Code, databases, gadgets, words and a geek cornucopia
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: Every geek and technology lover will undoubtedly have stumbled across online adverts for tiny headless Linux-powered devices that are barely larger than the power point they plug into. What can you actually do with them? Plenty, it seems!
SlashDotted! Yeah!
iTWire: In a move certain to surprise, shock and even anger many, the creator of the Linux kernel, Linus Torvalds, today signed up as Chief Software Architect with Microsoft to work on the Redmond Giant’s next-generation operating system with Dave Cutler.
iTWire: The problem with corporate networks is they not only stop the bad guys coming in but also your users who want to work remotely, whether at home, at a client site or on the road. Here is where a VPN product comes in, and the simplest to deploy on Windows is a Linux virtual appliance called OpenVPN.
My latest iTWire story is about a problem I faced on Monday. A Fujitsu laptop running Windows Vista Business just would not boot. Diagnostics showed a registry corruption but the recovery console was not installed, Windows auto-repair attempts failed, the Windows installer wouldn’t provide an ‘upgrade’ option when booted from DVD … but happily I could fix the problem using an Ubuntu 8.04 Live CD.
This story is doing brilliantly on Digg, hitting the front page last night.
iTWire: Today, May 10th 2009, is Mother’s day for many countries around the world from Anguilla to Zimbabwe. How fitting, then, to offer a tribute to Linus Torvalds, the “mother” of Linux.
In a shock announcement, Microsoft has today taken majority ownership of software house Novell. This immediately gives the Redmond giant control of Novell’s intellectual property assets including the legal copyright over UNIX. Already Red Hat and Canonical (Ubuntu) have expressed their expectation Microsoft will aggressively seek to eradicate all distributions save for Microsoft Linux Vista, formerly SUSE.
Read the full story here!
You know a virus is big news when suddenly your users start asking about it instead of the usual “Good news” hoax variants (you know, “my friend’s brother’s uncle’s IT guy said don’t open an e-mail with the title ‘good news’ or it will melt your whole computer and eat your house. Microsoft has said there is NO cure !!!!!!”)
Now, good network admins already have their infrastructure under control – both for present and for future threats.
So, it’s prudent to send out an affirming message at this time letting your users know that they can have confidence their data will be protected from harm and they won’t suffer downtime.
Here are some template e-mails you can use – and not just for Windows, but for the Linux and MacOS guys too!
Impulse-buy retailer Zazz.com.au has sold computers in the past, but today’s deal is a special one to my heart. For less than $200 including freight you get a Dell Optiplex desktop computer with Ubuntu Linux loaded and guaranteed fully working. However, you only have today to go for it.