operating systems

Windows Vista - Which Version of Vista Best Suited for My Needs

Ollie Hancock — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:54:23 +0000

Windows Vista - Which version of Vista best suited

for my needs

Windows Vista has been designed for the use of people ranging from the student or housewife who need an Operating system that enables them to just browse the Internet and send and receive mails to people who are in highly technical professions. There are four different versions of Windows Vista to choose from. This does bring with it as dilemma of which version one should invest in. Each of the six versions has different functionality and this raises the risk of buying the wrong version of Windows Vista. Buy too low a version and you will not have the functionality you might require a while down the line.

Even though Vista has been hard pushed to the shelves by Microsoft there seems to be a lot of apprehension in the market among people when it comes to upgrading to Windows Vista. Vista is still in it’s infant stages and might take a while, like XP, to catch on. However, if you are deciding on which of the four versions to buy then you will do good to go for the Premium version for home use. This version has a lot of multimedia features that are present in XP but are revamped to the limit. The four versions available are:

Home Basic
Home Premium
Business
Ultimate

Now it is anybody’s guess that the first three versions of Vista will lack some of the features that the ultimate version of Windows Vista will have. In fact, the ultimate version will have all the combined features of the first three versions and will naturally cost more. So if you just want an operating system that is fire walled and offers some protection from virus attacks over the net then go for the home basic version. If you want to make DVD’ and movies then get the premium version. The business version ironically leaves out the features such as DVD maker, Data protection and photos and entertainment. However, these features are easily available in third party packs. So if you are hell bent on upgrading to Vista if for nothing else but a change of looks, then go for the Ultimate version - Just to be safe.

.About the Author:

Anmol Taneja is a Gadget enthusiast and critique. He has written several articles on various aspects of gadgets and the role they play in our day to day lives. Anmol is involved with several organizations involved in the evaluation and review of gadgets including http://gadgets.in thegadgetcast.com and gadgetenclave.in

Things to Check Before you Download Vista Windows

Ollie Hancock — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 01:54:23 +0000

Vista, the new operating system from Microsoft, is being marketed as a revolution for the personal computer. All the enticing benefits the new system

offers have spurred lots of people to download Vista Windows. If you’re contemplating upgrading your XP-running PC, here are some factors you need to address first.

1. Check your PC.

Before you download Vista Windows, check your computer if it’s ready for upgrades. To do this, you need to download and run the Windows Upgrade Advisor tool. This will assess your computer and give you a list of the Vista versions that are compatible with your unit. To be able to download Vista Windows, your computer must have at least 800MHz. Premium-ready PCs need at least 1GHz.

2. Make sure you have enough memory and hard drive space.

Another thing to note before you download Vista Windows your PC must have at least 512 MB of RAM. The minimum requirement for a premium-ready PC is 1 GB of system RAM. Plus, to be able to download Vista Windows, your hard drive size and free space must be no less than 40 GB and 15 GB, respectively.

3. Determine graphics adapter capability.

To enable you to download Vista Windows, your graphics adapter must be DirectX 9 capable. Premium-ready machines need at least 128 MB of video RAM to be able to download Vista Windows. Cards that are Vista-capable should have a minimum 64 MB of video RAM. These requirements need to be met if you plan to exploit the Aero Glass graphics. Otherwise, if your existing video adapter is Vista-capable, there is no need to upgrade it. It should be noted that a notebook computer with graphics card that is not compatible has a lesser chance of a successful upgrade to the new system.

4. Your computer must have a DVD drive.

So you can download Vista Windows, your PC should have a DVD drive in which you could install Vista.

5. Determine the version of Vista your computer is capable of running.

Before you download Vista Windows, determine first the version most appropriate for your computer. The five different editions are:

· Windows Vista Home Basic – provides basic operating system usability; suitable for average home users; will sell for $200 for new PCs, and $100 as an upgrade for those with existing Windows license

· Windows Vista Home Premium – offers more functionality than previous Vista Home Basic version; best choice for most PC users; features Aero and Media Center interface, DVD Maker, Movie Maker HD, backup scheduler, SideShow that allows use of auxiliary displays, comes with a Sync Center to synchronize files with other PCs over a home network, and parental controls; premium costs $240 for new computers and P160 as an upgrade if you have an existing Windows XP Home license

· Windows Vista Business - useful for standard business needs; comparable to Windows XP Professional; will be a staple on the corporate desktop.

· Windows Vista Enterprise – has advanced features like BitLocker Drive Encryption for laptops, application compatibility tools, and multi-language support

· Windows Vista Ultimate – has all the features of Vista Home Premium; features support for dual CPUs (multi-core are supported in lower versions), remote desktop host, file encryption (with full-drive BitLocker capability), faxing, domain-based networking for office networks, and web hosting; will sell for $400 for new PCs and $260 as an upgrade if you have an existing Windows XP Home or Pro license.

6. Existing applications must be capable of running under Vista.

To ensure that you can download Vista Windows and install it successfully, run the Application Compatibility Toolkit to help you distinguish the applications that may not be operate under Vista.

7. Back up your data.

Before you download Vista Windows, do not forget to back up your data. Prior to installation of the new operating system, be sure to check that you have all the installation media from your existing software and the proper licensing information.

The steps above are all essential requirements that you need to consider before you download Vista Windows. Also, notebook computers and desktop PCs should be able to meet all the hardware specifications.

.About the Author:

Get free tips and information on how to download Vista Windows at http://www.Vista-Windows.info.

Quick Overview of Bsd Systems With Main Focus on Openbsd

Ollie Hancock — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:53:05 +0000

Most users who use Linux use it because they hate Microsoft; people who use BSD use it because they love Unix

Juraj Sipos
/>

I have been a BSD user since the late 1990’s. I started with FreeBSD 3.0 and I also made my own FreeBSD distro - a tiny floppy disk entitled 1fcdbsd, which boots in any x86 computer and plays MP3 files from a hard disk or CD’s (One Floppy CD Audio and MP3 Player - http://www.freebsd.nfo.sk/). I gained some experience with the BSD world, which rather thrives on the side without people’s knowledge that it is almost the best.

History

To say it metaphorically, the Internet sprung out of BSD. It is not because these systems can handle the biggest traffic as servers, but because the concept of IP addresses and the TCP/IP stack is a BSD invention. If you right click on the file “winsock.dll” in Windows 98 (C:Windowswinsock.dll), you will see “BSD Socket API for Windows” in the Properties > Version window; however, the “BSD” is not seen in newer Windows systems in the “version information” window of winsock.dll. But there is a lot of writing on the Internet about this if you Google both terms: “winsock.dll” AND “bsd”. BSD systems have a different licensing policy and anybody can take their code. BSD license gives more freedom to programmers.

From the above it is clear that Microsoft, too, used or “stole” this code, not only Linux.

BSD grew up in the 1970’s with a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) support. Version 4.3 BSD (1986), 4.3 BSD Tahoe (1988), BSD Net 1 (1989), and so on followed. The history is well described also on BSD sites, such as www.freebsd.org. FreeBSD, for example, started as a project in 1993 shortly after NetBSD; and OpenBSD is a fork of NetBSD, but these all are derived from 386/BSD.

Linux versus BSD

BSD: BSD systems are based upon an actual Unix variant called Berkeley Software Distribution, which has a long history.

Linux: Linux is based upon a clone of Unix (Minix), which was far away in functionality in comparison to the above Unix at its time. Terminologically speaking, Linux is only the kernel.

The “Linux-versus-BSD” discussion is very sensitive for some people – they may get very angry about any direction, either in favor of BSD or Linux. It is not a good idea to compare these systems as the whole, but it’s not a bad idea to compare their “usability” in various aspects, for example, as an “office solution”, “desktop solution”, “multimedia solution”, “server solution”, “firewall solution”, etc.

The widespread use of Linux helped some users switch to BSD for good, as various opinions made the issue of “Linux-versus-BSD” visible to public eyes, which made the BSD world appear more attractive.

