Kernel release: 2.4.25-rc3, Feb 16, 2004

2.4.25-rc3 has been released today.
See changelog for full details.

Files added: 325
Files changed: 1771
Files removed: 40

At an October hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives government reform committee's technology subcommittee, Steven Cooper — the Homeland Security Department's chief information officer — was questioned about the government's vulnerability to monoculture.

Cooper acknowledged it was a concern and said the department would likely expand its use of Linux and Unix as a precaution.

The monoculture idea is also influencing how experts look for solutions to security problems.

EIOffice also runs on Linux (with Mac and Solaris versions in the works). This may be more important in emerging markets where governments and businesses are trying to avoid paying the ``Microsoft tax.'' But even some U.S. companies and governments are beginning to chafe at Microsoft's prices, attitude and sometimes questionable quality.

Can EIOffice pull this off? There are a few issues to consider, not least of which is whether Evermore has the resources it needs; the company has backing from investors including Chinese government agencies, but it is looking for more.

Novell Inc., claiming it sold only limited rights to the Unix operating system in 1995, has issued a waiver it says negates the SCO Group's claims on the offshoot, freely distributed Linux operating system.

Claiming the purchase excluded control of "derivative works," or improvements to the program's code by independent developers, Novell had given SCO until noon Wednesday to retract its claim that Unix code was illegally imported into Linux.

Linux received a vote of support as a platform for corporate business applications this week as Oracle announced that seven of its new customers in India have chosen to run the company's technology and applications software on the open-source operating system, and that it has emerged as the second most popular operating system among the Oracle developers in the country.

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