ubuntu

Spyware Horror Story: Toxic Wine

Submitted by Chris, U.S.A

I was--and still am--running UbuntuStudio 7.10. Now, even though this is Ubuntu, I can run Windows programs with Wine.

My friend's brother was playing on my computer and got into my e-mail. He opened up the Elvis e-mail, which contains a virus. I found out later that the virus got into Wine. Not too much later after the contamination, I started running Microsoft Office, when Ubuntu came up with an error. Firefox randomly crashed. Then Wine started running Notepad instead of the application I wanted.

I used Ubuntu's virus scanner and … Read more

A very cool way to experience Ubuntu...on Windows

Mark Shuttleworth points to an excellent way to let Ubuntu Linux newbies give it a try without leaving the comfort of their Windows machines:

...I was absolutely delighted with the way Agostino Russo and Evan Dandrea steered the Windows-native installer for Ubuntu into 8.04 LTS. What I think is really classy about it is the way it uses the Windows Boot Manager sensibly to offer you the Ubuntu option. If I was a Windows user who was intrigued but nervous about Linux, this would be a really great way to get a taste of it, at low risk. Being … Read more

Ubuntu and the coming Linux popularity contest

It's just a matter of time before Ubuntu is crowned "enterprise ready" by one of the major ISVs. Will it be able to maintain its popularity once it is popular with enterprise buyers?

Ubuntu plays an increasingly important role within the larger Linux market. According to a new white paper from IDC [PDF], Linux is big business and is ready for prime time, with IDC forecasting overall spending on hardware, software, and services for Linux to increase 25.2 percent annually through 2011, particularly at the expense of Unix:

Increasingly, deployments of the Linux server operating system are expanding from infrastructure-oriented workloads to more commercially-oriented workloads such as database, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and other general business processing, workloads that historically have been the domain of Microsoft Windows and Unix. Where once Linux was seen by customers primarily as a low-cost infrastructure solution, it is now increasingly viewed as a solution for wider and more critical business deployments.

The question in my mind is therefore, "Which of the big-three Linux vendors is going to dominate the market?" Red Hat is the obvious first choice, but I think there's a serious spoiler in the Linux market, and its name is Ubuntu.… Read more

Ubuntu + Sun = Very good idea

I had dinner with a good friend tonight from the open-source world, and we ended up having the same conversation I had with a few other friends from the open-source business community at lunch yesterday. The conversation began with Sun and ended with Ubuntu. In between, the two came together.

Why doesn't Sun see things this way?

We're not the only ones asking the question. Seeking Alpha is reporting that things are heating up between Sun and Canonical/Ubuntu, with Sun "preparing to certify more of its servers for Canonical's Ubuntu Linux." I hope so. I think it would be excellent for both parties.

Solaris is a fantastic operating system. I can appreciate why Sun and its employees cling to it - to the innovations they've made - so tightly. But so was NetWare before it. At some point technology takes a back seat to market momentum.

Ubuntu has that. Solaris? Not so much. That's just how the market goes.… Read more

Ubuntu Linux: Unhackable. The Mac? Safari proves its Achilles Heel

A recent contest pitted Mac OS X, Windows Vista, and Ubuntu Linux against each other in terms of security. It took all of two days to hack the Mac (via a web browser exploit). Ubuntu Linux? Three days into the contest, it still hadn't been hacked.

It's very possible that the Mac was the first targeted because everyone wanted the prize: A spiffy new MacBook Air. But that's not the point. Using Firefox may well have resolved the problem, rather than sticking with Apple's Safari browser.

No, the point is that no one could hack Linux.… Read more

eWeek names its top 15 open-source business influencers

eWeek has put together a solid list of the top-15 open-source business influencers in the industry today. It's much the same that I would have devised had I come up with such a list. Names like Linus Torvalds (Linux), Mitchell Baker (Mozilla), Mike Milinkovich (Eclipse), and Larry Augustin (most startups known to humankind) make the list. Also John Roberts of SugarCRM, who was really the one who made commercial open source as big a topic as it is today, at least beyond Linux and middleware.

But the list is also notable for its inclusion of some people that might … Read more

Get more out of Ubuntu's virtual desktops

Perhaps the greatest single productivity-boosting feature in Linux is the ability to open several virtual desktops at one time. This allows you to create separate work environments for various simultaneous tasks, such as one with a word processor, image editor, and spreadsheet open for creating a report, and another with e-mail and browser windows active for keeping in touch with co-workers. The multiple desktops let you focus on the task at hand without interruption, but switch to your other active workspace with a single click.

By default, the Gnome interface used by Ubuntu 7.10 allows only two virtual desktops … Read more

Sun starts distributing Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu is on the upswing. The signs are everywhere (including here with its tie-up with IBM). Canonical, which developed this version of Linux, has been very busy talking with the major server and desktop vendors and is making inroads with both.

One that will come as a surprise to most, however, is that Sun Microsystems is one of the server vendors getting into the Ubuntu game, as the VAR Guy notes. Sun also offers Linux distributions from Novell and Red Hat, but its inclusion of Ubuntu is a significant demonstration of Ubuntu's clout.

Sun is firmly committed to Solaris. … Read more

The riches of Linux point to the server. Whither Ubuntu?

An Ovum market research report suggests that those looking to get rich off Linux had best focus on the server. The market for Linux products and services (not including hardware) came in at $2.4 billion in 2007, according to the firm, but should hit $7.7 billion by 2012.

That's a nice bump, 81 percent of which will be services, with a corresponding 81 percent stemming from the server, not desktop. (Mobile/embedded was not included in the report.)

It does call into question, however, whether Canonical/Ubuntu's focus on the desktop is misplaced, at least from a financial perspective. Is Red Hat right to single out the server for its plans?… Read more