If we talk in general, we can say that “BSD is much more stable, as it is a REAL Unix” and that “Linux is a very good desktop toy more adapted to users’ needs, as it has more drivers and apps”.

Other global aspect that makes Linux and BSD systems look different is that BSD OS’s have everything under one hood and control. Linux is murky waters because it is not united. For example, you have a DEB (Debian Linux) package – you will not always install it if you use Mandrake or SuSE. A long list of problems ensuing from discrepancies among Linux distros may be written. Linux users surely remember the effort of UnitedLinux, but now it is devoid of life. In the chaos where one Linux system installs with various services and the other one does not, we see that the Linux community is broken as the whole.

Linux is more developed in terms of its accessibility to various types of hardware like, for example, inkjet printers or WiFi USB solutions. But this is because, as I already said, various companies support it. Linux is good for desktop users who want to forget about Microsoft and BSD systems are best as server/router/firewall solutions. Many good administrators say that Linux behaves much worse as server than BSD systems. Something like Red Hat or SuSE Enterprise Server is rather a joke – these systems cost a lot of money. Every good administrator would only bet on BSD or other Internet solutions today. Slackware Linux is exception – it is one of the best.

There are many reasons why BSD systems are less noticeable. The availability of Live CD’s and their easy-to-use presentation is something in which BSD systems lagged behind. You may download Linux ISO images at the drop of a hat. With BSD systems, this is a bit different. You could hardly find a desired BSD Live CD in the 1990’s. Only a few of them do appear now.

OpenBSD

I tackled the problem of building such a CD myself. I toiled with FreeBSD. I succeeded. Later I focused on OpenBSD, as it has a good reputation concerning its solid security structure. I succeeded too. But this would require additional writing and this article is not about making an OpenBSD Live CD; I only want to introduce this system a little and give advice how to make a simple OpenBSD bootable installation CD/DVD, which is also hard to get.

Usability

BSD systems work well with all kinds of standard hardware; however, some users say they are “less user-friendly”. On the other hand, others consider the so-called “user-friendliness” to be a hindrance in making needed configurations. In other systems, where many services run automatically, it is a bit irritating when administrators, with their own security policies in mind, must turn them off on a regular basis after every installation.

OpenBSD could be, from a Linux user’s point of view, a can of worms. Some may disagree with me, but in the world where all mainstream operating systems bet on easiness-to-use and the graphical interactivity, this is surely the case. This means you must forget about graphical installers - your first touch with the system is the text mode. But the text is the best format some people like.

OpenBSD can run Linux binaries on an emulation layer; DOS (and other systems) programs within the Qemu emulator, as well as FreeBSD and other BSD and Unix binaries. Albeit OpenOffice.org has not been ported yet (do you really need such a big bulk of software when there are more handy solutions?), you can easily write or open your MS Word documents in TextMaker for Linux, or in native OpenBSD AbiWord port.

The system and packages

The BSD family of operating systems consists of the base system and packages. The OpenBSD core - its kernel and the base system (system/network utilities, man pages, etc.) get cautiously, if not paranoically audited for security holes.

The OS has a different packaging philosophy in comparison to Linux. It uses ports and prebuilt packages. Ports are fingerprints of applications on your disk. They contain the basic information where they can be downloaded from. You just “cd” somewhere to the hierarchy of the /usr/share/ports directory, where applications are divided by categories; then type “make install” and wait for sources to be downloaded, compiled, and installed.

Prebuilt packages, too, can be installed with a breeze. Unlike RPM archives, which you must install in the consecutive dependency order, here you have everything on tap. And with the “pkg_add –v ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/4.0/packages/i386/package.tgz” command you download everything from the Internet even without specifying a package’s version. This is something most Linux packagers cannot do, only APT (Debian) and its clones.

Installation

The policy of the OpenBSD team is to sell CD’s. Unless you are prepared for a difficult network install, you have two options: either you buy their CD’s, or build them yourself. If you choose the latter option, download the core system from these FTP mirrors: www.openbsd.org/ftp.html. Pick out your architecture like AMD64 or i386 and the version (like 4.0, 3.9, etc.). Place all downloaded files in any directory (for example, in /usr/opbsd) and issue the following command to make the ISO image of it:

mkisofs -b cdrom40.fs -c boot.cat -R -v -o /usr/my_openbsd.iso /usr/opbsd

The above command may be used both in Linux and in BSD systems and possibly in any system to which mkisofs is ported.

When ever in the future you are ready to download a newer version of OpenBSD with purpose to make a bootable CD/DVD of it, just change the “cdrom40.fs” in the above mkisofs command (4.0 is the current version of OpenBSD) to the version it agrees with, for example, “cdrom45.fs” (a future OpenBSD), which is a bootable image as the emulated big floppy. A CD or DVD burned with this ISO file will boot on any PC (not DVD in UDF format, but DVD in ISO format).

The following files contain the basic OpenBSD installation – networking, Unix commands, X Window, man pages; not packages like KDE, Aspell, etc.

OpenBSD 4.0 core system

Packages # you can create this directory and put packages in it

CKSUM, INSTALL.i386 , INSTALL.Linux, MD5, base40.tgz , bsd, bsd.mp, bsd.rd, cd40.iso, cdboot ,cdbr, cdemu40.iso, cdrom40.fs, comp40.tgz, etc40.tgz, floppy40.fs, floppyB40.fs, floppyC40.fs, game40.tgz, index.txt, man40.tgz, misc40.tgz, pxeboot, xbase40.tgz, xetc40.tgz, xfont40.tgz, xserv40.tgz, xshare40.tgz

It is important to say that the ISO file cannot be burned to a CD as an ordinary file like an MP3 file – it can be done this way, however, but you will not be able to boot from such a CD/DVD. If you use Windows, the proper way for burning ISO files is to use the “burn image” command in programs like Nero Burning ROM (or “burn ISO” in other programs). Under FreeBSD, you can burn the ISO image with the burncd command (if your CDROM is the master on the second IDE channel; “-s” is for speed):

burncd -f /dev/acd0 -s 4 data my_openbsd.iso fixate

It would be a good idea to make the bootable OpenBSD DVD with packages included in it – just download them and put them to a directory (for example, to a directory “Packages”) where you have your core OpenBSD installation files; then apply the above mkisofs command.

Installation is quite easy. For newbies it is recommended to use a mobile rack and use some older disk (about 3 GB). This is because installing OpenBSD to an already partitioned disk requires a lot of knowledge and if users do not want to bother about numbers of sectors/cylinders and other things they must type in the text wizard, this solution is very handy.

OpenBSD in action

The system boots fast (much faster than Linux). If you selected the X Window environment during the installation text wizard, you only need to run the “xorgcfg” command from the console to configure your X Window environment.

Did you lose yourself somewhere in the text-mode consoles? Use the F5 key (Ctrl+Alt+F5) to get back to the X Window. Are you a complete newbie? Type “man afterboot”. Are you accustomed to Linux and do you prefer a Linux terminal type? After every logon, OpenBSD asks you to type the terminal type you want to use, but the default one - vt220 - does not map keys like you got accustomed to in Linux if you use programs like Midnight Commander (for example, F7 behaves like F6, etc., but not in X). After typing “nxterm” everything should work OK.

A manual text-mode configuration is the absolute preference here. Almost all services are turned off - a first choice for every good administrator, as he will have ultimate control over the whole system. Users, too, may familiarize themselves with Unix and see what is going on under its hood. To run the X Window, just execute the “startx” command. If you want to edit or re-edit the configuration files, peep into the /etc directory with vi as your editor. Do you want to add more packages? Just download them and issue “pkg_add -i package.tgz” command and that’s it!

OpenBSD 4.0 is geared up for most of the network or desktop tasks. After I downloaded some fine MP3 players, I could instantly listen to music. The X Window’s look does not differ from any Unix-like box. VLC or MPlayer multimedia players will help you enjoy all your favorite music or film recordings.

