Archive for the ‘Operating Systems’ Category
Darko on July 4th, 2008
In its monthly advance notice the weekend before the second Tuesday of the month, Microsoft said it will only be addressing four security issues this time around, two dealing with Windows. But a surprisingly big Vista bug fix is under way.
If you think about it, the relative security of Windows Vista hasn’t been the subject of much debate recently. If there’s any problem consumers have with it, whether it’s born out of market perception or real-world experience, it’s a feeling that it’s not all that reliable.
So perhaps it’s not such a bad thing that next week’s Patch Tuesday round of fixes from Microsoft will focus less on security — with only four issues in that category to be addressed there — and more on Vista’s overall reliability. A single performance update announced by Microsoft on June 24 will tackle some real-world problems that Vista users have been facing, according to automated feedback the company’s servers receive when Internet-connected Vista users crash.Here’s a little annoyance: Have you ever tried to delete a user account from Vista’s Control Panel, only to be responded to by your system sitting there in an endless loop, doing nothing? Then when you reboot, the account’s not gone? That’s one of the issues this performance update will address.
And what is it about Vista, after you leave your computer on for an “extended period of time” (A day? Two days?) makes it decide that Excel is no longer a valid application for you to run? How many times has this happened to you, to paraphrase a TV infomercial? That’s another bug Vista users should find gone, hopefully.
There’s also interesting little problems such as certain builds of NVidia drivers that cause high-definition audio streams to sound like they’ve been fed through a chipper-shredder, and Windows Mail (the replacement for Outlook Express) triggering a crash when traffic monitoring is enabled through Windows, and e-mail security through ZoneAlarm is active at the same time. These are the little, everyday affairs that some people really look forward to seeing gone. Quite possibly, they impact more users than the average newly discovered vulnerability.
It’ll be nice to see how well this latest round of patches addresses these and a host of other Vista-related issues.
Darko on June 11th, 2008
With days to go before the release of OpenSuSE 11, the Project has merged its support forums to provide a single English-language destination for OpenSUSE questions. A new Novell-hosted “forums.opensuse.org” forum integrates the three largest English-language dedicated support forums, with support for other languages soon.
Launched on June 9th, forums.opensuse.org offers a unified forum for all English-speaking openSUSE users, says the openSUSE Project. It aims to integrate the three largest English-language support forums, including:
- The OpenSUSE Novell support forums
- The SUSEforums.net site
- The SUSElinuxsupport.de site
Users who have an OpenSUSE account for the OpenSUSE wiki, bugzilla, and other services can use their existing username for the forums. However, SUSEforums.net and SUSElinuxsupport.de users will need to create new accounts.
The new forum site includes help forums on topics like installing and booting, desktops, scripting, hardware issues, network and Internet issues. The popular “Pre-Release/Beta” forum already has well over 200 posts — no surprise, as several alpha and beta releases of OpenSUSE 11 have taken place over the last few months. OpenSuSE 11 features the flashy Compiz Fusion window manager, a new package manager, and lots more, according to the OpenSUSE news page.
The new forum site also includes community forums, such as surveys, polls, and opinions, as well as archives and news forums. The site is located here. The “GM” (gold master) release of OpenSuSE 11 is expected on Thurs., Jun. 12. More details can be found at OpenSUSE.org, here.
Darko on May 21st, 2008
The Fedora project today released a new version of its completely free and redistributable Linux distribution. Showcasing lots of next-generation Red Hat features, Fedora 9 also boasts new features of its own aimed at making the distribution appeal more to newer Linux users.
Fedora 9’s more salient new features include:
- USB drive booting with user data persisting across reboots
- A nifty graphical Windows utility for creating USB boot drives
- Installer now supports partition resizing, to better support dual-booting, and LUKS encryption
- First distribution with KDE 4.0 (though Gnome still default UI)
- FreeIPA, a new user rights administration tool
- Sun’s OpenJDK
- GVFS, a next-generation successor to gnome-vfs
- GDM (GNOME Display Manager) improvements
- OneSecondX, aimed at faster X Window System launches
- Network Manager (network setup GUI) now supports static IPs as well as GSM and CDMA network cards
- GCC 4.3 (4.2 series was leapfrogged)
- PackageKit, a new backend-agnostic (RPMs or Debs) software installer GUI
- Firefox 3
- Ext4 filesystem option (though not default, and no e2fsprogs yet)
- Lots more
Luke Macken’s LiveUSB-creator v2.0
Fedora backgrounder
Many people mistakenly believe that Red Hat started Fedora. In fact, the project began independently in 2003, as a “community” version of the popular Linux distribution. The idea was to emulate the “freeness” and community involvement of the Debian distribution, while still leveraging Red Hat’s testing and integration work — not to mention its more regular release cycle schedule.
