Novell being thrown out of linux???

The Free Software Foundation, the body responsible for protecting intellectual property rights for open source and free software, is reviewing Novell's right to sell new versions of Linux.
The announcement comes as another blow to Novell after the open-source community reacted angrily to its decision to agree a wide-reaching intellectual property deal with Microsoft designed to counter claims that Microsoft IP was being infringed.
"The community of people wants to do anything they can to interfere with this deal and all deals like it. They have every reason to be deeply concerned that this is the beginning of a significant patent aggression by Microsoft," said Eben Moglen, the Foundation's general counsel.
The foundation controls intellectual property rights to key parts of the open-source Linux operating system.
Novell angered members of the open-source community that develops Linux and other free software programs in November when it entered a wide-ranging business deal with Microsoft.
Critics called on the board to punish Novell by banning it from distributing new versions of Linux software, said Moglen.
Linux is the most popular variant of open-source software. Unlike proprietary software such as Microsoft Windows, open-source software lets developers share code and add functions and is generally available at no cost.
Moglen said the board has not made a decision on the matter but that he expects it to announce a ruling within two weeks.
If the foundation decides to take action, the ban would apply to new versions of Linux covered under a licensing agreement due to take effect in March.
John Dragoon, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Novell, declined to comment saying it would be premature to speculate on how the issue would be resolved.
"We'll take a look at the final determination and we'll react accordingly," he said.
Software companies such as Novell sell standardized versions of open-source programs with custom features, maintenance plans and technical support.
Linux sales accounted for five per cent of the $967 million in revenue that Novell reported last year. The deal with Microsoft has turned into a far bigger cash generator as it calls for Microsoft to make two upfront payments worth a total of $348 million.
The two companies agreed to jointly sell their products and also develop technologies to make it easier for businesses to use Linux alongside Windows software. They will also license each other's intellectual property.
Members of the open-source community have called on Novell to pull out of the pact, saying it would undermine the patent position of Linux software and also give Microsoft an edge in persuading businesses to use Microsoft products over Linux and other types of open-source software.
Jefferies & Co analyst Katherine Egbert said Novell's business was likely to suffer if it was prevented from using the new versions of Linux.
It would have to boost spending on research and development to upgrade its software without access to the latest versions of the open-source code provided by the Foundation.
Novell shares ended down two cents at $7.16 on the Nasdaq.
The stock is likely to trade down before the Foundation discloses its ruling as investors stay on the sidelines to avoid the worst-case scenario, analysts said.
"Investors don't like uncertainty," Egbert said. "This isn't good to the extent that it creates uncertainty around the technical road map."

Edit the Windows Vista Boot Menu Options - BCDEDIT

Introduction

In Windows Vista, the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store contains boot configuration parameters which control how the operating system is started in the Windows Vista and Windows Server Code Name "Longhorn" operating systems. These were found in the boot.ini file in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To edit the Windows Vista Boot Menu Options, the Boot Configuration Data Editor - BCDEDIT is used. The Bcdedit.exe command-line tool can be used to add, delete and edit entries in the BCD store which contains objects. Each object is identified by a GUID (Globally Unique Identifier). Every drive or partition on the system will have its own GUID and could be {legacy} (to describe a drive or partition on which a pre-Windows Vista operating system), {default} (to describe the drive or partition containing the current default operating system), or {current} (to describe the current drive or partition one is booted to), or for example {c34b751a-ff09-11d9-9e6e-0030482375e7} (to describe another drive or partition on which an operating system has been installed). Bcdedit.exe is located in the \Windows\System32 directory of the Windows Vista partition and can be accessed only from the Command Prompt which is found on the Windows Vista start menu at Start>All Programs>Accessories

Command-line Help

bcdedit /? Shows all commands one is able to use

bcdedit.exe /? CREATESTORE Shows detailed information for the command CREATESTORE or any other command available in bcdedit as shown when running bcdedit /? followed by the particular command more information is required for.

bcdedit or bcdedit /enum all Shows the current structure of your boot configuration data. The GUID tags {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx} of all Windows installations present on your computer will be displayed.