If you have euphoria from seeing the KDE or Gnome Desktop and other apps running smoothly, you may soon become disappointed - OpenBSD has fewer packages than FreeBSD or Linux. For example, running VMware on FreeBSD has been possible for quite a long time; OpenBSD (but not OpenBSD in the VMware environment) requires some smart tweaks to achieve this.

New technologies and automation can also impose a risk

Numerous companies want to earn the highest profit and they introduce various technologies that serve as a marketing competition strategy for most of the time and are often useless. A bluetooth or WiFi technology in your mobile phone brings a security risk when any good hacker can get to your most sensitive data within seconds right from your neighborhood. Most users do not have time to study various security datasheets and they often live happy without knowing they are unprotected. I do not want to say that newer technologies are always nonsensical; however, they deserve pertinent praise only if used on the right place.

If a reader understands this, the mainstream world’s policy is to create the Matrix or a big web of dependencies – if hardware can run in Linux, users use Linux (and possibly buy Red Hat or Xandros).

Numerous “terrific” companies that sell their “amazing security products” forget that using carrier pigeons for communication is by far a more secure solution than any computer communication – an encrypted e-mail, if you are already under suspicion, will always get intercepted, and governments have always enough resources and money to do their job well.

Why BSD or OpenBSD?

Today, when too many companies bring out various distros, it is hard to tell which of them best suits our needs and you may become mixed-up in such a huge list. If companies invest money to a software solution, they may become disappointed if its licensing policy changes. OpenBSD has one sturdy feature above everything – the system and packages are perfectly audited for security holes.

The power of a good policy will make you feel somewhat sheltered from the bad behavior of the world, because you do not have to worry that network services, for example, contain security holes. Something like this often happens with Linux - its websites urge users to download important patches soon after distros are released. With this particular security point OpenBSD as a BSD system stands aside from the usual crowd.

Source: http://www.freebsd.nfo.sk/

.About the Author:

I published some books of poetry and I live in Europe, Slovakia; I write and sell computer articles

Ubuntu Introduction Guide for First Time Users

Ollie Hancock — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:38:36 +0000

Ubuntu Post installation Introductionz

So,

you are reading this because probably you have installed ubuntu right and now you need to know about the system and how it works and how can you optimize the system for better efficiency, for better look and how can you customize it like you can do it in windows! Well, look no further, you can get all those tips right here! Here is a “Beginners guide to ubuntu tips and optimization”.

So, lets learn a few things about ubuntu, that you might want to know as a first time user.

First boot:

When you for the first time boot the ubuntu system, what you see is a boot flash screen which is called a USplash and it covers up what is going on in the background when linux is booting. This screen is introduced so that the users who arent interested in what actually happens in the background, dont really see it.

First Login Screen:

On the right side of the login screen, you will notice the name of the computer, the date and the current time. On the left side there are some very useful options, like reboot, shutdown, suspend, hibernate, change session etc. Ok, it’s time for you to type in your username and password (hit enter after each one). Immediately after you’ve typed your username and password, you’ll notice a splash screen that shows what programs are loading and in a few seconds the splash screen disappears and the Ubuntu desktop appears. That’s the Ubuntu desktop!

Gnome Desktop:

The desktop environment that ubuntu uses is the GNome desktop! If you have a DHCP based network connection (automatic IP address) then you are connected to the Internet as Ubuntu configures DHCP connections automatically and you will notice a notification message in the right-upper part of the screen that says “Software updates available”. Click on the new orange icon (from where the notification message appeared) and a window will appear on the left side of the screen. This window will start to search for updates. Click the Install Updates button, when the search is complete, to install the available updates on your system. Ohh, what’s this? It asks for a password, because this is an administrative task and it’s safer this way; just type your password and hit enter. This program is called Update Manager and you can always find it under System -> Administration menu, but it will always appear when there are new updates. Also, you will notice another notification message that will ask if you want to install proprietary drivers for your graphics card. Just click the Enable option and it will start to download and install the necessary drivers.

Panels and Applets:

et’s learn a few things about the desktop. First things first, you should know that this desktop is called GNOME; as you can see, it’s a little different than Windows, as it has two Panels: one at the bottom and one at the top. But what’s cool about this desktop is that you can always configure it however you want, but we’ll talk about this a little bit later. Both panels have the same options and configurations.

The bottom panel has the Show Desktop button on the left side; in the middle you will see all the current opened windows and on the right you’ll see a trash icon and the Workspace Switcher. Now this is something you didn’t have in Windows (at least not as default), as the Workspace Switcher allows you to have multiple desktops. How does it work? Very simple: on the actual desktop, you have a window (or more) and if you click on the second square (default there are only two desktops, but you can set up to 36 desktops) the window(s) will disappear. Why? Because they are on the first desktop (you can even see them in the first square), and if you click the first square the window(s) will appear again. On the second (empty) desktop you can have other window(s). Come on, try it yourself to see how it works!

The upper panel is a little more complex. It contains on the left side the Main Menu from where you can access all the applications, different system locations (home folder, network places etc) and the system configuration tools. Right after the Main Menu you will see some software icons; these are shortcuts for different applications installed on your computer and you can add there as many as you want with a simple right click on the panel; then click on “Add to Panel” option and when the Add to Panel window appears hit the “Application Launcher” button on the left side and select your favorite applications from the list. On the right side of the upper panel you will see two icons (the network monitor and the sound volume), the date, the clock and a shutdown button from where you can reboot, hibernate, suspend, log out, switch user, lock screen or shutdown the computer.

I think this is enough for today, with respect to the customization of the ubuntu desktop and the next part of this tutorial will include topics like how to install new software on ubuntu linux as well as how to make your desktop cool and funky!

So, please check back later or subscribe to the RSS feeds so that you know when is the next update to this ubuntu tips,tricks and hacks published!

.About the Author:

Article originally posted and written at Ubuntu Tips and tricks and post installation guide

for more such articles please visit http://comparelinux.com

Using a Windows Xp Registry Cleaner

Ollie Hancock — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:59:26 +0000

What is the Windows registry, and why might you need to use a registry cleaner? The Windows registry is a collection of files which store all the computer’s

settings for hardware, settings for the operating system, the control panel, application software, user preferences and user profiles, and file associations.

How is Windows XP registry cleaning done, and why does the Windows registry ever need to be cleaned? At the bottom of this article, there is a link to a resource page which gives access to software tools you can use to clean the registry. You should be aware that it can also be done manually, by using the program regedit.exe which comes with Windows XP, or by typing reg.exe on the command line. Manual editing of the Windows registry is not recommended though, because the registry files are essential for the operating system to function. What does Microsoft Support say about it? ‘Although you can use Registry Editor to inspect and modify the registry, doing so is not recommended, as making incorrect changes can damage your system.’

If you do damage the Registry during manual cleaning, and any backup does not work either, the only other solution is a complete re-installation of Windows XP. It goes without saying that you want to avoid this. The use of dedicated software for Windows XP registry cleaning is recommended (see below).

What about the reasons for using a Windows XP registry cleaner, and why would this be needed? Well, a damaged registry can make a Windows XP machine unreliable, or even not start up in the first place. As time passes, entries in the registry for old or uninstalled or deleted software will build up, making the system start up slowly, run more slowly, or make the computer unstable - ‘freezes’ can be one sign of this. As time goes on, the Windows XP registry grows in size, and becomes much bigger than necessary. You may also have many double entries in it, which affects your computer’s speed.

Fortunately, you can get many efficient software programs which will make cleaning of the registry an easy task. They all perform a free scan of your system, to see if there are any issues with the registry. These programs are called registry cleaners or registry repairers, and they are very easy to download and install. Using a registry cleaner may make a huge difference in your computer’s performance.

Now clean your Registry! It is possible to clean and repair your registry in the next few minutes - our windows registry cleaner page lists all the best software which you can download and use to quickly and painlessly check and clean your registry.

.About the Author:

Snowy Anderson writes about software and the Internet.

Is Linux Ready for your Desktop?

