Unixster

When I write about the disposable PC, blame for the creation and maintaining of such a culture does not belong to a single entity. It has gotten to the point where hardware has become so cheap that whenever someone who lacks any real technical knowledge comes across a computing problem (whether it be hardware or software related) has no problem running out and purchasing a new replacement. Microsoft and retail stores add to this culture.

Well, it’s been a few weeks since the launch of Apple’s comically named “iPad,” and there’s no doubt the world has much to think over. That’s particularly true for those in the FOSS community, of course, given the decidedly closed nature of Apple’s new device. Fans of Cupertino may be swooning with delight, but the picture is less clear for those of us in the rest of the world. The new device is “a frightening step backward for computing and for media distribution,” according to the Free Software Foundation.

Krusader is one of those must-have computing tools that turns difficult or tedious computing tasks into easy, point-and-click operations. It’s an advanced twin-panel file manager that’s loaded with features. When I made the switch from the Windows to the Linux operating system, I had a short list of program requirements. This list was a match to critical computing procedures I relied upon in Windows. I quickly discovered that Linux offers numerous twin-panel file managers, but very few have the power built into Krusader.

Linux cluster vendor Penguin Computing has created a cloud computing environment aimed at the HPC space. Penguins POD service is built on the vendor’s Intel-powered Linux clusters, high-speed interconnect technologies like InfiniBand, NetApp SANs, Nvidia graphics chips and Penguins Scyld ClusterWare management software, all important technologies for highly parallel, memory-intensive HPC applications. Penguin also is not using virtualization technologies on its server clusters, which officials said will improve server and I/O performance.
– Penguin Computing is creating a cloud environment specifically for the high-performance computing space.
Penguin Aug. 11 announced its POD (Penguin on Demand) service that is aimed at researchers, scientists and businesses that need extra compute power for their HPC applications or organizations th…

VMware said Monday that it will pay US$420 million for privately held SpringSource in a bid to become a bigger player in cloud computing application management and the open source community.

Open source and education are natural fits– open source encourages experimentation and exploration, and the opportunity to learn computing, rather just how to be a little cog in a giant data-processing machine. Cynthia Harvey gives us a taste of the possibilities with this list of 55 open source educational applications.

Welcome to the premier Unified Computing magazine for Information Technology Professionals. Published on a monthly basis, opensourc3 is available for FREE download in PDF format, or can be read on-line. This first issue contains articles on Hypervisor and Cloud Technologies, Virtualization and KVM, Deploying iSCSI in Linux, Management with Puppet and more.

Canonical has organized its Ubuntu partner program into three segments — business partners, technology partners and training partners. But to spot the next generation of potential Ubuntu channel partners you need to check out two areas: Cloud computing and the so-called Ubuntu Marketplace.

rPath’s rBuilder enables companies to build, maintain and deploy their own Linux-based software appliances. The 5.0 version of rBuilder adds support for multiple Linux distribution platforms, as well as a management console for launching software appliances on a handful of virtualization and cloud computing platforms. Check out these slides for a look at eWEEK Labs’ tests of the 5.2.1 rBuilder update.
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UPDATED: Ubuntu Enterprise CLoud package includes the UCSB-developed Eucalyptus cloud-building software — the first Linux distribution to include a do-it-yourself cloud kit. Eucalyptus adds a number of new functions to Ubuntu, such as end-user customization, self-service provisioning, legacy application support, and automated power controls.
– SAN JOSE, Calif. — A National Science Foundation grant project developed largely by graduate students at the University of California, Santa Barbara has resulted in Eucalyptus Systems, a three-month-old startup which has produced new open-source cloud infrastructure software that is a key component…