Create a Backup

It is strongly recommended that one creates a backup of the BCD store before making any changes to it.

bcdedit /export "D:\BCD Backup\Bcd Backup" Creates a backup to a pre-created folder, in this case “BCD Backup” on drive D:

bcdedit /import "D:\BCD Backup\Bcd Backup" Restores the backup previously created

Making Changes to the Boot Configuration Data

Before making any changes or attempting to use the commands below, run the command bcdedit or bcdedit /enum all to make sure that you use the correct GUID tag. These have been seen to change from build to build and it may be necessary to use {ntldr} instead of {legacy} for example.

bcdedit /set {legacy} Description “Windows XP Professional SP2” Changes the text description of the “Legacy” OS line in the boot menu. The quotation marks must be included in the command

bcdedit /set {current} description "Windows Vista Build 5270 x86" Changes the text of the boot menu line for the Vista or non-Vista installation one is currently booted to, from the default "Microsoft Windows" or other description to that shown in the quotation marks

bcdedit /set {5189b25c-5558-4bf2-bca4-289b11bd29e2} description “Windows Vista Build 5270 x64” Changes the text of the boot menu line for any other Vista installation. One must use the GUID for that particular installation as shown when one runs the bcdedit or bcdedit /enum all command

bcdedit /default {current} Sets the current Windows installation one is booted to as the default Windows boot OS

bcdedit /default {5189b25c-5558-4bf2-bca4-289b11bd29e2} Sets the referenced Windows OS as the {default} Windows boot OS

bcdedit /default {legacy} Sets the legacy (Windows XP) OS as {default} boot item bcdedit /displayorder Sets the display order of boot menu items for example: bcdedit.exe /displayorder {legacy} {current}

bcdedit /timeout 15 Changes the default 30 second time-out of the boot menu to 15 seconds or any other value inserted.

Correcting changes to the Partition/Disk structure

Where a partition or a hard drive has been added or removed and has caused the partition/disk structure to change, this can be corrected by running these commands in the order shown: X:\>X:\boot\fixntfs.exe -lh -all (Where X: is the drive/partition on which the folder "boot" is to be found)

bcdedit /set {5189b25c-5558-4bf2-bca4-289b11bd29e2} device partition=X: Changes boot partition of the OS whose GUID is indicated. (Where X: is new drive/partition required). Must be used together with the osdevice command below

bcdedit /set {5189b25c-5558-4bf2-bca4-289b11bd29e2} osdevice partition=X: Changes boot partition of the OS whose GUID is indicated. (Where X: is new drive/partition required). Must be used together with the device command above

Msconfig - System Configuration Utility

The System Configuration Utility (msconfig) is accessible from the Windows Vista start menu, Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Configuration. It has limited funcionality as regards the BCD store however, with the only relevant functionalities being to change the default boot operating system, to delete a boot menu item and to change the timeout display period of the boot menu.

CAUTION: Making incorrect or invalid changes to one's BCD store can result in the system no longer booting and only those comfortable with using command line entries and who understand the inherent risks of making a mistake should do so.

NIVIDIA GPUs

For Gaming PCs
GeForce GPUs: NVIDIA® GeForce® GPUs deliver blazing frame rates and today’s most advanced features—including support for Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 Shader Model 3.0, high dynamic-range (HDR) lighting, and NVIDIA® SLI™ multi-GPU technology. NVIDIA GeForce GPUs deliver the ultimate performance and ultra-realistic effects on today’s hottest games.
For Home Entertainment PCs
GeForce GPUs: NVIDIA GeForce GPUs featuring NVIDIA® PureVideo™ technology deliver astonishing, lifelike picture quality for viewing TV, DVDs, and home movies for a superior home-entertainment experience. The award-winning display architecture and NVIDIA® Digital Vibrance Control™ (DVC) technology bring crisp image quality and unprecedented color clarity to your digital photos.
For Corporate PCs
GeForce GPUs: GeForce GPUs provide high-performance, cost-effective, and reliable graphics solutions to the corporate PC user.
NVIDIA Quadro NVS GPUs: The award-winning NVIDIA Quadro® NVS GPUs are the corporate choice for multi-display graphics. Combining industry-leading hardware and software, NVIDIA Quadro NVS series features single-, dual-, and quad-display graphics products that deliver unprecedented performance and stability.