Ollie Hancock — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:29:52 +0000

If you have any involvement with Information Technology, you’re probably already familiar with Linux as a server operating system. Indeed, for many

applications Linux is an accepted and even preferred platform. Google has built and is expanding one of the world’s largest cluster of Linux servers to host its pervasive search engine system. Major hardware vendors, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard, sell servers preloaded with Linux and provide premium support for the operating system. Oracle is the largest commercial database running on Linux with more than 80% market share. Successful commercial applications like VMware ESX are built on Linux foundations. And many of the largest Internet hosting providers run on Linux.

On the other hand, if your computer experience is limited to your own home PC, you may never have even heard of Linux and may be wondering what all the fuss is about. If that’s the case, listen up because Linux may be coming to a desktop near you!

What is Linux?

Simply put, Linux is a computer operating system like the Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows. The difference is that Linux is open source; anyone can view, modify, and redistribute the underlying code. Further, while OS X is designed to run only on Apple hardware, and while Windows runs primarily on x86 processors from Intel and AMD, there are many distributions or flavors of Linux, compiled to run on a wide array of hardware, everything from high-end corporate servers and mainframes, to home PC’s, to cell phones.

Linux began as a pet project of a Finnish university student, Linus Torvalds, in 1991 as an alternative to the server operating system Unix. He made it freely available to anyone who wished to modify it and it was quickly adopted and grew. Still, it remained primarily a server-based system. Few home users would have chosen its complex command-line interface over the comfortable and easy-to-use point-and-click GUI of the Macintosh or Windows.

However, Linux now also sports a graphical front-end and a plethora of user-friendly applications.

Going GUI

Since Linux is all about choice, it’s not surprising that there are a number of graphical environments available. The two most popular that come preloaded on many distributions targeted for desktop or workstation use are Gnome and KDE. Both offer features home users have come to expect: menus, icons from which to launch applications and documents, desktop wallpaper, screen savers, trash icons, and the like.

Connecting to printers is a simple process of selecting the printer type from a menu and telling the system where to find it, either on a local port or a network queue. To print from most applications simply select File, Print. No surprises there.

Sharing folders is equally simple and relies upon standard protocols that interface well with Macintosh and Windows systems.

For security, you can create multiple user accounts; each user gets their own desktop they can customize as they wish. There’s also a built-in firewall to protect you from Internet intruders.

Of course, most people are more interested in the applications they can run, rather than the underlying operating system. Here, Linux is in no way deprived.

Applications

For browsing the Internet, there’s Mozilla’s Firefox and Konqueror. For e-mail there’s Thunderbird and Evolution. The popular OpenOffice.org suite provides typical office functionality including word processing, spreadsheet, database, drawing, and presentations. The Gimp and Inkscape offer advanced graphics capabilities. And there’s a variety of utilities for burning CDs and DVDs, listening to music, watching videos, and chatting via services like AOL’s Instant Messenger.

This list is by no means complete. There are thousands of open source applications for Linux; you’d be hard-pressed not to find one that could do what you need. But there are also many commercial applications available.

Drawbacks

If Linux offers so much of the same functionality as Windows, why isn’t it more widely used? Why do many home and corporate users reject it?

Microsoft Windows, while it has many faults, has become so widespread in its use as to be nearly ubiquitous. It has become the de facto standard by which other systems are measured. For those people already familiar with and comfortable with Windows, anything else is a step back, even if it is faster, more intuitive, more stable, and more secure.

Also, it must be admitted, there are still situations where you may need to venture into the cryptic world of the Linux command shell. For those used to living with a mouse in one hand, typing commands like awk and grep at a flashing cursor is unacceptable.

And, while there are enough applications to satisfy all but the most demanding of users, there are a few notable exceptions. Microsoft Office is not available on Linux, and likely never will be. Adobe Photoshop is also missing. In both cases, nearly all of the functionality these two giants provide is available in other applications, but for some die hards, that’s not good enough. While there are ways of running some Windows applications on Linux, they’re not usually as fast or as stable — or as easy to implement — as native Linux applications.

The situation is even dimmer for games. While the console market — PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox — is growing, the PC and Mac game market is shrinking. The commercial Linux game market is even smaller. Oh, there are plenty of games for Linux, but most are modest efforts, with few of the heavy hitters widely available on other platforms. Those that have been ported to Linux are not always fully supported — if they’re supported at all — by the original producer. For example, while you can purchase Quake 4 for Linux, don’t expect id Software to help you get it running, a task not for neophytes or those who shy away from the command line.

Vendors

Despite any apparent drawbacks, some major vendors are actively promoting Linux on the desktop. Novell now offers the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, while Red Hat offers Enterprise Linux WS, both targeted at corporations. Since users in this environment are likely to have a fixed set of applications without a heavy gaming need, Linux is often ideal. And a number of organizations are taking advantage of the potential savings offered by these open source options. Governments especially, under scrutiny for how they handle the public purse, are often quick to make the move. Among them are the cities of Largo, Florida, USA; Bristol, UK; and Bergen, Norway. They have each made their taxpayers happy with significant savings over the closed source, proprietary systems they used to use.

Choices

If you’re a heavy gamer, then you’ll probably want to stick with Windows or a dedicated console. If your focus is advanced graphics and video editing, then Linux may be an option, if you’re willing to give up certain commercial applications. Otherwise, you’d be better off with a Macintosh. If you’re just surfing the Internet, sending e-mail, writing letters, and editing spreadsheets, then Linux and the open source software that comes with many distributions will do everything you need.

On the other hand, if you don’t want to ever see a command line or edit configuration files by hand, then Linux probably isn’t for you just yet. But it may be soon.

.About the Author:
Jules Smith is the principal of LightningStrike Studios, a professional business and technical writing firm.

Sun™ Solaris® 10.0

Ollie Hancock — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:06:34 +0000

En 1982, cuatro hombres visionarios fundaron SUN™ Microsystems, Inc.[1] En esos tiempos, multitud de empresas (Xerox, Apollo, Computervision) producían

estaciones de trabajo a medida. El gran acierto de la nueva empresa fue adaptar componentes de Hardware y Software estándar para crear una estación barata y compatible basada en UNIX.

SUN™ creó su propio sistema operativo, SunOS [2], en 1982. Estaba basado en BSD, la versión libre de UNIX mantenida por la universidad de Berkeley. Pero el futuro de BSD Unix no estaba nada claro: AT&T demandó a la universidad por el uso indebido de su código. Aunque finalmente Berkeley conseguiría el reconocimiento de sus derechos, lo que daría origen a FreeBSD, OpenBSD y NetBSD, en ese momento el futuro de UNIX no estaba claro. En 1991 (el mismo año en que un estudiante finlandés conseguía la especificación POSIX y empezaba a trabajar en un kernel para GNU) SUN™ se pasó a una nueva versión basada en System V, Solaris®.

Solaris® suele verse como el UNIX comercial más avanzado, y es respetado por ingenieros y aficionados. Se pueden resaltar sus avances en hotplug o “enchufe en caliente”; las últimas versiones permiten hacer transplantes de cerebro en caliente, es decir cambiar procesadores defectuosos sin parar la máquina.

Desde sus primeros momentos Solaris® proporcionó un excelente soporte para aplicaciones de red en protocolos IP, y fue el primer entorno donde se desarrolló el sistema JAVA® y prácticamente todas las funcionalidades típicas de los sistemas UNIX en entorno servidor,como Sockets , Multitarea, Threads, entorno de ventanas basado en X-Window en el que se pueden usar diferentes escritorios como Open Look o GNOME.

En los últimos tiempos la compañía ha puesto en marcha una clara estrategia de acercamiento entre Solaris® y Linux®, esto se ve plasmado en su proyecto JANUS [3] que permite la ejecución de aplicaciones nativas de Linux® en Solaris® a una velocidad muy próxima a la que se obtendría si fuesen ejecutadas directamente sobre Linux®.

El llamado proyecto JANUS permitirá a los administradores del sistema operativo Solaris® la creación de un entorno de ejecución de aplicaciones Linux® compatible con LSB (Linux Standard Base).

