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iTWire: Even the most Microsoft-ardent developer will know web hosts favour Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP over Windows, IIS, ASP.NET and SQL Server. Thanks to virtualisation the days of dual booting are over. Here is how to set up a streamlined LAMP development environment on any Windows PC.

iTWire: I kid you not, Microsoft has submitted GPL 2.0 source code which has already been accepted for the next kernel release.

Here’s my review back of 2008 as covered in my iTWire “Linux Distillery” column. There were some highs, some lows. The netbook craze looked certain to put Linux into ordinary households before it turned out consumers preferred Windows XP. Were they right? Meanwhile, Linux has made some groundway into schools around the world. Also, I had a couple of fights with Microsoft over their so-called “get the facts” case studies. And it looks like virtualisation is going to be more prominent in time to come.

This story has been SlashDotted! A good start to the new year!

I really shouldn’t leave it so long to post here!

Since last time, this is what I’ve been writing on for iTWire … mostly Linux, but some other items too.

Linux

• The wit and wisdom of Linus Torvalds
• Why doesn’t everyone just run Linux?
• Why the latest IE flaw proves Linux got it right from the start
• Dumbass consumers squander netbook experience by rejecting Linux
• Obama and McCain prove critical open source argument true – this is an important one! Electronic voting systems are a reality and only the open source viewpoint can assure transparency and accuracy.
• School teacher claims, “Linux is illegal, no software is free.”
• Geeks seek to hack depression
• Why do Windows programs suck so freaking much (and what can they learn from Linux?)
• Linux netbooks look likely to save Government education promise
• Why the Cybersource education solution won’t get off the ground

Christmas Linux

iPhone

• New York Governor seeks iPod tax
• Are iPhone-friendly sites actually doing a disservice?

Enterprise

Consumer reviews

iTWire: When it comes to virtualising Linux, VMWare has always had the edge of Microsoft ’s Virtual PC which has limited video display support. Although these were the best two, there have been other lesser-known options like XENSource. Here’s Sun’s VirtualBox and why it is truly kick-ass.

iTWire: With virtualisation becoming a mainstream technology, it’s becoming reasonable that Linux distros like Ubuntu will not always require a dedicated computer but instead be contained within a virtualised environment, whether on a Windows desktop or as part of a consolidated server farm. It’s not always plain sailing though – here are some problems you might encounter as well as their solutions.

iTWire: Virtualisation is on the brink of turning operating systems into a commodity item. It may be realistic to see software applications shipped as virtual computer images in the near future. Linux has much to benefit from this, with a repeat of the phenomenal adoption rate it has enjoyed since the ASUS Eee PC. Here’s the story.

iTWire ran a feature recently on virtualisation. Here are my two contributions: Linux-based virtualisation – the way to save money and go green, and Will hypervisors make Ubuntu and other Linux operating systems obsolete?