VISTA - features

Blu-ray News

Blu-ray Software Sales Surpass HD-DVD

Blu-ray software sales have now surpassed HD-DVD for the first time the week of December 24 and they did so by an impressive 20 percent. The sales gap is expected to widen further in 2007 based on research conducted by Twentieth Century Fox and Blu-ray is expected to outsell HD-DVD by a 3.5-to-1 ratio by the end of the first quarter. One of the driving factors behind the growth in sales is the PlayStation 3 (PS3), which was launched on November 17, 2006 in North America. The PS3 has been selling out at retail outlets since it was launched and despite shortages Sony has been able to meet its target of shipping 1 million PS3s in North America by the end of 2006. What's even more impressive is that they did it faster than their top-selling PlayStation 2 (PS2) platform did when it was launched. Sony is now targetting 6 million PS3 consoles shipped worldwide by the end of the fiscal year (end of March 2007). While many have doubted the effect the PlayStation 3 would have on the format war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD it's hard to argue with the numbers. Blu-ray sales are up 700 percent since the mid-November launch of the PlayStation 3 and other Blu-ray players from Sony, Panasonic and Philips. According to a recent survey by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) of over 10,000 PS3 owners, 80 percent indicated they will buy Blu-ray movies and 75 percent said they use the PS3 as a primary device for viewing movies. However, this shouldn't come as such a big surprise as those that have bought the PS3 might as well take advantage of the Blu-ray playback capability, which still is the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market at just $499. The content advantage that Blu-ray enjoys is another major factor that should become more and more evident now that the Blu-ray exclusive studios (Disney, Fox, Sony, MGM and Lionsgate) are starting to release more titles in the format. When looking at the 20 top selling DVDs of 2006 almost all were released by movie studios supporting Blu-ray, which means that titles such as Pirates of the Carribean and Cars will only be available for Blu-ray. The content advantage should further shift in Blu-ray's favor as the format neutral studios (Warner, Paramount) catch up their Blu-ray release schedules with HD-DVD so that the same movies are available for both formats. Overall the Blu-ray backers are confident that it's only a matter of time before the Blu-ray format becomes the dominant format in the US market, just as it already accounts for 96% of the market in Japan.

First test of Fedora Core-7 released

The Fedora team has announced that the first test spin of Fedora 7 is available for download via BitTorrent or from Fedora Project mirrors. Fedora 7, also available on live CD, mixes both Core (the complete operating system) and Extras (add-ons that complement the OS) into one package in anticipation of the merger between the two for Fedora 7's final release. Aside from the newly abbreviated name, the release also departs from Fedora Core 6 in that it no longer ships with the entire Core collection as an ISO set, because the team is planning to produce targeted spins for specific uses.

A preliminary desktop spin featuring a Web browser, email client, office suite, and music player is already available, and other targeted sets will follow in future test releases. Although the details of future spins are slated to be discussed at this weekend's FUDcon, release engineer Jesse Keating says it's likely the next will be a server set that includes a wide selection of server options, some GUI configuration tools, and a basic desktop. The Fedora community has also expressed a strong interest in a spin that focuses on the KDE desktop environment and its related applications, so the team is working on that package manifest as well.
"We are making the tools used to create these spins freely available (open source) and easy to use, so that folks can do spins of their own for specific needs, like say a spin of Fedora focusing on the Eclipse software set for a handout at a conference," says Keating. "There are lots of options [and] opportunities out there. I've only thought of a few. I'm very interested in seeing what our user base chooses to create on their own."
Fedora 7 marks the first time that Core and Extras will be merged into one release, and Keating acknowledges that it has been a tricky process. "The merger is by no means complete, but thankfully the tools we are using to compose the distribution don't require all packages live in the same place," he says. "Pungi, the software I wrote to do composes, gathers packages from regular yum repositories, and these repositories can exist anywhere. This allows us to move forward with combined composes even before the packages and buildsystems are merged."
There are two more test releases scheduled before Fedora 7 is slated for general availability on April 26. Though the team has remained on schedule to this point, there is still plenty of work to be done. Keating says some features of Fedora 7 are well under development while others have yet to get off the ground. The team's goal is to have them all testable by the release of Test 2 later this month with the understanding that whatever is not ready for testing at that point will be removed from the package and shelved for the time being.
"My main goal ... is to oversee the buildsystem and source control merger, developing tools and glue to make this happen, as well as integrating my release compose tool with the new merged infrastructure," says Keating. "Various other development teams have their own goals, from the installer, to the desktop, to the kernel, etc.
"The merger is still the biggest issue on our plates, but that is mostly administrative and infrastructure work, while development continues to move on, regardless of where the packages sit."