It was an idea whose time had come, and it did not take Red Hat long to see that. Later that same year, Red Hat decided to create a Fedora Foundation around the project. It next decided to discontinue Red Hat Linux, the freely available, community supported distribution it had maintained in parallel with its commercial products ever since starting out. Suggesting that Red Hat Linux users adopt Fedora instead, Red Hat said at the time that it just made sense for a community-supported distribution to be governed by a community, not a company. It proved to be sound reasoning.
Red Hat’s 2003 decision instantly catapulted Fedora into place among the world’s most popular Linux distributions, where it arguably remains today. True, Ubuntu’s rocket-ship trajectory catches the eye of more Linux newbies. And, those simply looking for a free version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux may turn to CentOS, positioned as a no-cost “re-build” that still complies with Red Hat redistribution licensing. Yet, for developers and others looking for a more modern, up-to-date, fully redistributable RPM-based Linux distribution, Fedora is still the biggest, pardon the analogy, hat in the ring.
Mini-interview: Fedora project leader Paul Frields
The “redistributable” part is key, explained Fedora project leader Paul Frields, pictured at right. He noted that developers can create embedded appliances or enterprise desktop Linux images with Fedora in confidence that they are not accidentally redistributing proprietary software. Users can be confident of not violating any license agreements. The flip-side is that users will have to install any proprietary bits like browser plug-ins themselves (though Fedora 9 actually includes an open source Flash plugin).
Midway through its fifth year, the Fedora project has dutifully cranked out two releases per year, earning it a reputation as one of the better-run open source projects. Once criticized for being too heavily influenced by Red Hat, which continues to support the project, Fedora has about 2,000 active developers and package maintainers today, according to Frields. Asked about overlap of maintainers with the Debian project, he assented, stating, “The ideals we have are highly compatible with Debian, and our package maintainers are very similar.”
Both distributions benefit enormously from the work of younger programmers, who are motivated largely by an interest in learning to build and package free software, and to contribute to a dynamic, exciting, high-profile project. Debian’s is the larger community — very nearly every significant open source application is available pre-built, typically for several different architectures. Fedora, meanwhile, may enjoy more contributions from professional programmers, many Red Hat employees. Thus, many Red Hat features make their initial debut in Fedora, and graduate to RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) once they have been hammered on by Fedora users. Frields admitted that Fedora serves as a kind of “technology preview” for Red Hat. Each release is maintained for a shorter term, but the pay-off is a chance to use today the software that others won’t get until tomorrow.
And what’s next for Frields and the Fedora project? “We’ve reduced the barriers to joining the project. You don’t have to send in a GPG key, if you’re an artist or documentation contributor. It’s easier to have a project membership account now.”
Frields adds, “In the 35-45 days ahead, we’ll be rolling out new web properties, including a wiki based on MediaWiki. We hope to implement a single sign-on across all the web properties. And we’re putting in place other collaboration tools, including Gobby, and Asterisk servers. So contributors can log into the web app, and request a teleconference, and instantly get a conversation going. And, it’s all done with open source software.”
Frields concludes, “We want to create a culture of contribution. Our purpose is to push forward open source and free software. Our mission has always been about open source, and making it easier for developers, enthusiasts, and remixers to succeed.”
The Fedora sites are currently unavailable, due to high traffic levels, but the Fedora 9 distribution should soon be available here. A “how-to” document on creating a live USB installation can be found here.
Darko on May 6th, 2008
Ubuntu, Linspire, and Freespire users can now install “Google Earth” with a single click, says Linspire. The desktop Linux distributor has added support for the free mapping application to its CNR (”click-n-run”) installer, a user-friendly tool currently beta-testing for a wide variety of desktop Linux distributions.
Linspire said the version of Google Earth that CNR supports will work with Ubuntu 7.04 and 7.10 (32-bit), Linspire 6.0, and Freespire 2.0. Presumably, it will also support Ubuntu’s Hardy Heron release scheduled for tomorrow, as Linspire has promised CNR support for that release.
Google Earth aims to provide a “globe inside your PC,” according to Linspire. It lets users browse maps of roads, dining establishments, schools, railroads, stadiums, as well as terrain, borders, and geographical features. Users can even build maps of their own by creating KML (keyhole markup language) overlays. Users can also import data from supported GPS devices, and use that data to create maps.
Other Google Earth features touted by Linspire include:
Web-based map services
Local search with business listings and driving directions
Tilt, zoom, and rotate tools
Virtual “Play” button gives virtual helicopter rides over a given route
3-D buildings
Placemarks save geographic data for easy return to favorites
Measure Tool helps users to get detail on a particular distance
Built using Trolltech’s Qt framework for cross-platform application development, Google Earth is also available for Windows and Macintosh PCs. More details may be available on Linspire’s CNR.com website, here.
