Okay, so I read on Slashdot (is a link really necessary?) that Microsoft has put up a program called FlexWiki under an Open Source license… a real OSI-approved license, not just some evil license that they’re calling Open Source. Well, you don’t see that every day, so I head over to the site to check it out. Now, if you’re not familiar with Wikis the concept is that (by default) anyone can edit them. Helps for all kinds of projects to allow open editing, and most Wiki software has version control built in so the community can roll back or remove changes that are detrimental. ...

This month, I’m going to wrap up discussion of network troubleshooting tools. So far, I’ve covered netstat, tcpdump, and ngrep and sniff. This month, I’ll discuss Ethereal, a tool for browsing network traffic interactively and analyzing network traffic. To put it more emphatically, Ethereal is the all-singing, all-dancing, packet-inspecting tool that all admins should have in their software toolboxes. Ethereal is capable of capturing packets for analysis or reading saved packet captures in a number of common formats. Ethereal support libpcap/tcpdump, Sun’s snoop/atmsnoop, LanAlyzer, MS Network Monitor, HPUX nettl, AIX iptrace, Cisco Secure IDS, and a number of others. (The full list can be found in the FAQ.) Ethereal supports more than 530 network protocols. You can also see supported protocols by selecting “Supported Protocols” from Ethereals Help menu. ...

How is it that companies that spend millions on product development seem incapable of hiring someone who can write clear, concise product descriptions? Been working on a project for the past week that involves churning through tons of product descriptions from various companies. I can say with authority that the products, if they are selling well, are selling despite the marketing materials. This also goes for press releases. Just in case any of the folks who are writing this copy happen to read this site, here are a few tips: ...

This month, I’ll present a few system tools that can be helpful when trying to diagnose your Linux system’s health, improve performance, and so on. This installment is intended for users who are newer to Linux, and who might not be familiar with, or aware of all the utilities that are already available at their fingertips. I often feature tools that are not included by default on a Linux system in the Tool of the Month column, but this installment of Open Road will present some utilities that are part of a “standard” Linux install, or at least packaged and available for most Linux distros — whether they’re actually installed by default, or not. I’m specifically thinking of Debian here, since a minimal Debian install won’t include several of the utilities covered this month. Not to fear, though — they’re just an apt-get away! ...

This month, I’ll discuss cdargs, a tool that simplifies using the command line. cdargs is a handy little utility that provides browsing and bookmarks for cd. Installing and using cdargs I just recently dicovered cdargs, but it’s already proved to be a great application and big time-saver. It’s also easy to set up — just grab the source tarball and unpack it. Run configure ; make then su to root and run make install-strip. I’m using cdargs on SUSE 9.0, but it should compile just fine on most recent Linux distros. (I’m not sure about the portability for *BSDs or other Unixes.) ...

Change can be scary, especially for those who have grown accustomed to the status quo over a period of several years. And in the programming world, sweeping change is brewing. Perl 6 is a fairly ambitious redesign of both the Perl language and the Perl interpreter, so Perl 5 developers may be a bit nervous about the prospect of drastic changes, which NewsFactor explored in Part 1 of this story. But Allison Randal, one of the Perl 6 design team members, told NewsFactor that programmers have little to worry about. ...

Perl is somewhat unique among programming languages, largely because its inventor, Larry Wall, wanted his creation to resemble a natural language. For the most part, he has succeeded; Perl has evolved quite like a natural language since its inception in 1987, adapting to changing circumstances and a growing developer community. However, unlike with a natural language, Wall has always been the primary force behind Perl’s design and revisions. Now, Wall is taking another step closer to his ideal. Instead of trying to generate all the ideas for Perl 6 on his own, Wall asked the Perl community to submit Requests for Comment (RFCs) on suggestions for the language. As he said during one of his so-called “State of the Onion” speeches, “Perl 5 was my rewrite of Perl. I want Perl 6 to be the community’s rewrite of Perl….” ...

With all the attention focused on Java and C#, companies may be missing out on a programming language that might be better suited to their needs. That language is called Python. In technical terms, Python is a high-level, open source programming language that promises rapid development and a low barrier to entry for non-programmers. In other words, it is relatively easy to learn and use – no small feat for a programming language. But can it crack the enterprise market? ...

Is mainstream acceptance for Open Source a " nuclear winter" for the software industry? I certainly hope so. Some argue that Open Source and Free Software are best left as a niche market, and that widespread acceptance of software without license fees will harm the economy. Certainly, widespread adoption of Linux, OpenOffice and other freely available software would be harmful to the bottom line of certain companies, but would it be harmful to the economy overall? ...