Practical Technology

for practical people.

September 10, 2009
by sjvn01
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Is Microsoft abandoning XP security updates?

Windows is insecure. That’s a given. But, Microsoft does issue monthly security patches-the first Tuesday of every month on Patch Tuesday-for many of Windows’ security problems. Now, however, there’s a new security problem in Windows XP’s TCP/IP networking that Microsoft has deliberately decided to leave unfixed.

According to Microsoft’s Security Bulletin MS09-048, Microsoft has released a patch for “several privately reported vulnerabilities in Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) processing. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if an attacker sent specially crafted TCP/IP packets over the network to a computer with a listening service.”

That’s the fancy way of saying a hacker can take your computer over with this vulnerability. Listening services are just what you might think. They’re software programs, like a Web server, that wait for a network connection before they do whatever their job is. Now, Microsoft has fixed this… for Vista and Windows Server 2003 and 2008. But, if you use XP, or Windows 2000, you’re out of luck.

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September 10, 2009
by sjvn01
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Much ado about nothing or Apple TV

Yesterday’s Apple announcements had analysts and fans alike drooling at the possibilities of a tablet-sized Apple iPod Touch, others saw a Web browser and iPhone/iPod applets for the Apple TV, and there was the eternal rumor of a Blu-Ray DVD being added to the Apple TV. In the event, there was, drum roll please, no Apple TV news at all.

Thud.

There are new iPods and a new version of Apple iTunes, but if you wanted any improvements to the Apple TV, you had come to the wrong place. I find this more than a little disappointing. I’m a big Apple TV fan, but Apple management seems to disagree.

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September 9, 2009
by sjvn01
1 Comment

Dell renews Ubuntu Linux desktop line up

Microsoft is doing its best to bury desktop Linux with lies, but at least one major vendor, Dell, isn’t just continuing to deliver laptops and netbooks with Ubuntu Linux, it’s actually upgrading the version of Ubuntu it’s shipping and, later this week, it will start selling Ubuntu 9.04-powered Inspiron 537s desktops.

As Dell’s Todd Finch, senior product marketing manager for Linux clients, promised at OpenSourceWorld several weeks ago, Dell is now shipping its existing netbook lines with the latest version of Ubuntu, 9.04. This means that if you order a Dell Mini 9, a personal favorite of mine that now sells for $199, the Dell Mini 10v, or Inspiron 15n today you’ll get it with 9.04. In addition, Dell throws in DVD-playback and the media software you need to play MP3, WMA (Windows Media Audio), and WMV (Windows Media Video) files.

Later this week, according to sources at Dell, Dell will start offering an Ubuntu Linux-powered desktop, the Inspiron 537s. Farther down the road, Dell is considering offering Linux-based mobile devices, smartbooks, which will be about the size of present day netbooks but use ARM-processors. There is no delivery date for these computers.

You will, however, be able to order the Inspiron 537s models by the weekend. While hard details aren’t available yet. The 537s family is made up of strong, basic PCs in a variety of colors.

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September 8, 2009
by sjvn01
3 Comments

Who watches the baby-sitter?

When you have children you worry about them. You want to protect them. So, that means you want security software that will try to child-proof the Internet. That’s not easy. Some say it’s an impossible job. But, still parents try their best with programs like Net Nanny and CyberPatrol. But, then there’s EchoMetrix, which uses its Sentry and FamilySafe child protection programs to, and I quote their tag-line, “When kids talk, we listen.”

And, you thought Big Brother was just a character in George Orwell’s 1984. Welcome to 2009, when, according to an AP news report by Deborah Yow. “Software sold under the Sentry and FamilySafe brands can read private chats conducted through Yahoo, MSN, AOL and other services, and send back data on what kids are saying about such things as movies, music or video games. The information is then offered to businesses seeking ways to tailor their marketing messages to kids.”

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September 8, 2009
by sjvn01
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Microsoft’s latest Linux lies

If you can’t beat ’em, cheat, has long been Microsoft’s philosophy, which has lead to the Department of Justice and the European Union swatting them with restrictions and hundreds of millions in fines over the years. But, that hasn’t stopped them. In our latest example, an anonymous blogger who goes by GodofGrunts at OverClock.net, a site for people who want the fastest possible PCs, reports on his Microsoft ExpertZone training at Best Buy. What he ‘learned’ from Microsoft isn’t ‘exactly’ true.

Before I launch into this, here are some caveats. Microsoft ExpertZone is to help retail people learn how to sell Microsoft products. You can’t really expect to find fair and balanced coverage here of desktop Linux or Macs. I would, however, expect to find objective observations about both so that sales people can try to sell Windows without lying about it. I was disappointed.

I should also note that the guy who reported this is a self-proclaimed Linux lobbyist. So, clearly, he has an ax to grind too. But, we don’t need to take his word for it.You can see the ExpertZone’s screen shots fir yourself.

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September 7, 2009
by sjvn01
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Why the EU should block Oracle/Sun

Last week, I argued that the European Commission, the European Union’s top competition authority, was wasting its time delaying Oracle’s acquisition of Sun. Since then, I’ve heard from Henrik Ingo, the COO (chief operating officer) for Monty Program Ab, the MySQL fork headed by MySQL’s founder Michael “Monty” Widenius. He has a different take on the EU’s opposition to the deal, and I thought it worth sharing his viewpoint with you.

First, Ingo notes that “While it’s true that many use MySQL for free [under the open-source GPL license), and some even hack on the GPL’d source code, most of MySQL’s paying customers use MySQL under a commercial license which has nothing to do with Open Source. It is in this market that MySQL competes against Oracle and for those customers the GPL version of MySQL offers no consolation. This is the main reason why the EU is concerned.”

He’s correct; MySQL is a dual-licensed product. Anyone can use MySQL as an open-source program, but, to quote Sun’s description of the license, “OEMs, ISVs, VARs and other distributors that combine and distribute commercially licensed software with MySQL software and do not wish to distribute the source code for the commercially licensed software under version 2 of the GNU General Public License (the “GPL”) must enter into a commercial license agreement with Sun.”

This is a different model than that say used by Red Hat. Anyone can use the latest RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) . Indeed companies like CentOS and Oracle produce near-identical twins to RHEL and it’s all quite legal. Where Red Hat makes it money is with support contracts.

That’s not the case with MySQL,

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