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Linux Pipeline Newsletter www.LinuxPipeline.com Tuesday, March 8, 2005 In This Issue: - Most CA Software At Risk, Patches Available - EU Council Sides With Microsoft On Patent Bill - SCO Lawsuits Hit Yet Another Delay - More News... - The Tech That Makes Google Tick - Open-Source Quality: Job One, Or Job None? - Does The Press Make Too Much Of Security Warnings? - More Picks... Join InformationWeek for a FREE, on-demand TechWebCast on Assuring Peak Performance and Availability of Business- Critical Applications and Databases. Learn about a workflow process including application and database solutions for each stage. Register and view now: http://www.techweb.com/today/bizapps110904 ----------------------------------------- Editor's Note: Props To The Mac Daddy: Jef Raskin, 1943-2005 Yesterday, I was surprised to discover that Jef Raskin, the single most important person behind the original Apple Macintosh, died on Feb. 26. Raskin either invented or popularized many of the innovations that made the Mac such an important and historic product. Many of the design concepts behind today's desktop operating systems--icons, click-and-drag, WYSIWYG editing, long file names, even the idea of the desktop itself--are part of Raskin's legacy. For all I know, if Microsoft's magpies hadn't paid Raskin and Apple the compliment of ripping off their design principles en masse for Windows, the command line interface might still be the dominant paradigm. (I know that prospect actually excites some of you.) Even though he left Apple in 1982, the company's products still reflect his belief that technology should adapt to its users, and not the other way around. When one considers the design and usability horrors that technology manufacturers continue to visit upon us, regularly and with disturbing enthusiasm, it's clear just how rare and unique people like Raskin are in this business. It's especially unfortunate that he checked out before he could finish The Humane Environment, an open-source implementation of the design principles in his book The Humane Interface, which is now required reading in many computer science departments. In other news, the EU Council decided to ignore many of its member state governments, several thousand business owners and open-source developers, and the EU Parliament by keeping a proposal to legalize software patents alive and healthy. One point that I haven't seen in much of the coverage to date is the fact that the EU bureaucrat most responsible for this decision is an Irish politico who was a notorious Microsoft flunky even before he dedicated himself to selling out Europe's software industry. In fact, the Irish government itself now has a considerable stake in keeping Microsoft happy, comfortable, and satisfied at almost any cost, which is why it's one of the few European countries that actually seems to relish this prospect. It's an interesting, and incredibly seedy, tale--perhaps it deserves a more detailed telling at some point this week. I'm running several interesting opinion pieces this week, including one from Desktop Pipeline editor Barbara Krasnoff questioning the value of what seems like a constant stream of stories about software security bugs, malware exploits, hacker attacks, and other types of suspiciously popular bad news. The question, as Barbara sees it, is whether the computer press provides a real public service when it devotes so many inches to the issue or whether it simply wants to exploit a high-profile, and thus potentially profitable, topic. This is a question every computer journalist should ponder, especially when so many of these stories--or at least the headlines--fail to discriminate between obscure, hard to exploit bugs (in other words, most of them) and the ones that pose a genuine threat (name two of these in the past 12 months, and you deserve a prize). Even though I'm aware of this problem, I still find myself running stories that may not always clarify just how serious or credible a given security issue really is. This is less of a problem on a site like Linux Pipeline, where I'd rather make readers aware of a potential security problem so they can decide for themselves what to do about it, than it would be at a news organization that deals with less experienced (and more impressionable) technology users. Nevertheless, I can see a time coming when we may have to rethink when, how, and why we cover software security threats. I also have another contribution on tap from columnist Rob Enderle, who heard your feedback on his last piece--something he could have done from the surface of Venus, judging from the email I saw. He's got a few loose ends to tie up on the question of Firefox, open-source code, and quality assurance; once again, I think he makes some valid points that deserve your attention, even if you're unlikely to agree with the conclusions he reaches. Finally, a gloat note: I expect a brand new, top of the line Linux laptop computer to arrive at my door any minute now, courtesy of Linux Certified. Yes indeed, it's good to be the editor of Linux Pipeline right now. Unfortunately, I only get to keep it for a month, but while I have it I can find out for myself whether Linux is a legitimate option for business laptop users. This is a question on which many of you are divided, judging from the latest poll I've been running, and it will be interesting to get some first-hand answers.
Matthew McKenzie
Don't let future editions of Linux Pipeline Newsletter go missing. Take a moment to add the newsletter's address to your anti-spam whitelist: linuxed@techwire.com If you're not sure how to do that, ask your administrator or ISP. Or check your anti-spam utility's documentation. Thanks. Top Linux News Most CA Software At Risk, Patches Available Computer Associates has patched a bug in the licensing software used in virtually all its Linux, Unix, Macintosh, and Windows titles.
EU Council Sides With Microsoft On Patent Bill
SCO Lawsuits Hit Yet Another Delay
RealPlayer Users Advised To Patch Security Bugs
Mozilla Foundation Opens Chinese Affiliate
More-Secure Linux Still Needs To Win Users
JBoss Launches Support Network
Eight New Bugs Found In Mozilla Products Editor's Picks The Tech That Makes Google Tick A Google engineering executive explains some of the ways the company turns thousands of ordinary Linux servers into one extraordinary search engine.
Open-Source Quality: Job One, Or Job None?
Does The Press Make Too Much Of Security Warnings?
Desktop Pipeline: Apple Tries To Eat Our Words
Linux Clues: Burn, Baby, Burn!
J2EE: Good News, Bad News
The Real Mac Daddy: Jef Raskin, 1943-2005 Cast Your Vote Now! A few months ago, I asked Linux Pipeline readers to share their experiences with Linux-based laptop computers. The verdict was mixed: Many of you had great things to say about your Linux laptops, but some of you were far from happy. This time, we'd like to hear from anyone with an opinion, whether you're a laptop Linux user, know someone who is, or simply stay current on the latest Linux hardware trends: Is Linux on the laptop ready for mainstream, everyday business use? Let us know, cast your vote! Get More Out Of Linux Pipeline Try Linux Pipeline's RSS Feed Linux Pipeline's content is available via RSS feed: Get RSS link. The feed is also auto-discoverable to many RSS readers from the Linux Pipeline home page. Note: RSS feeds are not viewable in most Web browsers. You need an RSS reader, Web-based service, or plug-in to view RSS. Find out which RSS readers the Pipeline editors recommend.
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