manila based startup company who are developing software (called David) that, it claims, will allow virtually any Windows application to run on the Linux operating system!

The company, called SpecdOps Labs, has been showing proof-of-concept demonstrations to potential industry partners recently, and last month it enticed TurboLinux Inc. to sign a letter of intent with SpecdOps indicating its interest in discussing a distribution deal for the product.

A major barrier achieving acceptance and rollout of Linux to the desktop is the lack of Office support - David could overcome that Goliath in a single stroke.

Calendar sharing using RSSCalendar

RSSCalendar is an idea that when you hear it you wonder why no-one thought of it sooner!

It is an online application you sign up for (sign-up is free!) and once signed up you can invite individuals or groups to subscribe to your RSS Calendar, create calendar events that your subscribers can import into MS Outlook, and create RSS feeds that show your calendar by day, week, or month.

New York putting the Internet on lamp posts!

The city of New York plans to sell space on its 18,000 lamp posts to 6 companies so the can erect wi-fi and cellular antennas.

The move will bring in around $25 million a year for the city according to the New York Post, improve cellular coverage in the city, and create wi-fi hotspots all around the city.

The antennas and Internet relay boxes will start appearing on city poles before the end of the summer, said Gino P. Menchini, the city’s commissioner of information technology and telecommunications in an article in the New York Times.

One of the companies involved, IDT Business Services, will use its antennae to offer telephone services over voip at reduced rates.

Novell to release new version of its server Linux

ZDNet have a report (confirmed on the Novell site) that Novell are to release a new version of their flagship server product SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

This version will have the 2.6 kernel - the 2.6 kernel works better than previous versions on large multiprocessor systems, it is easier to manage, and it supports databases better.

Red Hat
, Novell’s main competitor, is apparently not going to ship a version of its Red Hat Enterprise Linux based on the 2.6 kernel until early 2005.

Safari 2.0 - a look inside

There’s a good review of the forthcoming Safari 2.0 on the thinksecret.com site. It contains images of the new version and details af the upcoming features.

There are also links to reviews of the new Tiger Finder, Spotlight and Dashboard.

Looking forward to taking Tiger for a spin when it does eventually appear in 2005. I guess that’s the point!

Microsoft releases and then re-releases patch!

Early Saturday morning (01:00 Jul 31st) Microsoft released Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for July 2004 - this was an unscheduled release, as predicted, to patch three vulnerabilities rated “critical” that could result in an attacker executing code in the context of a logged-on user.

Then, 13:00 on August 1st, Microsoft re-released the update saying it “has undergone a major revision increment”. Microsoft went on to say “Microsoft was made aware that the update provided for Windows XP customers running the new version of Windows Update, Windows Update Version 5, did not contain the final release code for the vulnerabilities addressed in the security bulletin”.

Microsoft was made aware? Is this not Microsoft’s own code? Patching is an arduous enough process without re-releasing patches. It’s no wonder people are considering moving to Open Source alternatives.




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