Archive

Now that Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Mint are enjoying such widespread attention and success, it's increasingly difficult to remember that not all distros are sharing in the same good fortune. Take Mandriva, for example. This venerable distro dates back to 1998, when it was born as Mandrake ...

The task of ripping files from CDs is fast becoming old hat -- that is, unless you have a collection of plastic discs you want to put onto your smartphone or portable music player. In that case, you will find Asunder to be an indispensable tool. Asunder is a graphical audio CD ripper and encoder f...

Don't look now, but Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 R2 tied with IBM's perennially bullet-proof AIX v7. Both were rated by corporate users as the most secure among 18 major server operating system distributions. Nine out of 10 -- 90 percent -- of the 468 respondents to ITIC's 2010-2011 Global Server...

It's been a relatively quiet few days on the Linux blogs, and it seems safe to assume that at least part of that lull is due to the mind-numbing cold affecting many of us here in the Northern Hemisphere. The jollidays are at least behind us once more, but now there's the prospect of day after day of...

It just goes to show how perplexing the gathering cloud marketplace is that the punditry are hesitant to meaningfully analyze this important development. But Amazon -- with a history of bold and long-term bets -- and IBM -- with a history of making markets whether it's right about the future or not ...

It was a big week for our favorite technology last week, as true believers no doubt already know. Not only was Linux 2.6.27 released -- causing no small amount of discussion on Slashdot -- but the operating system itself also turned 17 years old. The Linux Journal article noting that momentous day h...

Well, summer has officially arrived, and what better way to celebrate than by enjoying some fine Wine? Yes, for those who stopped paying attention over the last 15 or so years, Wine 1.0 is here! Time to get those Windows apps running on Linux at last! The excitement could be felt all across the Linu...

IBM and Linux distributor Novell are strengthening their partnership in order to encourage cross-adoption of their respective platforms and products, especially in the small to medium-sized business space. The companies hope to erode market share inroads recently gained by Microsoft and Red Hat with...

"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" The question seemingly has no real answer, and biologists can argue either reply ad nauseam. The computer world has an equally pervasive question that cannot provide a single answer: "What are the top three Linux distributions?" Ask any collection of Linux...

Linux has long been a contender in the corporate world to Windows. In addition, consumer interest is on the rise for this free, open source alternative to Windows or the Macintosh OS. Linux developed along similar lines as Windows in terms of GUI and performance capabilities with one major distinct...

Sun Microsystems partnered with a somewhat unlikely ally as it announced Tuesday that the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system would run on its latest Sparc servers, the 'Niagara'-based Sun Fire T1000 and T2000 enterprise servers. The two may combine for a powerful server punch, as Sun's Ultra-Spar...

VMware and a group of hardware, software and service providers on Monday announced the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance to build joint virtual desktop products together. IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, NEC, and Sun are among the more than 20 companies that make up the new alliance. Virtualizat...

The concept of virtualization is set to take center stage at this week's LinuxWorld conference in Boston. Among the competitive players are industry veterans Red Hat and Novell and startups XenSource and Virtual Iron. Virtualization is a technique for deploying technologies. It allows multiple virtu...

Novell's SuSE Linux CTO is leaving the company, marking the second departure from its open source group in the past few months. Novell has confirmed that Juergen Geck plans to depart at the end of the week. The departure was "mutually agreed upon and amicable," according to Novell spokesperson Bruce...

As the dust settles on BrainShare 2006, Novell executives are hoping the launch of its Platform for Open Enterprise will bring new converts knocking on its doors. Open Enterprise is an architecture of software and services from Novell and its partners designed to help customers benefit from open sou...