Much of the time, I use this space to discuss topics Linux Pipeline covered only tangentially during the past week or perhaps didn't cover at all. This week, however, two current news items are interesting--or appalling--enough to earn some additional ink.

I'll start with the merely unfortunate item: A compromise between the Massachusetts state government and proprietary software vendors to change the state's controversial software purchasing guidelines. The original policy clearly favored open-source software and open standards, especially for new purchases; not surprisingly, some software makers (and at least one state senator) took offense at the state's new technology direction.

Officially, Eric Kriss, the state's chief administrator, insists nothing has changed. Yet instead of emphasizing open source or even open standards, Kriss is now plugging a new term: open formats. I won't include its full definition here; it's enough to note that the compromise, with the help of some licensing concessions on Microsoft's part, can comfortably embrace Office 2003.

Now, on to the appalling: A recent survey of Web users found that barely one in six could tell the difference between paid and unpaid online search results. Worse yet, if ignorance is bliss, the 52 percent who said they were "very confident" in their ability to tell the difference must be very happy campers right now.

There's more than one guilty party here; some search sites, for example, are determined to avoid using the words "paid" or "advertisement" anywhere near their paid advertisements. Nevertheless, this survey suggests a credulity among Web users that will fuel many a phishing trip in the months ahead.

Vote early, vote often: Finally, I thought you'd like to see some results from the current poll we're running to handicap a slugfest between Linux and Open Solaris in the business market. Out of more than 400 votes cast so far, just six percent think Solaris will hurt Linux, and 31 percent see a win-win scenario here. That leaves 63 percent who think Solaris is irrelevant to Linux and/or irrelevant period.

This is a self-selecting sample, of course, and there's nothing scientific about this poll except for the server on which it's running. But since we tweaked the system last year to prevent ballot-stuffing, such lopsided results from a relatively large vote total strike me as significant. If you have an opinion on the matter, hit that link below and cast your vote. You won't change the world, but you will give me fodder for a future column, which I can assure you is a good thing.

Matthew McKenzie
Editor, Linux Pipeline
mattcmp@sonic.net
www.LinuxPipeline.com

Phishing Tale Paints An Ugly Picture
Online con artists outdo themselves in December, creating--and quickly dumping--over 1,700 bogus sites intended to swindle unsuspecting Web users.

IE Skids Towards A Market-Share Milestone
Under attack from Mozilla's Firefox, Microsoft's share of the U.S. browser market looks likely to fall below 90 percent.

Sun Ponders The 'Open' In Open Solaris
The fate of Sun's "Linux killer" could depend on which parts of Solaris 10 get open-source status--and on whether developers like what they see.

Court To IBM: Show SCO The Code
A federal judge grants the SCO Group's request to view source code for Big Blue's AIX and Dynix operating systems, in an attempt to substantiate SCO's copyright infringement claims.

Microsoft Accepts EU Media Player Ruling
The company prepares to deliver a modified version of Windows for the Euro market but still plans to appeal other, more severe court-imposed penalties.

Paid, Unpaid Results Are All The Same To Most Search Engine Users
The majority of search engine users are unaware of the distinction between paid and unpaid results, yet more than half of the users say they are very confident about their searching abilities.

Open Solaris: Start Small, Think Big
Sun will begin its open-source odyssey this week with a single Solaris utility, a company source says, along with promises of much more to come this year.

PalmSource, Symbian Join Open Mobile Platform Group
Two of Microsoft's chief rivals in the mobile platform market join an industry organization promoting open standards for mobile devices.

Sun Posts Profit But Sales Slide
Sun Microsystems posted a small profit for its fiscal second quarter Thursday, but year-over-year sales continued to slide as the server and software maker struggled to gain back business it lost after tech collapse in 2001.

The Firefox Guide: You Want It, We Have It
One-stop shopping for all of your Firefox needs: Tips, tricks, extension picks, and a soup-to-nuts review of the world's most popular open-source browser.

Microsoft Responds To IE Security Concerns
Full text of a letter from Microsoft, in response to coverage of companies moving from IE to Firefox and other alternative browsers.

Pennies For Your Thoughts
It's easy to build a top-notch online community system on a small-scale budget, using open-source software and bargain-basement hardware. Part One of a two-part series.

Pennies For Your Thoughts - Part Two
Put the perfect front door--a portal server--on your low-cost online community system, using open-source software and bargain-basement hardware. Part Two of a two-part series.

The Lawsuit Time Forgot
The wheels of justice do, indeed, turn slowly: My grandmother could run flaming circles around the creeping horror that is the SCO-IBM lawsuit. Yet this week, the magistrate presiding over pre-trial discovery in the case threw on the brakes again, granting part of SCO's request that IBM produce all of the code for its AIX and Dynix operating systems.

IT Security, By The Book
Security is the biggest single issue in IT these days. Have you been doing your homework? Here are some recommendations on how to get smarter.

Thanks For The Memories
Do you remember when you first "got" the Web? If you do, we'd like to hear about it.

Check Out Our Linux Product Finder
Don't reinvent the wheel. Find the right off-the-shelf product to do the job. How do you find the right one? Two words ... Product Finder:
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   - Application Servers
   - Commercial Linux Distributions
   - Network Management
   - Web Servers

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