General

Frightening.   I do hope that the folks at Red Hat stay away from this merger.  Granted, it might make them alot of money, and I certainly have no objection to them selling to another firm to help insure their firm’s survival, but AOL?  AOL?  Does anyone remember Netscape anymore?  What happens to Red Hat if there is a merger should be a concern of any Linux user.

Yes, Linux will live on.  It is far bigger than just Red Hat, but it is one of the most visible parts of the Linux Movement.

Be afraid.

AOL’s Pursuit of the Penguin. AOL Time Warner is rumored to be after Linux distributor Red Hat. Does this mean 32 million subscribers will be instant geeks? Not exactly. By Michelle Delio. [Wired News]

Safe, so far.  I’ve managed over the years to keep my home firewall machine safe from the outside world, but my server has been rooted twice, and one machine that I sysadmin as a volunteer as been rooted once in the past four years.  It pays to stay on top of things…  Nice job by this user..  Good Gravy, That was Quick!. Eventually, I hope to don the mantle of sysadmin, when I host my own domain and Web server at the end of my DSL line. Naturally, security is important to me; I don’t want my box to be the one that is used to spray the net with crap, so I’ve been moving slowly, making sure I understand everything I intend to put on the wire. I knew the Internet had become a less friendly place, populated by more and more jerks, but until tonight, I had no idea just how supremely virulent some of them were. [kuro5hin.org]

Amen Alan.  I wouldn’t work there either.  They’d make me be feanor@aol.com.  Whee!Linux Kernel Development Archive: Re: AOL in Negotiations to Bu: “Well I’ve no idea on the rumours (and if I did I wouldnt tell you!) but Im insulted that anyone believes I would continue working for RH if aol/time warner owned them. Alan“

Same stinking problem that I had.. well more XP issues with my situation.  Linksys integrated PCI card with XP drivers: I’m not sure about the rest of you with PCs, but I am sick and tired of wrestling with CardBus PCI adapters and their associated drivers. I spent more time this morning on top of hours in the last few months just trying to get Windows XP to take such an item. I gave up. I checked Linksys’s site and their list of Windows XP drivers, and see that the WMP11 integrated PCI card (using, ironically, a mini-PCI card) has native drivers. A check at Shopper.com turned it up for under $100 from the Gateway Accessory Store, run by Necx. (Amazon.com lists it for about the same price, but doesn’t have it in stock.) Joe Bob says: I ordered one. We’ll see how it works.  [80211b News]

More on K-Mart’s Problems.  Crisis at Kmart: Not a Good Thing: “Crisis at Kmart: Not a Good Thing Pricier than Wal-Mart, dowdier than Target, Kmart has long suffered an identity crisis. Now it faces a financial crisis that could land it in bankruptcy” [MSNBC]

Airline Security Again.   This story would be entertaining if it wasn’t so sad.  It’s the Medal of Honor for godssake…  Do we not teach history anymore?  General Foss is one of the greatest heroes of the Second World War.  Geeeeeeeesh!  Medal of Honor fails to impress airline security — The Washington Times: “Airline security personnel at Phoenix’s international airport questioned a retired general and war hero about the Medal of Honor he was carrying before he boarded a flight to Washington, D.C.“

Gossamer Threads.  I’m installing a product (LinksSQL) from Gossamer Threads right now for a client who will use it to power one of his websites.  I have to take a second to comment the quality and ease of use of Gossamer’s Products.  They are easy to install, their support is top-notch, and even their CEO answers support questions on their support forum at odd hours. 

You don’t mind many software companies like this out there.  Hats off!