AMD and Microsoft Collaboration Enables World-class Windows Vista™ Experience

AMD today detailed the hardware and supporting software technologies to deliver the highest levels of performance, stability and application compatibility for Microsoft Windows Vista™ users. Based on an unprecedented collaboration between Microsoft and AMD, Windows Vista harnesses AMD silicon and software to deliver truly immersive computing experiences, new tools for creating and sharing multimedia content and enhanced capabilities for locating and securing data. AMD and Microsoft have worked closely and continue to collaborate on Windows Vista™ development and requirements to bring hardware and software benefits together for our mutual customers. In addition, AMD64 processor-based systems were one of the platforms on which Windows Vista was developed, built, tested and optimized. “Today begins a new era in computing, one that will change people's expectations about how they enjoy their PCs," said Hector Ruiz, chairman and CEO, AMD. "It has been our great pleasure to work so closely with Microsoft to develop tightly integrated solutions that deliver the ultimate experience for Windows Vista.” Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft, said: “AMD has invested heavily in hardware and software innovations so that consumers can enjoy new experiences that take full advantage of the breakthrough capabilities that Windows Vista delivers. From day one, AMD has played a key role in helping us design and validate the new driver model at the heart of Windows Vista. That knowledge has led to the development of extremely stable, feature-rich high-performance software drivers and hardware that really showcase the full power of the new Windows operating system.” AMD has worked closely with Microsoft for more than four years to ensure broad availability of optimized hardware and software solutions for Windows Vista at launch. AMD’s mainstream multi-core and 64-bit microprocessor technology and advanced graphics solutions provide consumers with superior performance, stability and compatibility for Windows Vista, along with a stunning visual experience.

Intel unveils Quad core

Intel Corporation had kicked off the computer industry’s multi-core PC era by delivering four computing “brains” inside a single microprocessor with the introduction of the Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® 5300 and Intel Core™2 Extreme quad-core processor families. These products deliver immense speed and responsiveness for general purpose servers and workstations and for digital media creation, high-end gaming and other market segments that crave absolute performance.
Intel began the transition to multi-core technology 4 years ago with Hyper-Threading Technology (HT Technology), followed by the introduction of the industry’s first dual-core PC processors in April last year. Intel recently refreshed its entire product line by introducing over 40 new processors, including those based on the revolutionary Intel® Core™ microarchitecture, a more powerful yet energy-efficient design.
“Today’s announcement ushers in another new era in computing,” said Paul Otellini, Intel’s president and CEO, “The capabilities of quad-core microprocessors will bring new possibilities for science, entertainment and business. I’m incredibly proud of what Intel’s employees have achieved with these new products”, when the quad core was released.
Intel has made this next step in the computer’s ongoing evolution as fast and easy as possible through continued investment in silicon process and manufacturing technology, innovative and tailored product design, and a myriad of software developer tools and programs.

for more details visit:

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2quad/prod_brief.pdf (product breif)

http://www.intel.com/quad-core/index.htm?iid=homepage_quad-core

Install Internet Explorer 7 without any WGA checks

Simple steps to install Internet Explorer 7(IE 7) without any WGA checks.

