Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

So there they were, Google vs. Microsoft, slugging it out again. This time, to the winner, would go a small percentage of the ownership of the popular social networking site, Facebook. The real prize though was that the winner would get to decide if Facebook would continue to accept advertising only from advertisers working with […]

Over at our sister site LinuxDevices, were always looking at small, embedded-Linux systems. While reviewing Freespire recently on a Mini koobox, an Apple Mini-sized system, I began to wonder, Just how small do full-featured, Linux-powered PCs come? When I say full-featured, dont mean Internet tablets, like the Nokia N800, or PDAs (personal digital assistants), such […]

Crossbeam Systems has started shipping a massive chassis-style, “unified threat management” (UTM) system based on an open Linux OS. The X-Series UTM server runs the companys Linux-based “XOS” OS, and targets highly scalable firewalls and other security applications for large data centers and service providers. The X-Series UTM competes with high-end UTM systems such as […]

Apples OS X 10.5 “Leopard” emerges from its den today, Oct. 26. Macs fan are, of course, ready to embrace the latest Mac OS, but whats really new in this version? For starters, this is not the major upgrade that Tiger, Mac OS X 10.4 was. Instead, its many small steps forward and several new […]

Should we be ready, as Kent Brockman might put it, to “welcome our new Microsoft overlords,” or are the IDC Quarterly Server Tracker figures not really reflecting the reality of how servers are used in businesses? I, for one, think that what IDC is measuring and what server operating systems people are really using are […]

My colleague over at Microsoft Watch, Joe Wilcox, declared that “Microsoft bowed before the EU and took its whipping.” Eh, after a couple of days to look at the decision, I dont think so. At best, Id say the European Union got the more favorable end of a draw. To refresh your memory, heres the […]

On my mountainside home outside of Asheville, NC, the sky is dark and gray, but on my PCs screen the skies of San Diego are filled with the smoke of homes burning away. Thanks to television, were closer than ever to disaster, no matter where or when it happens. You didnt need to be in […]

How many times do we need to go over this? Just because Microsoft enters a market, doesnt mean that its going to own it. The latest “Microsoft is coming! Microsoft is coming! Run for your lives!” rumor can be seen in the recent report that Microsoft announced plans for its System Center Mobile Device Manager […]

First, lets make this clear. Oracle Unbreakable Linux was, is now and is for the foreseeable future going to be based on Red Hats Red Hat Enterprise Linux codebase. It is not, however, going to be simply RHELs twin in every way. When Oracle first announced the release of Unbreakable Linux, many people saw it […]

Nokia has announced a new version of its Linux-based Internet tablet. The N810 is smaller, heavier, and faster than the older N800, with new features that include a slide-out hardware QWERTY thumb keyboard, GPS receiver, FM transmitter (for in-car listening), and a light-sensing screen dimmer. The N810 is slightly smaller than its predecessor, the N800, […]

Its become an annual event. Steve Ballmer shoots his yap about how Linux and open source violate Microsoft patents. The open-source community says, “OK, show us your cards, your patents,” and Ballmer shuts up for six months or so. This time around, though, Microsofts FUD campaign is playing out in a different way. First, Ballmer, […]

The sincerest complement a Linux distribution can get is when the onetime CEO of a rival Linux company switches to that distribution. Thats exactly what happened when Kevin Carmony, former CEO of Linux desktop distributor Linspire, publicly announced that hes switched to Ubuntu. Carmony, who left Linspire in late July, announced his switch to Ubuntu […]