CNR is a cornerstone of the Linspire (formerly Lindows) desktop. The company began beta-testing a free version of the user-friendly, “single-click” installer last December.
Darko on April 18th, 2008
The Ubuntu team announced today the Release Candidate for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Long-Term Support) on desktop and server. Codenamed “Hardy Heron”, 8.04 LTS integrates the latest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.
The release candidate is complete, stable, and suitable for testing by any user.
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition features incremental improvements to familiar applications, with an emphasis on stability for this second Ubuntu long-term support release, and is easier to try out with the new Wubi installer.
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition follows in the footsteps of Ubuntu 7.10 with even more virtualization support and security enhancements - enabling AppArmor for more applications by default, improving protection of kernel memory against attacks, and supporting KVM and iSCSI technologies out of the box.
The Ubuntu 8.04 LTS family of variants, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, UbuntuStudio, and Mythbuntu, also reach RC status today.
The final release of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS is scheduled for 24 April 2008 and will be supported for three years on the desktop and five years on the server.
Desktop Features
—————-
Improved application selection: the GNOME desktop sports a number of improvements to the default applications, including more feature-full clients for BitTorrent and VNC, as well as an advanced UI for mastering CDs and DVDs.
File browsing: an enhanced filesystem layer brings greater performance and flexibility to Nautilus, the GNOME file browser.
Pluggable audio and video output: the PulseAudio sound server is integrated in the GNOME desktop for more flexible sound output, and a new Screen Resolution utility allows easier configuration of multiple video displays.
Wubi installer: a new Windows-based installer option makes it easier to try out Ubuntu, letting users install a full desktop on Windows systems without needing to partition their hard drive.
Server Features
—————
AppArmor profiles: a greater number of server applications are now protected by default with AppArmor, a kernel technology that limits the resources an application is allowed to access, providing added protection against undiscovered security vulnerabilities.
Memory protection: additional protection now prevents direct access to system memory through /dev/mem and /dev/kmem, and the lower 64K of system memory is no longer addressable by default, changes which help to defend against malicious code. The kernel now also loads Position Independent
Executables at randomized addresses, making it harder for application security vulnerabilities to be exploited.
Virtualization and iSCSI: KVM is now an officially maintained option, which combined with libvirt (CLI) and virt-manager (GUI) management tools allows for a simple and efficient virtualization option on hardware that supports virtualization extensions (AMD-V or Intel-VT). Mounting iSCSI targets is
now supported (including in the installer), allowing Ubuntu to interoperate with this class of cost-efficient Storage Area Network solutions.
Ubuntu Education Edition
————————
Add-on configuration: Edubuntu is now provided as an add-on to Ubuntu rather than a separate stand-alone flavor, permitting even greater reuse of Ubuntu technologies.
Kubuntu Features
—————-
Kubuntu comes with the rock solid KDE 3 for those who want a commercially supported desktop.
For those who want something more exciting, a KDE 4 Remix is available bringing this cutting edge new version to you first.
Please see https://wiki.kubuntu.org/HardyHeron/RC/Kubuntu for details.
Xubuntu Features
—————-
Xubuntu comes with the light-weight Xfce 4.4.2 desktop environment for those who want to a desktop that is easy to use, but places particular emphasis on conserving system resources.
New Additions To The Family
—————————
Two new variants joins in for this Ubuntu release. UbuntuStudio and Mythbuntu have done releases separately in the past, and with Hardy Heron we’re happy to be able to welcome these fine community projects into the main Ubuntu release process.
For a more in-depth tour of the features new in 8.04 LTS, see http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/804rc
Darko on April 18th, 2008
Mixing technical concerns with a truckload of business issues, Red Hat has stealthily acknowledged slipping its deadline for Red Hat Global Desktop (RHGD), which might have given it an edge against Novell’s competing SuSE Linux.
Unlike the existing Red Hat Enterprise Desktop (RHED), the planned RHGD is aimed exclusively at small, reseller supplied implementations in emerging geographic areas such as Brazil, China, and India. Red Hat also sponsors a community project called Fedora, which develops and maintains a free desktop product.
But RHED and the forthcoming RHGD are both commercial products geared to businesses.First announced at the 2007 Summit users conference, RHGD was then expected to ship a few months later.
“The technology side of the product is complete,” according to a blog posting which slid quietly on to Red Hat’s Web site this week.
“[But] there have been a number of business issues that have conspired to delay the product for almost a year,” interjected the anonymous blogger, about midway through a more generic update on “What’s Going On With Red Hat Desktop Systems?”
Indeed, some of the contributing factors listed in Red Hat’s blog are unarguably business-related, including market changes and “start-up delays with resellers.” RHGD, by the way, is supposed to be supplied by Intel channel partners in these emerging markets.