JANUS ha sido diseñado para crear un ambiente de ejecución totalmente compatible con Linux Red Hat Enterprise Edition. Es curiosa la relación que SUN™ tiene con Red Hat®, pues por un lado trabaja para ofrecer productos compatibles con las distribuciones de esta compañía, y por el otro basa su propia distribución Linux® (JDS, Java Desktop System) en su gran competidora, SuSE™ (propiedad de Novell), y critica abiertamente a Red Hat® como si fuera su principal rival en el sector de la distribución de UNIX/Linux®.

La posibilidad de ejecutar aplicaciones de Linux® amplía en gran medida el software disponible para Solaris®, especialmente en el sector de los desktop. Hasta ahora, el sistema operativo de SUN™ tenía su feudo en los servidores empresariales, pero la compañía norteamericana tiene la intención de conseguir con él nuevos mercados y recuperar la tajada del pastel de los servidores que le ha arrebatado Linux®. Esta puede ser la causa principal de que en SUN™ se hayan decidido a incluir compatibilidad con Linux® en su sistema; así, las empresas que aún desconfíen del soporte técnico recibido por la compra de una distribución Linux®, contarán con un UNIX comercial, cuyo soporte y asistencia técnica está más que probado, y además pudiendo ejecutar las aplicaciones de que quieren disponer, mantiene su inversión y planes.

Recientemente SUN™ Microsystems ha sacado a la luz la versión 10.0 de su sistema operativo Solaris® del que ha liberado su código fuente [4], esto es novedad para Sun™ pues todas las versiones anteriores eran cerradas. Plantearon distribuir su producto bajo la licencia CDDL (Common Development and Distribution License)[5], un nuevo tipo de licencia desarrollada por SUN™ y presentada el 14 de Diciembre del 2.004 al Open Source Initiative (OSI), fue aprobada el pasado 14 de enero del 2.005 como licencia Open Source valida.

La modalidad de licenciamiento CDDL está basada en la licencia MPL 1.1 (Mozilla Public License), pero agrega ciertas condiciones no incluidas en la mayoría de las licencias open source. Por ejemplo, permite tener cualquier tipo de código dentro de la misma solución. Usando terminología de open source, CDDL no es viral, como es el caso de la vieja licencia GPL [6] (General Public License, 1991), y por lo tanto posibilita la inclusión de cualquier otro tipo de código, sea cual sea la licencia del mismo (la licencia GPL por ejemplo, está fuertemente limitada, y sólo permite el linkado con el propio código GPL, haciendo en la práctica un monopolio por parte de la organización GNU y la Fundación para el Software Libre). Adicionalmente la licencia CDDL sólo se adjudica a la totalidad del producto al que hace referencia y no a sus partes. Dichas partes podrían estar bajo esta licencia o bajo cualquier otro tipo de licencia al extraerse del software original completo.

Con la apertura del código fuente, SUN™ Microsystems libera a la comunidad de código abierto más de 1.600 innovaciones patentadas, convirtiéndose así en el mayor lanzamiento de estas características realizado por una empresa de una sola vez⁷. Ello engloba funciones que van desde la tecnología Kernel y los sistemas de ficheros hasta la gestión de las redes.

El objetivo de SUN™ al proporcionar acceso a estas patentes es promover la innovación y ayudar a desarrolladores y usuarios a lanzar al mercado nuevos productos y tecnologías de código abierto de forma más rápida y sin tener que obtener licencias de patentes de SUN™.

SUN™ Solaris® funciona principalmente sobre la arquitectura SPARC en 32 y 64 bits (esta última conocida como UltraSparc) o sobre procesadores x86 con tecnología de 32 bits y 64 bits de las marcas Intel® o AMD® Opteron.

NUEVAS CARACTERISTICAS DE SUN SOLARIS® 10.0

Entre las características claves del nuevo Solaris® 10.0 se destacan:

1.- SISTEMA PREVENTIVO DE AUTO REPARACIÓN [8]. Solaris® 10.0 puede, automáticamente, diagnosticar, aislar y recuperar muchas fallas en los recursos de hardware y aplicaciones reduciendo los tiempos de caída y no disponibilidad de los centros de datos.

2.- D-TRACE [9]. Con las nuevas herramientas de diagnóstico en Solaris® 10.0, los desarrolladores pueden lograr mecanismos de detección de fallas y solución de problemas con rendimientos y rangos en tiempos de respuesta registrados en milisegundos o minutos y no de horas o días como ocurría en el pasado.

3.- SOLARIS® CONTAINERS [10]. Solaris® 10.0 es el único sistema operativo que provee múltiples particiones de software con más de 8.000 containers. Los recursos del sistema pueden ser reubicados consiguiendo un incremento del 80 por ciento en la capacidad de utilización del sistema.

4.- ZFS [11]: Un revolucionario sistema de archivos. Con 16 millones de millones más de capacidad que los sistemas de archivos 64-bit existentes, ZFS virtualmente es el único sistema de archivos con capacidad de almacenamiento prácticamente ilimitada, lo que hace de Solaris® 10.0 el mejor de la industria para el almacenamiento de datos.

5.- PROCESS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT [12]. Libre de virus por más de 20 años, Solaris® 10.0 incluye la tecnología del Trusted Solaris ampliamente utilizada por el gobierno de Estados Unidos para garantizar la seguridad de sus sistemas.

6.- SUN UPDATE CONNECTION [13]. Con Solaris® 10.0 los usuarios disponen de un servicio de actualizaciones que les permitirá estar al día con las innovaciones y el entorno del nuevo ambiente operativo.

7.- COMPATIBILIDAD GARANTIZADA [14]. SUN™ ofrece Solaris® Application Guarantee la cual asegura que las aplicaciones escritas en versiones previas de Solaris® pueden correr en Solaris® 10.0, extendiendo la cobertura de compatibilidad hasta la versión Solaris® 2.6. Esta es una garantía sin precedentes en más de siete años de lanzamiento de sistemas operativos en la industria.

AUTORECUPERACIÓN PREVENTIVA

SUN™ ha insertado en el núcleo del sistema operativo Solaris® un sistema denominado “doctor”: Tecnología preventiva de autorecuperación (PSH). Esta tecnología reduce los riesgos y aumenta la disponibilidad de los equipos. Las prestaciones de PSH permiten a los sistemas de SUN™ predecir con precisión los errores de los componentes y mitigar los problemas antes de que estos provoquen el caos en los sistemas; liberando con gran eficacia a los sistemas de las garras del tiempo de inactividad y arreglando todo lo que esté mal. Con las prestaciones PSH, puede maximizar la disponibilidad de los sistemas y el software ante los errores, reducir la complejidad de las reparaciones del sistema y ahorrar tiempo y dinero a través de costes operativos reducidos.

La tecnología PSH incluye dos componentes claves: Solaris Fault Manager y Solaris Service Manager.

a. Software Solaris Fault Manager

Si un sistema de autorecuperación detecta un problema, desconectará de forma dinámica la CPU, los dispositivos de E/S o zonas de la memoria antes de que se origine un error del sistema. En el sistema operativo Solaris® 10.0, el software Solaris Fault Manager aísla y deshabilita los componentes malos, ayudando a garantizar un servicio continuo incluso si no está al tanto de un problema potencial.

El software Solaris Fault Manager diagnostica de forma automática problemas en sólo unos segundos. Las aplicaciones fundamentales y los servicios del sistema esenciales siguen ejecutándose de forma ininterrumpida en caso de que el software dé error, se descoloque un componente de hardware o, incluso, cuando se configure incorrectamente un programa de software. Un sistema con tecnología PSH envía mensajes de diagnóstico fáciles de entender que se dirigen a artículos de la base de conocimientos de SUN™, que guían con claridad a los administradores a través de las tareas que requieren alguna intervención humana. Como resultado, se ve reducido en gran medida el tiempo global de un diagnóstico automatizado para proceder a la intervención humana adecuada, si es necesario.

b. Software Solaris Service Manager

El software Solaris Service Manager constituye la otra mitad de la implementación de PSH en el sistema operativo Solaris® 10.0. Convierte a los servicios de aplicaciones en objetos de primera clase que los administradores pueden observar y administrar de forma uniforme, e implementa la capacidad de reiniciar y administrarlos de forma automática.

