Kaspersky Lab releases beta of new Linux antivirus, Jun 24, 2009

As security threats escalate every year, even Linux servers and operating systems have become prime targets of malware attacks, revealed IT security vendor Kaspersky Lab as they release the beta version of their antivirus solution targeted at Linux-operated file systems.

Open-source software in schools isn't just a good idea, it's becoming a financial necessity if we're to keep enough teachers for our kids in classrooms. So, it's particular good timing that Sugar Labs and openSUSE have released free Linux distributions expressly designed for education.

HP has long had a love/hate affair with Linux. On the one hand, HP has long supported Linux on servers. For example, they're the one major server company that supports Debian. On the other hand, it took HP forever to finally start shipping pre-installed desktop Linux. Recently, for business users anyway, HP has been making it a lot easier to get Linux on their desktops and servers.

Macs vs. PCs vs. Linux arguments are dominating two mailing lists I'm on. The vitriol may be slightly less than in the past, but many of the same attitudes exist with subjective arguments trumping logic on both sides. While I can ignore fanatics on a mailing list, owners and managers in businesses have to coerce all sides of the operating system wars into working together.

I can talk until I'm blue in my space about the technical advantages of Linux and open-source software. Forget about that for now though. Let me give you a reason for your office to use them that may strike home: It can save jobs, including, just maybe, your job.

Linux's changes may not be as big from version to version, but they tend to be thoroughly tested and stable.

Eclipse has long been one of my favourite open source projects, despite, or maybe even because, it's not as widely appreciated as it should be – though more now than it was three years ago when I described it as Open Source's Best-Kept Secret.

At today's ASUS product showcase in Sydney, a bunch of media representatives where given a taste of the company's latest and greatest notebooks, including the new range of Eee PC netbooks.

In a pre-emptive strike against the expected onslaught of ARM-based netbooks running Google Inc.'s Android operating system, Hewlett-Packard Co. on Tuesday announced a new Intel Atom netbook that will run HP's custom version of Linux and cost just $279 upon its debut.

I was lucky enough to have a friend at Dell who let me play with Dell's new Latitude 2100-N for a few hours. After he chased me down, he pried it out of my fingers. I didn't want to give it up. This is one nice Ubuntu Linux-powered netbook.

Linux desktops are easier to implement than IT staff expected if they targeted the right groups of users.

Half of the businesses that have deployed Linux on the desktop have rolled it out to less than 20% of their workers due to perceived and real obstacles, according to a survey by released by a U.K. analyst firm.

The $369 version weighs 2.9 pounds and runs Ubuntu Linux 8.1 on an 8-GB solid-state disk (SSD) drive with a three-cell battery that lasts 3.5 hours.

Recently, the Web site analytics company Net Applications came out with figures that showed that in April, the percentage of "client devices" used to surf the Web that were running Linux crossed the 1% level for the first time ever -- 1.02%, to be exact. The firm enthusiastically noted that "Linux has reached this important milestone on the client as Linux-based systems have become more functional, easier to use, and pre-installed on computers from vendors like Dell."

A follow-up to a previous story.

Over the years, Adobe has become more Linux friendly. First, Adobe released an excellent version of its Flash Player for Linux, and, more recently, the company launched a version of AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) for Linux. Now, however, with Strobe, its just announced Flash framework, Adobe looks like it may be getting more open-source friendly as well.

With Linux having gained traction in business, certifications of Linux expertise are becoming more popular, similar to how Novell or Microsoft systems certifications became important for those platforms.

Many people have made much of the fact that for the first time, Linux use as measured by tracking firm Net Applications has crossed the 1% market-share barrier. As significant milestones go, this is about as meaningless as it gets. Linux will never be a big player in the desktop market, nor should it be.

I like Ubuntu 9.04 a lot, but ATI graphic drivers don't work and play well with it.

Illinois developer Erich Specht, filed suit this week for trademark infringement against Google and some 47 other companies in the Open Handset Alliance. At stake are the rights to the Android name which denotes Google's version of Linux that adorns their handsets.