Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

About

I'm editor-at-large for Ziff Davis Enterprise. That's a fancy title that means I write about whatever topic strikes my fancy or needs written about across the Ziff Davis Enterprise family of publications. You'll find most of my stories in Linux-Watch, DesktopLinux and eWEEK. Prior to becoming a technology journalist, I worked at NASA and the Department of Defense on numerous major technological projects.

Radiant Data Launches 64-bit Linux HA Replicating File System

If you need your data to be available in all your offices—even if the central office goes up in smoke one day—Radiant Datas new PeerFS 4.0, which now supports multiple 64-bit Linuxes, might be just what you need. Available since 2003 for 32-bit Linux systems, PeerFS uses a multiple-sources and multiple-targets replicating file system to […]

Compiz and Beryl 3D Projects Merge

Several months after parting ways, the leaders of the two leading 3D compositing Linux desktop projects, Compiz and Beryl, have agreed to come back together. Quinn Storm, one of Beryls creators, wrote last September that “it at least feels as though development is rather closed, with any possibility of getting code into the main source […]

SUSE Linux Now Available on Sun x64 Workstations

It sounds unlikely, but Novell and Sun Microsystems have partnered to bring SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 to Suns Ultra Workstations: the Sun Ultra 20, Ultra 20 M2, Ultra 40, and Ultra 40 M2. These workstations are powered by AMD Opteron chips. The older 20 and 40 models use single-core processors, while the newer M2 […]

A First Look at SimplyMEPIS 6.5

I have a nomination for the “Worst possible situation for reviewing an operating system” award. Review it, SimplyMEPIS 6.5 Release Candidate 2, while stuck in a hotel room 2,000 miles from home, with food poisoning. Trust me, in a situation like this, you are not in the mood to put up with any crap from […]

FSF Releases New Draft of LGPLv3

On the heels of releasing the latest draft of the GPLv3 (General Public License version 3), the Free Software Foundation on April 3 released a new draft of the LGPLv3. The LGPL was first released as Version 2.1 in February of 1999. It was the follow-up license to the GNU Library General Public License 2.0. […]

Dell, the Linux Desktop and Timing

Dell may have picked the perfect time to begin offering Linux-powered desktops. Why? Because, the next generation of Windows, Vista, has just sprung its first major security leak: the .ANI vulnerability. “ANI” stands for Animated Cursor Image format. When any version of Windows from NT to Vista opens up a corrupt ANI file with USER32.DLL, […]

Analysts, Lawyers Dissect New GPLv3 Draft

The new GPL drafts digital ink hadnt had time to dry before everyone began voicing their opinion on it. Some observers hate it, while others think this version represents a significant step forward in making the GPLv3 palatable both to the Linux community and big business. When it comes to disliking the latest GPL draft, […]

Red Hats Gross Income Grows, Net Disappoints

Red Hat Inc. reported its financial results today for its fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal year, both of which ended Feb. 28. While total revenue was up, the market was disappointed at the report that net income for the quarter fell about 25 percent year-over-year. Specifically, Q4 net income dropped from $28.75 million (13 […]

The GPL3 Draft 3 Arrives

The Free Software Foundation released the third discussion draft on the GNU General Public License on March 28. As expected, it contains language designed to prevent patent partnerships that extend protection from patent litigation to only the companies involved in such agreements. Controversy over deals such as the patent partnership between Microsoft and Novell has […]

Dell to Release Pre-installed Linux Desktops, Laptops

Dell contacted DesktopLinux.com on March 28 to let us know that the company will be releasing select desktop and notebook systems with pre-installed Linux as an option in the coming weeks. Dell, however, is still playing its Linux cards close to its vest. For example, we do not know at this time which Linux distribution—or […]