El software Solaris Service Manager puede reiniciar servicios si un administrador los da por concluidos por error, si estos se cancelan como consecuencia de un error en el programa de software o si se ven afectados por un problema de hardware que haya en esos momentos.

Además, el software Solaris Service Manager simplifica y asegura las tareas de administración comunes, como la deshabilitación de servicios y el cambio de propiedades. El software Solaris Service Manager también agiliza el reinicio del sistema al iniciar servicios en paralelo según sus dependencias. La función de “deshacer” protege de los errores humanos al permitir anular con facilidad los cambios.

El software Solaris Service Manager proporciona capacidad de observación y aislamiento ante errores de los servicios del SO Solaris® heredados sin que sea necesario cambiarlos. Al agregar un sencillo archivo XML al software, los desarrolladores pueden convertir la mayoría de las aplicaciones existentes para sacar provecho del paquete completo de características.

Las ventajas de las características de PSH del sistema operativo Solaris® 10.0 son muchas:

• Disponibilidad de servicio y sistema mejorado a través de un diagnóstico y aislamiento de los componentes defectuosos.

• Diagnóstico automático y reinicio de componentes de hardware y software en milésimas de segundo.

• Administración simplificada para administrar servicios.

• Rápida y fácil reparación de problemas, incluidos vínculos a artículos de conocimientos.

• Rápida adaptación ante nuevos problemas y actualizaciones sobre la marcha sin ningún tiempo de inactividad del sistema.

SEGUIMIENTO DIMAMICO

(D-TRACE)

El DTrace, o rastreo dinámico, busca a fondo y llega a la raíz de los problemas de rendimiento en tiempo real. Esta herramienta trabaja utilizando sondas inteligentes del sistema que pueden acceder a áreas de más lento rendimiento o con cuellos de botella. Estas sondas son como sensores programables, esparcidos por todas partes, que iluminan cada oscuro rincón de su sistema Solaris®. Si desea entender lo que pasa en su sistema, simplemente utilice DTrace y programe los sensores correspondientes para que registren la información que necesita. De esta forma, cuando cada sensor dispara información, DTrace recopila los datos y le informa lo que está sucediendo. Otra gran ventaja: toda la instrumentación de DTrace es dinámica. Los sensores sólo aparecen cuando usted los llama. Cuando su trabajo está hecho, ellos automáticamente se inhabilitan y se elimina la instrumentación. Eso significa que no hay disminución de rendimiento en su sistema.

DTrace es una herramienta inteligente que ayuda a visualizar mejor la actividad del núcleo y de la aplicación, ofreciendo una visión operativa y una ganancia de rendimiento no superada aun por ningún otro sistema operativo. Además, como DTrace se crea en el núcleo del sistema operacional, los problemas de rendimiento se pueden identificar en las mismas máquinas de producción, evitando así la pérdida de tiempo y dinero que significa hacer pruebas por separado. Los cuellos de botella del sistema pueden identificarse y corregirse en el momento que ocurren y no varios días más tarde.

CONTAINERS

Solaris Containers permite la creación de muchos ambientes privados de ejecución en una sola instancia de Solaris®. Cada ambiente posee su propia identidad, independiente del hardware subyacente, aunque se comporta como si se estuviera ejecutando en su propio sistema, permitiendo así que la consolidación sea un proceso sencillo, confiable y seguro. Y dado que los recursos del sistema están virtualizados, los administradores pueden incrementar la utilización del hardware, al tiempo que satisfacen altos picos de demanda.

Ya que cada aplicación se ejecuta en su propio ambiente privado, se pueden implementar muchas aplicaciones en el mismo servidor, sin que se afecten entre sí. Además, los recursos del sistema y la red se asignan y controlan sobre una base compacta, de modo que las aplicaciones puedan consolidarse en menos servidores, sin tener que preocuparse por las restricciones de recursos, la propagación de fallas o la seguridad. Esta granularidad de subprocesador proporciona a un servidor la posibilidad de ofrecer los beneficios de seguridad y confiabilidad de una multitud de sistemas, sin los gastos indirectos de administración. Los administradores pueden crear hasta 8,000 particiones de software seguras y sin fallas, cada una de las cuales cuenta con su propia dirección IP, espacio de memoria, área de archivo, nombre de host y contraseña de raíz, entre otros.

SISTEMA DE ARCHIVOS (ZFS)

ZFS, es el nuevo sistema de archivos dinámico del sistema operativo Solaris® 10.0.

Este sistema de archivo ofrece:

• Administración sencilla

ZFS automatiza y consolida complicados conceptos de almacenamiento, con lo que se reduce la sobrecarga administrativa en un 80 por ciento.

• Integridad de datos

ZFS protege todos los datos con sumas de comprobación de 64 bits que detectan y corrigen el daño de datos silenciosos.

• Escalabilidad

ZFS, el primer sistema de archivos de 128 bits, ofrece una capacidad de 16.000 millones de veces superior a la de los sistemas de 32 ó 64-bits.

• Rendimiento

El modelo transaccional elimina la mayor parte de las restricciones tradicionales sobre la orden de emisión de E/S, con lo que se consiguen increíbles mejoras en el rendimiento.

Al tiempo que simplifica en gran medida el trabajo de los administradores del sistema, ZFS ayuda a incrementar los beneficios económicos de una organización. Como ZFS está diseñado sobre conjuntos de almacenamiento virtual (a diferencia de los sistemas de archivos tradicionales que requieren un administrador de volúmenes), la creación y eliminación de sistemas de archivos resultan mucho menos complicadas. ZFS actúa para las aplicaciones como un sistema de archivos POSIX estándar, no se requiere conexión mediante puertos. Pero para los administradores, presenta un modelo de almacenamiento por conjuntos que elimina el antiguo concepto de volúmenes, así como todos los problemas relacionados con la administración de particiones, el abastecimiento y el tamaño del sistema de archivos. Del conjunto de almacenamiento común de ZFS se pueden extraer miles (incluso millones) de sistemas de archivos y cada uno de ellos consume únicamente la cantidad de espacio que necesita. El ancho de banda de E/S combinado de todos los dispositivos de ese conjunto de almacenamiento está siempre disponible para cada sistema de archivos.

Dos de los objetivos de la creación del sistema de archivos ZFS consisten en deshacerse de numerosos conceptos de administración complicados y automatizar muchas tareas administrativas comunes.

Por ejemplo, la creación de un conjunto de almacenamiento, el incremento de un conjunto y la adición o eliminación de un sistema de archivos se pueden realizar con un único comando sencillo, en lugar del proceso de varios pasos (format, newfs, edit/etc/vfstab etc.) habitual en los sistemas de archivos y administradores de volúmenes tradicionales.

Observemos el siguiente caso: para crear un conjunto, crear tres sistemas de archivos y, a continuación, incrementar el conjunto (5 pasos lógicos) se requieren 5 comandos sencillos de ZFS, frente a los 28 pasos necesarios con un sistema de archivos y administrador de volúmenes tradicionales.

Además, estos comandos son de tiempo constante y se completan en unos segundos, mientras que con frecuencia se requieren horas para configurar los sistemas de archivos y volúmenes tradicionales. En el caso mencionado anteriormente, ZFS reduce el tiempo necesario para completar estas tareas de 40 minutos a menos de 10 segundos.

La interfaz de la línea de comandos de ZFS simplifica drásticamente la administración. Se orienta a las tareas, por lo que los administradores pueden expresar las tareas que desean llevar a cabo en lugar de tener que memorizar o buscar comandos crípticos.