1. First Download Internet Explorer 7 installer from the Microsoft website and use Winrar to unpack the files contained in the installer to a dir on your hard drive.
2. Next download the iecustom.dll file and replace the orginal file in the upload folder with the one you have downloaded.
3. Next run update.exe from within the update folder and choose to restart at a later time.
4. Download another dll normaliz.dll and copy it into your system32 directory, restart your computer afterwards.
Run xmllitesetup.exe which is located in the update folder as well. Restart your computer once more, once this is done the new IE 7 is ready to use.

You might run into troubles that normaliz.exe can’t be found on your system after the first reboot. If that is the case do the following.

Press ctrl-alt-del to go to the task manager. Go to “File -> Run” in the task manager. Type: ‘cmd’ and push enter. The command prompt window will appear. Type: ‘copy c:\normaliz.dll c:\windows\system32\normaliz.dll’

VISTA's problems

Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest OS, apparently isn't living up to the hype that the company has created around it. Microsoft has claimed that the new operating system is the company's most secure ever, but already, even before the January 29th consumer launch date, security flaws have been detected by computer security experts in the United States and Russia.
The most serious flaw involves a faulty piece of software underlying Internet Explorer 7 that could allow hackers to take over any computers that visit a rogue website set up to exploit the flaw. "Web users could potentially become infected simply by visiting a site designed to exploit the flaw," Alexander Sotirov, senior security researcher at Determina said. "It allows any web site you visit to gain control of your browser, execute code on your system and take control." Reportedly, the malicious code can also be executed on Firefox.
Another security breach centers on code that allows users to upgrade their privileges on a computer, potentially allowing them to install unauthorized programs. That could occur if someone is actually sitting in front of the PC or otherwise gets the computer's owner to install rogue software, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for Finnish security research company F-Secure Corp.
"The bottom line is you couldn't use a vulnerability like this to write a worm or hack a Vista system remotely," Hypponen said Tuesday, as quoted by AP. "It only has historical significance in that it's the first reported vulnerability that also affects Vista. It's a nonevent in other ways."
In a posting on its website, Microsoft said it was aware of the vulnerabilities but believed that there was only a low probability that they would be exploited.
"Currently we have not observed any public exploitation or attack activity regarding this issue," wrote Mike Reavey, operations manager of the Microsoft Security Response Center. "While I know this is a vulnerability that impacts Windows Vista, I still have every confidence that Windows Vista is our most secure platform to date."
It was reported that the computer industry is taking a "wait-and-see" attitude before deciding whether or not security would be a long-term problem with Vista. At the same time, some security experts said they expect to see bugs cropping up for the next six months. Most security researchers believe a complex product like Vista can never be error-free.
Past experience with Windows 2000 and Windows XP (if I think well, even with Windows NT) indicates that Microsoft's operating systems were reliable enough only after the second Service Pack. That's at least two years away for Vista. However, other operating systems, generally considered much more reliable, such as Linux, have had problems with security too.

astala "VISTA"

A security researcher at the Black Hat security conference has demonstrated several ways to circumvent security features that are built into Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Vista operating system. According to media reports, a researcher demonstrated two ways to attack a Windows Vista system during a session at the conference. The exposed flaws would potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code. Windows Vista requires that all device drivers are 'signed' to prevent malicious code from posing as a legitimate driver. The researcher however demonstrated a way to load unsigned drivers. The researcher in the second case used the virtualisation technology in a system's AMD processor to inject code into the Vista kernel. The technology would allow an attacker to create a new hypervisor that could control the operating sytem. It would remain undetected from the user and would be at the attacker's disposal. Although the attack was demonstrated on an AMD processor, it would also work on PCs running Intel chips. Both attacks relied on documented features in Windows Vista and cannot be considered bugs. As reported last week, security vendor Symantec has demonstrated several ways to circumvent the operating system's user account protections. Although Microsoft has since repaired the bugs Symantec had identified, it illustrates that the software still has weaknesses and that additional bugs are likely in the future. The security software in Vista is "ineffective" in blocking malware and slow to update against viruses. A test performed found that Windows Defender, the security software included with Vista, failed to catch 84 per cent of spyware and malware. The test included 15 of the most common malware programs, said Webroot.