Others reasons mentioned, though, lean to the technical side, including hardware changes, “multimedia codec licensing knotholes,” and “getting the design and delivery of appropriate services nailed down.”
The blogger also talks cryptically of “technical developments that have become available over the past year or two and are accelerating the spread of the Linux desktop.”
Regardless of the exact reasons for the delay, though, it’s certainly in Red Hat’s best interests to get the product out the door — and into the hands of businesses in emerging markets — as soon as possible.
Like Fedora, many other Linux desktop offerings are freely available over the Web. In the commercial market, however, Novell is Red Hat’s chief competitor. But although Red Hat is the largest selling commercial Linux vendor in North America, Novell’s SuSE is still more popular in Europe, where desktop Linux is gaining faster business acceptance.
The emerging markets targeted for RHGD could bring great opportunities for Red Hat to get its foot in the door for both the desktop and server sides.
Darko on April 17th, 2008
Novell Wednesday released the beta of its new “Just Enough” SUSE operating system targeted as a platform for Linux-based appliances.
The company is releasing the beta in conjunction with the creation of the SUSE Appliance Program targeted at independent software vendors (ISV) who want to package their applications with SUSE Linux on an appliance.
In March, Novell unveiled a strategy that focuses on providing modular network infrastructure services to corporations including distributions of its core OS software tuned for physical or virtual servers. The services, which can be plugged together, also include virtualization, orchestration, policy, identity, compliance, management and collaboration tools.
“The appliance initiative is not necessarily front and center as part of the overall strategy so I don’t see it as a main building block but it will become one over time,” says Al Gillen, an analyst with IDC. “It is very much a step in the right direction.”
The Just Enough Operating System (JeOS), which is available now in beta, is a version of SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 SP2 that is reduced to just the components needed to run any given application and/or its third-party components.
The JeOS beta is available in several virtual image formats, including VMware VMDK, Xen and as a raw hard disk image. Novell plans to release later this year a Microsoft VHD format that will run on Windows Hyper-V, which is slated to ship in the fall.
Novell said that ISVs whose applications are certified to run on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server would be able to carry those certifications onto JeOS.
As part of the SUSE Appliance Program, ISV’s will be able to create appliances that can run on x86 hardware or as virtual machines.
Novell says it plans to work with ISVs to tune the operating system as the foundation for appliances. Novell plans to release several new components to facilitate the work, including an automated tool to build appliances.
Novell rival Red Hat in November announced the Red Hat Appliance Operating System (AOS). Red Hat plans to provide ISVs with a preconfigured version of AOS for use on appliances. Similar to the Novell plan, Red Hat will package with AOS a virtual appliance software development kit.
Darko on April 17th, 2008
Hopes of Red Hat releasing a desktop version of Linux for consumers were scratched today as the company announced no such plans would eventuate in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, its long awaited Red Hat Global Desktop Linux remains on indefinite hold, despite being slated for an original launch date of August 2007.
Although Red Hat had previously announced it was planning to launch a version of Linux designed for users of personal computers, the company has now backed down in the face of stiff competition and the likelihood of little profits.
“We have no plans to create a traditional desktop product for the consumer market in the foreseeable future,” read a Red Hat blog posting.
“Red Hat feel that as a public, for-profit company, Red Hat must create products and technologies with an eye on the bottom line, and with desktops this is much harder to do than with servers.”
Earlier this week, Red Hat CTO Brian Stevens said the company was yet to determine whether the market was ready for a consumer focused Linux desktop system.
“It’s one of those things. It’s worse to sell (just) 100,000 units than to sell zero — because of the commitment you make,” he said. “Right now we are sizing the global opportunity.”
Despite acknowledging that Linux on the desktop could provide a practical alternative to Microsoft’s Windows operating system, the blog conceded that building a sustainable business case around such a venture would be much harder.
“A growing number of technically savvy users and companies have discovered that today’s Linux desktop is indeed a practical alternative,” read the blog.
“Nevertheless, building a sustainable business around the Linux desktop is tough, and history is littered with example efforts that have either failed outright, are stalled or are run as charities.”
Instead, Red Hat said its focus for the next 12 months would centre on its Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop, its continuing contributions to Fedora and the eventual go-to-market plans for Red Hat Global Desktop which has been designed for PCs used by ordinary office workers and consumers in emerging markets.
But in a sign that Red Hat is still stumbling in its commitment to Linux on the desktop, Red Hat Global Desktop has also hit its fair share of snags.
Originally slated for an August 2007 release, it has since been put on indefinite hold due to a “number of business issues that have conspired to delay the product for almost a year,” according to the Red Hat blog.
Although Red Hat says the technology side of Red Hat Global Desktop has been completed, hardware and market changes, as well as several startup delays with resellers has kept the release under wraps.