Los datos se pueden dañar de diferentes modos, como por ejemplo un error de sistema o una interrupción del suministro eléctrico inesperada, pero con ZFS se elimina este temor por lo desconocido. ZFS impide el daño a los datos ya que mantiene la coherencia de los mismos en todo momento. Todas las operaciones son transaccionales. De este modo, no sólo se mantiene la coherencia sino también se eliminan todas las restricciones sobre la orden de E/S y se permite que el conjunto de los cambios se realice correctamente o se produzca un error.

Todas las operaciones utilizan asimismo la técnica de copia por escritura (copy-on-write). Los datos en directo nunca se sobrescriben. ZFS escribe los datos en un nuevo bloque antes de cambiar los punteros de datos y confirmar la escritura. La técnica de copia por escritura ofrece varias ventajas:

• Estado en disco siempre válido.

• Copias de seguridad coherente y fiable.

• Capacidad de deshacer datos hasta un punto en el tiempo conocido.

Los administradores ya no tendrán que ejecutar laboriosos procedimientos de recuperación, como por ejemplo fsck, incluso si el sistema se cierra de un modo indebido.

Asimismo, ZFS es un sistema de archivos que realiza sumas de comprobación de 64 bits de un extremo a otro en todos los datos para evitar el daño de datos silencioso. Cuando se leen datos, se verifica la suma de comprobación con el fin de garantizar que se devuelven los datos que escribió la aplicación.

ZFS puede llevar a cabo la recuperación de datos automática en una configuración reflejada o RAID. Cuando una copia se daña, ZFS lo detecta mediante la suma de comprobación y utiliza otra copia para repararla.

SEGURIDAD

Históricamente, el sistema operativo UNIX ha ofrecido sólo dos niveles de privilegio a usuarios y administradores: un administrador primario único y todopoderoso y una cantidad de usuarios adicionales sin privilegios. Los servidores de hoy, sin embargo, ejecutan cientos de aplicaciones diferentes que son administradas por diversos grupos de personas, todas con diferentes necesidades de acceso y niveles de habilidades. Realmente, no es recomendable suministrar a todos estos administradores acceso total a cada servidor y aplicación. Hacer eso genera peligros de seguridad e incrementa el riesgo de problemas del sistema, debido a los errores humanos.

El enfoque de doble privilegio tampoco le sirve a los desarrolladores que necesitan privilegios especiales, ya sea para instalar aplicaciones o para utilizar ciertas herramientas de eliminación de problemas en las etapas de desarrollo y producción. En este caso, los administradores UNIX siempre han utilizado herramientas propias o de terceros, que les permiten a ellos utilizar todos los privilegios y también permite que otros realicen tareas adicionales, más allá de su nivel normal de privilegios. Ya que estos enfoques no están estrechamente integrados con el SO, se convierten en riesgos de seguridad si tienen defectos. Además, requiere que los clientes trabajen alrededor del SO e incluso escondan o inhabiliten sus características incorporadas.

Solaris® 10.0 ofrece una solución para el modelo de usuario “todo o nada” mediante la integración de mínimos privilegios de seguridad directamente dentro de la base del sistema operativo. Gracias a esta nueva función, Solaris® se mantiene como el único SO UNIX que ofrece este modelo de seguridad completamente integrado dentro de los componentes del núcleo del sistema operativo, al mismo tiempo que proporciona compatibilidad total con el ambiente UNIX y las aplicaciones existentes. Cada aplicación Solaris® tiene una lista cerrada de los privilegios específicos impuestos por el núcleo, en lugar de un solo privilegio de raíz todopoderoso. Adicionalmente, cada servicio Solaris ha sido convertido para que utilice sólo los privilegios mínimos necesarios, lo cual hace aún más difícil violar el sistema y utilizar los servicios. Los administradores pueden asignar grupos de privilegios por funciones para diferentes tipos de administradores y desarrolladores.

De igual forma, Solaris® también incluye una gama líder de tecnologías de seguridad para complementar los mínimos privilegios, tales como RBAC (control de acceso basado en la función) para servicios individuales, redes seguras IPSec (Seguridad de Protocolo de Internet), así como también una amplia variedad de servicios criptográficos que se adaptan automáticamente y se optimizan para cada plataforma. En adición, estas características de seguridad no requieren que las aplicaciones se modifiquen; los administradores pueden controlar dinámicamente los atributos de seguridad de las aplicaciones existentes.

VENTAJAS DE SUN™ SOLARIS® 10

Las ventajas del sistema operativo Solaris®:

1. La principal es que es libre (totalmente discutible, pero así lo consideran sus creadores).

2. Se puede descargar gratuitamente de la página Web de SUN™. http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/

3. Mismo sistema operativo disponible para distintas tecnologías de procesadores (AMD64, SPARC, x86).

4. El núcleo del sistema está programado para hacer funcionar programas en código Linux® Estándar (no emula programas Linux, sino que los ejecuta, cualquier programa que funcione en Linux y esté en código fuente como *.rpm).

5. Permite software propietario en su distribución.

6. Sirve tanto para una computadora personal como para una copmutadora de empresa. (En este último caso es posible que ésta quiera contratar servicios de mantenimiento y especialización de software de SUN™ Microsystem)

7. Tiene potentísimas herramientas de pre-detección de errores y análisis de hardware del computador y recuperación de datos. (bloqueo de partes de memoria, para evitar usarlas y no perder ningún dato).

DESVENTAJAS DE SUN™ SOLARIS® 10

1. Algunas características importantes [15] no estarán disponibles en la versión Free, todos los Upgrades y fixes del sistema operativo solo podrán ser obtenidos por suscripciones adicionales.

2. Mucha configuración manual para coexistir en el mismo dispositivo físico con otro sistema operativo.

REFERENCIAS

[1] http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/coinfo/history.html

[2] http://www.levenez.com/unix/history.html

[3] http://www.sun.com/2004-0803/feature/

[4] http://www.opensolaris.org/os/

[5] http://www.sun.com/cddl/

[6] http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php

[7] http://es.sun.com/historico/2005/2005-0614/

[8] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/availability.jsp

[9] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/observability.jsp

[10] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/utilization.jsp

[11] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/data_management.jsp

[12] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/security.jsp

[13] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/support_services.jsp

[14] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/interoperability.jsp

.About the Author:
CLAROS GUZMAN, JUAN CARLOS. Cochabamba - Bolivia

Microsoft or Not?

Ollie Hancock — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 10:42:00 +0000

Friday was another repeat, this time from May 15, 2006. However, TCR does not want to leave you empty handed and is bringing you an article by one of

our staff members, Paul ( www.tiglo.co.uk ). Although Paul is from the UK, he takes a keen interest in reading about Jim Cramer’s Mad Money (and of course at the best JCMM site on the ‘Net - www.thecramerreport.com !) and hopes you will enjoy his insight into one of Jim’s opinions.

Cramer is currently favouring a buy into Microsoft (MSFT), believing the bad times are behind and it’s back on the up. An analysis of the share prices over the past few months shows that Microsoft is over its lowest points ($21.51) and gradually climbing (currently $24.40). One could argue that Cramer is right.

However, continued changes in Vista’s release date, even if it means a more stable and secure Operating System will be released (or that is the theory). Microsoft’s OS and webbrowser cycle is poor as it is:

* Windows XP was released in 2001

* Internet Explorer was released in 2001

Internet Explorer 7 is set for release in the first half of 2007 and Windows Vista is set for general release in the first quarter of 2007. Both products will offer many improvements and new features over the older versions but the reality is very little of it is new.

One feature to finally reach Internet Explorer is tabbed browser. To a non-technical person, who just uses what’s supplied on their MS Windows desktop, this may seem new and exciting, however tabbed browser has been around since 1996 (although it was a feature in a non-public beta version of InternetWorks since 1994) and has been available in popular browsers such as Opera and MozillaFirefox for several years.

Microsoft won the first browser war but now it’s coming to a battle in many areas. Product cycles are quicker for open source software such as OpenOffice.org, MozillaFirefox and MozillaThunderbird - new features, bug fixes, and security updates are released regularly. Due to the products’ open source nature it is easier and cheaper to develop plugins and compatible applications.

