To:mswier@YAHOO.COM
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 16:01:30 -0500 (EST)
From:"Linux Pipeline Newsletter" <linuxed@techwire.com>
Subject: [LXP] Linux Pipeline - 11.21.2005 - Talking Turkey Linux Pipeline Newsletter | Talking Turkey | 11.21.2005
Linux Pipeline Newsletter
www.LinuxPipeline.com
Monday, November 21, 2005


In This Issue:
  • Editor's Note: Talking Turkey
  • Top Linux News
        - Microsoft Makes Windows Validation Plug-In For Firefox
        - Sun Throws Solaris Onto Open-Source DB Bandwagon
        - Web Domain Accord Offers Something To Upset Everyone
        - More News...
  • Editor's Picks
        - Microsoft Aims To Make Life With 'Ajax' A Lot Easier
        - First Look: Microsoft Office 12 Beta 1
        - Special Coverage: 20 Years Of Windows
        - More Picks...
  • Voting Booth: Google -- Friend Or Foe?
  • Get More Out Of Linux Pipeline
  • Manage Your Newsletter Subscription


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    Editor's Note: Talking Turkey

    Surprise! Rather than our usual Wednesday delivery, we decided to drop in early this week. Unlike some of the other guests you can expect to see this week, we won't show up at the last minute to eat you out of house and home; we won't spend half a day sprawled on your sofa, rooting for the wrong team and drinking your good beer; and we definitely won't show up with a "gift" fruitcake -- although if you're a regular reader, you know that we certainly have a few of those to spare.

    Speaking of fruitcakes: In the interest of holiday amity, we're laying off Windows this week at least long enough for the birthday, umm, thing to blow out the candles on its silicon cupcake. That's right, 20 years ago (roughly) last week, Windows 1.0 slithered out of its crib, got loose just long enough to scare the neighbors, and quickly vanished -- although I understand that we have screen shots of the critter, along with many of the other interim Windows releases, for those of you who enjoy gawking at scary, freakish things.

    Bear in mind: This is what Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were fighting like rabid pigs to be the first to steal from Xerox Parc. Then as now, it's surprisingly hard to imagine that 20 years from now, we'll look back at this hulking, hard to use, slow as molasses desktop semi-savagery and wonder how we managed to make any productive use of it.

    (Or we'll be living in the wreckage of our shattered cities, fighting for our lives against an army of murderous mutant Windows cyborgs, wishing we had taken Bill Joy a little more seriously than we did. Take your pick.)

    If all of that Windows hoopla is putting you off your lunch, we've also got the latest on Sony's attempted suicide-by-rootkit, which unfortunately looks to be a failure after all. I am inclined to think, however, that even a corporate creature as notoriously hard to house-train as a multinational record label may have learned its lesson -- for the time being -- from such a vicious, and by no means finished, public smack-down.

    It also looks as if Sony's bird won't be the only one getting cooked during the weeks to come. Now that we know Sony launched its first musical malware experiment a full seven months before anyone said boo about the problem -- and, at last count, stashed its nasty little I-me-mine declaration on no less than 52 different titles -- some of the more thoughtful technology analysts are turning their attention to failures of the newly-ironicized "security software industry" in this case.

    In a nutshell: Consumers have paid these companies untold millions of dollars in recent years, only to find that instead of hiring ever-vigilant technology watchdogs, they've been supporting a bunch of Barney Fife impersonators who spend seven months trying to get the bullets into their guns.

    Open-source anti-virus software never looked as good as it does after this episode, that's for sure.

    My time is up. Feel free to write with comments, complaints, or counter-rants. And to everyone who has written lately: my apologies for not responding more quickly. I appreciate hearing from you, and I'll do my best to get caught up with all of you in the very near future.

    Until then, have a great holiday. I'll be back with the newsletter at our regular time next week.

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


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    Top Linux News

    Microsoft Makes Windows Validation Plug-In For Firefox
    Microsoft this week released a plug-in for the rival Firefox browser so that users can validate their Windows systems.

    Sun Throws Solaris Onto Open-Source DB Bandwagon
    Sun Microsystems Inc. is expanding the list of open-source code that it supports in its Solaris 10 operating system to include both the Postgres database and Xen virtualization server.

    Web Domain Accord Offers Something To Upset Everyone
    Not everyone the "winning" side is happy, or even content, with an agreement which keeps domain names in ICANN's control but may also have opened the door to another shared-governance push sooner, rather than later.

    Hackers Take Parting Shots At Sony's Rootkit 'Fix'
    The impact of Sony BMG's now-withdrawn copy-protection scheme apparently has spread even farther, as hackers call attention to yet another security flaw inflicted on victims' of Sony's malware-infested music CDs.

    IBM Details DB2 Improvements For Planned 2006 Release
    The Viper version of its DB2 database will include improved capabilities for handling unstructured data such as E-mail, images, and XML documents.

    Opera Unveils AJAX Development Tools
    Browser-maker Opera Software ASA has released in beta a set of tools for building and running software on mobile phones.


    Editor's Picks

    Microsoft Aims To Make Life With 'Ajax' A Lot Easier
    InformationWeek talks to Microsoft Product Manager Brian Goldfarb about the growing use of the standards-based Web development technologies collectively known as 'Ajax,' and about Microsoft's plans to provide tools to make Ajax development easier.

    First Look: Microsoft Office 12 Beta 1
    Microsoft's radical new redesign of its Office 12 applications suite has some neat new features, but could have users up in arms.

    Special Coverage: 20 Years Of Windows
    November 20 marks the twentieth anniversary of Microsoft Windows. We take a look back at the highs and lows of the most popular, vilified, and controversial OS in the world.

    Windows At 20: The Good, The Bad, The Really Bad
    Take a trip down memory lane with Windows' best and worst moments.

    The Making Of Windows 1.0
    Think Microsoft's development and release of Windows 1.0 was smooth? Think again.

    Windows: A Timeline
    Which came first, Windows or OS/2? Which version of Windows had just been released when the iMac came out? What major world event occurred one month before the release of Windows XP? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our handy-dandy Windows timeline.

    'Vista' And Beyond: Windows Looks Ahead
    A sneak peek at Vista, Blackcomb, and beyond.

    Mass. Gov Backs OpenDoc Policy -- From A Safe Distance
    Even as he discussed the need for the U.S. tech industry to become more competitive and globalize their businesses fast, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney distanced himself from a local but controversial technology decision that could have international ramifications.

    Sony Rootkit Fiasco Shines Ugly Light On Security Vendors
    Sony launched its controversial copy-protection scheme seven months -- and 52 music CD titles -- prior to security experts' discovery of its software-cloaking rootkit. Analysts want to know: How could every software security vendor in the business miss one of the biggest computer security threats ever recorded?


    Voting Booth: Google: Friend Or Foe?

    Cast Your Vote Now!
    Google has long been considered a friend and an ally to the open-source community. Today, however, as the company grows from a scrappy upstart into an IT superpower, is it time for open-source supporters to take a tougher attitude?

    What do you think? Is Google still a true friend to Open Source, or is it evolving into just another mega-corporation? Let us know: Cast your vote!


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    ------- Advertisement -------------------
    Join InformationWeek for a FREE, OnDemand TechWebCast, From Risk Mitigation to Risk Optimization. This presentation provides Gartner recommendations on best practice industry models and process improvement strategies and Borland will present a new paradigm for risk optimization that is based on these best practice industry models and leverages people, process and technology. Thursday, December 8, 2005 - 11:00-12:00 AM PT / 2:00-3:00 PM ET
    "http://www.techweb.com/webcasts/riskmitigation120805"

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