Linux News: Tech Stew

Friday - June 26, 2009

I believe with the right approach, Linux can take a great chunk of the market; you just have to give the market what it needs and wants, while allaying its fears. What's needed is a true Linux SMB Edition, targeting specifically the needs and fears of those businesses that are using Windows -- especially those that are still using Windows 2000, which is going to lose support in 2010. It should run using low resources, thus giving a better performance than Windows on the same hardware. [More...]

'MobMovs' Give New Meaning to 'Community' Theater

Wednesday - June 10, 2009

Think the only way to see a big-screen movie is while slurping a 64-oz. soft drink, eating a five-dollar candy bar and shushing the wannabe film critic behind you? That's not the case anymore, thanks to people like John Young, part of a loosely knit network of celluloid renegades resurrecting the drive-in for a new age. [More...]

White House Works the Web

Friday - June 5, 2009

President Obama in Egypt told Muslims he wants to engage them and their countries. More than 5,000 miles away, U.S. administration officials sent notes to supporters -- and critics -- via Twitter, Facebook and text messages to reinforce the point. Obama's speech Thursday was an illustration of the administration's aggressive strategy to work the Web to enhance the White House's message. [More...]

Cuba Smolders Over Microsoft Messenger Withdrawal

Tuesday - June 2, 2009

Cuba criticized Microsoft on Friday for blocking its Messenger instant messaging service on the island and in other countries under U.S. sanctions, calling it yet another example of Washington's "harsh" treatment of Havana. The technology giant recently announced it was disabling the program's availability in several nations to comply with a U.S. ban on transfer of licensed software to embargoed countries. [More...]

In Space, Everyone Can Hear You Tweet

Friday - May 15, 2009

On Twitter, messages of 140 characters may seem confining. Mike Massimino is finding a different type of space even more limiting -- outer space. The astronaut is sending messages to the social networking site from 350 miles above Earth on the space shuttle Atlantis -- and what's cramping his "tweets" is time, not the character limit. [More...]

Another Google Flub? Ancient Japanese Maps Stir Old Prejudices

Tuesday - May 5, 2009

When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash. The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused any problems. However, Google failed to judge how its offering would be received. [More...]

Brits Back Away From 'Big Brother' Data Storage Plan

Tuesday - April 28, 2009

The British government said Monday it wants communications companies to keep records of every phone call, email and Web site visit made in the country, but it has decided not to set up a national database of the information -- a proposal that had been condemned as a "Big Brother"-style invasion of privacy by civil liberties groups. [More...]

Can a Few Good Hackers Plug Holes in US' Swiss-Cheese Nets?

Tuesday - April 21, 2009

Federal authorities aren't looking to prosecute them, but to pay them to secure the nation's networks. General Dynamics Information Technology put out an ad last month on behalf of the Homeland Security Department seeking someone who could "think like the bad guy." [More...]

Cybercrime and Punishment: Sentencing Panel Discards Proxy Penalty

Friday - April 17, 2009

The U.S. government has dropped -- for now -- a plan to classify the use of "proxy" servers as evidence of sophistication in committing a crime. Proxy servers are computers that disguise the source of Internet traffic. They are commonly used for legitimate purposes, like evading Internet censors and working from home. [More...]

Lilliputian Linux, and Do We Need More Critics?

Thursday - April 9, 2009

Good things come in small packages, as they say, and that's perhaps never been more true than it is today, thanks to the emergence of increasingly diminutive devices equipped with Linux. Perhaps most notable of late is the $99 Marvell SheevaPlug, a wall-wart-sized device that runs Linux on a 1.2-GHz CPU with 512 MB of RAM and 512 MB of Flash -- and with power consumption of just 5 watts. [More...]

See More Articles in Tech Stew Section >>

Shortcuts