On the operating system side, Microsoft has competition from Linux. Linux is now becoming more mature and is being adopted by governments and educational institutes alike. Novell (NOVL) is investing a lot of money in Linux, having bought German company SuSE Linux GmbH in January 2004.

One key area that they have invested a lot in over the past year is Xen, which is virtualisation software and allows multiple Operating Systems (Linux or Windows) to be run as guests on a single system (the host, which can be either Linux or Windows). This is one threat Microsoft has seen and responded to by improving its Virtual Server support offering and making it available for free. However, is this too little too late?

Xen’s benefit is that it’s open source, therefore bugs and security issues will be fixed quicker, possibly even before the problem is public knowledge, as the source code is visible for everyone to evaluate and test for insecurities. A quick response to bugs and security is critical in a business environment and an area Microsoft can not compete within due to its closed source nature.

Virtualisation is becoming a more important area due to the increasing costs for power. Fortunately, hardware is becoming more powerful, often more powerful than is actually required, so virtualisation is definitely for today as well as the future. Why invest in hardware for 6 servers when all 6 could run from within one operating system through virtualisation?

With Vista and Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft is trying to play catch-up, but the fact is it now has seriously tough competition. There is now a big take up of alternative browsers, office applications and operating systems. While the market change might be slow, it’s definitely happening. I cannot see Microsoft being in the same market position in 10 years that it is now. Its market share will continue to evaporate.

The Bottom Line:

Microsoft is facing serious threats in the home, education and business desktop arena. It’s facing threats in the business environment as a server (aside from as a webserver, where Linux/Unix is in the majority). Microsoft might hit a high when Vista is (finally) released, however Bill Gates stepping down in the way that he is does suggest to me that the bulk of the money has been made and it’s now time to do something with it. The IT industry is often a “come today, gone tomorrow” so it’s always difficult to choose which company to invest in, especially as the current trend is “over priced ” when those companies that have managed to stick around decide to float themselves on the stock market. I won’t advise you who to invest in, but I will say don’t just look at the software/operating system area, also look at hardware and consultancy companies too. Big Blue, International Business Machines Corp (IBM), has been around for a long time and there will always be a demand for such companies.

.About the Author:
Paul is an IT Professional from the UK with 4 years commercial experience with the Linux. More of his thoughts can be found in his blog http://www.tiglo.co.uk/

How to Solve Pc Problems and Improve Performance With Windows Registry Cleaners

Ollie Hancock — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 04:43:14 +0000

Just like with a car your pc needs software maintenance to keep it running smoothly like the first time you booted your pc. A common cause of Windows

crashes, error messages and performance problems are the result of registry inconsistencies. Windows registry cleaners can fix these problems for you and make your pc running smoothly again. There is another solution to resolve these problems: a complete reinstall o the operating system and all the programs you installed! This drastic solution will take you more time and effort, because you have to backup your data of each program and also save all the settings you made. I recommend using Windows registry cleaners to solve the problems instead of doing a complete reinstall.

What is the registry? The Windows registry is basically a database with all the information about your pc. Windows maintains this database and stores settings and information about your hardware and software. All the changes which are made to the pc are stored as keys in the registry. From the moment you start the Windows operating system it will read and add registry settings about your hardware and software. Each time software is installed or uninstalled entries are changed or removed.

Unfortunately these entries in the registry are not removed properly causing problems in performance or failures like system errors. Due to the adding and removing of hardware and/or software to the system the registry increases in size and it takes more time for Windows to read the registry. With registry cleaning software you can successfully purge these entries from the registry getting better performance and a smooth running pc.

Most Windows registry cleaners offer the option to backup your registry and to perform a scheduled scan. It is advisable to make this backup so that you can restore the registry in case you encounter any problems after the cleanup. The scheduling feature lets you schedule an automatic scan of your pc at a predefined date or time interval. If you are not using this option I would recommend that you run the software each time when you have uninstalled several programs or at least once a month. Another recommended option that most programs offer is to defragment of compress the registry. This will make the file smaller and thus it will be faster for Windows to read the registry for values it’s looking for.

.About the Author:
Windows registry cleaners is an online resource, providing information about Windows registry cleaners and other information and software how to improve pc performance.

How to Keep Accurate Time on your Computer

Ollie Hancock — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 05:17:16 +0000

Most computers have internal clocks dedicated to maintaining system time. The internal real-time clocks rely on relatively cheap crystal oscillators,

which are very inaccurate. In many cases computer system time can drift by several minutes each day. This article describes various methods of keeping a highly accurate time on your computer. It describes how to utilise Internet time servers, radio and GPS clocks and dedicated NTP server systems.

Internet Time Servers

The Internet utilises the Network Time Protocol, NTP, to disseminate accurate time information to network time clients. NTP has been an important part of the Internet for more than 25 years. The protocol was born through the desire to provide synchronization of time critical procedures throughout the Internet.

Most modern operating systems, including Microsoft Windows 2003, XP, 2000, UNIX and LINUX have the ability to synchronize time with a NTP Time Server. There are a host of Internet based NTP Time Servers that the public can access that can be used to synchronise your computer. Below is a list of popular Internet based public access NTP Server time references:

ptbtime1.ptb.de - German NTP server time reference.

canon.inria.fr - French NTP server time reference.

time.nist.gov - US based NTP server time reference.

clock.isc.org - Canadian NTP server time reference.

ntp.my-inbox.co.uk - UK NTP server time reference.

Microsoft Windows XP has pre-installed SNTP client software that can synchronize time with a NTP server time reference. This is achieved by simply entering the domain name of a NTP Server in the time properties tab. The host computer will then periodically contact the NTP Server and synchronise the system time to the specified NTP reference.

LINUX and UNIX operating systems have the network time protocol software distribution available from the NTP website. The NTP application runs, in background, as a daemon, constantly monitoring specified NTP servers. The NTP daemon application reads a list of NTP servers from a configuration file, ‘ntp.conf’, and periodically synchronizes time. A list of NTP server references is specified with the ‘server’ configuration command thus:

server clock.isc.org # Canadian NTP server time reference

server ntp.my-inbox.co.uk # UK NTP server time reference.

Once configured, the network time protocol daemon can be started, stopped and restarted using the daemon commands: ‘ntpd start’; ‘ntpd stop’ and ‘ntpd restart’.

GPS Clock and Radio Time References

There a number of commercially available GPS clock and radio time references for computers. GPS and radio clocks obtain accurate time from national radio timing references or from the global positioning system. The devices have either serial or USB computer interfaces and provide an accurate timing reference to computers. Software drivers periodically synchronise the system time of the host computer to the received reference time. Often reference clock drivers are available that interface to the NTP daemon to provide your own dedicated NTP server resource.

LF radio time receivers often have the advantage of having the ability to obtain a signal, indoors. However, the radio signals can only be received locally to the reference transmitter. There are a number of world-wide radio time broadcasts available: WWVB transmitted from Colorado, USA; CHU, Canada; DCF-77 transmitted from Frankfurt, Germany; MSF transmitted from Rugby, UK and TDF, France. GPS has the advantage of providing a world-wide time and frequency system, however, an externally mounted antenna is required which can be impractical in many cases.

Dedicated NTP Servers

NTP servers are time servers that obtain time from an external timing reference, such as GPS or radio, and provide a network with an accurate time resource. NTP servers are usually rack-mounted devices with an antenna and an LAN connection. The devices obtain accurate time from a radio or GPS timing transmission and maintain an accurate internal time. The accurate time is distributed to network clients using UDP over an IP network. Dedicated NTP servers often minimize the set-up and configuration time required to get a NTP server up and running.

.About the Author:
Dave Evans is a software engineer involved in the development of NTP Server time synchronisation systems. Dave has developed dedicated NTP time server systems, NTP clock and atomic clock synchronisation products. Find out more about SNTP and NTP Server Systems here.