Microsoft, Turbolinux to push single sign-on

Linux & Open Source News Alert This newsletter is sponsored by Symantec Stay ahead of stealth security threats Reduce the propagation of malicious code, lower your risk profile, provide greater network availability and much more with Symantec Network Access Control. LinuxWorld's Linux and Open Source News Alert, 10/24/07 LinuxWorld.com Feature Story Microsoft, Turbolinux to push single sign-on October 23, 2007 Microsoft and Turbolinux, a Tokyo-based Linux distributor, are cozying up with a patent cross-licensing deal and agreement to work more closely together, the companies said Tuesday. For users, one of the most significant elements to the deal is a pledge to work on a single sign-on system that will allow log-on to Windows-based and Turbolinux-based machines with one set of credentials. At present Windows and Turbolinux machines on a mixed network can't access a common authentication database, but their deal should change this, said Noriko Otake, a spokeswoman for Turbolinux in Tokyo. Executive Guide:Virtualization Meets Reality Virtualization is being used to make the most out of everything from applications and servers to desktops and storage. But as companies expand their reliance on the technology, challenges mount. Read this guide authored by a host of Network World editors and review this timely topic. Click Here for More Information To further this work and other cross-platform projects, the two companies have also entered into a patent cross-licensing deal, specific details of which were not disclosed. Interoperability testing of single sign-on and other future projects will take place at Microsoft's offices in Beijing. Turbolinux is active worldwide but has its strongest footprint in Japan and China. Turbolinux will also add Microsoft's Live Search service to its desktop operating system. The deal expands cooperation between the two companies that is intended to remove some of the hassles of using Linux, said Otake. Earlier this year Turbolinux added Windows Media Player to its platform, allowing users access to the large amount of content online encoded in that format, and the company has also been working on support for the Open XML document format. (Read more) More Linux news Kernel space: Fair user scheduling for Linux October 23, 2007 A new set of Linux scheduler features would allocate CPU time fairly among the users on the system. (Read more) Publishing High-Quality Documents with Kile October 19, 2007 TeX and LaTeX produce impeccably laid-out documents, and are the only practical way to show some mathematical equations. This GUI tool acts as an "integrated development environment" for the command-line document preparation tools. Discerning typesetters have long relied on Tex and LaTeX for impeccable-looking documents. Now they have a front-end that works under Linux and BSD and brings control of the compilers and related utilities under the comprehensive graphical user interface. Authors and editors who use Kile can get increased productivity in the document creation business. This article will highlight some of Kile's key features which make it so attractive to newcomers to LaTeX. (Read more) LinuxWorld.com Community Conspiracy, or just job hunting? October 19, 2007 Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols brings up the Microsoft-Acacia conspiracy theory. "Acacia now has two new corporate officers. There's Jonathan Taub, Microsoft's director of strategic alliances for the mobile and embedded devices, who's now an Acacia vice president. And, just days before IP Innovation launched its suit against Red Hat and Novell, Acacia hired Brad Brunell, a top Microsoft executive who was formerly Microsoft's general manager of IP licensing, as a senior vice president." Sure, this could be the mysterious anti-Linux cartel pulling strings behind the scenes, but there's a simpler explanation: Taub and Brunell wanted to create higher-profile roles for themselves at Microsoft, by getting the company into the patent troll business. Unfortunately for them, sensible execs higher up at Microsoft decided that they didn't want to take the recruiting and employee retention hit that comes with a reputation for patent trolling. So Taub and Brunell quit to find positions where their talents would be appreciated, at a dedicated patent troll firm. That makes more sense to me. Patent trolling isn't really compatible with being in the software business long-term, and Microsoft is one of the few companies in IT that acts like it thinks further out than next quarter. (Read more)

Contact the author: Don Marti is editor of LinuxWorld.com. This newsletter is sponsored by Symantec Stay ahead of stealth security threats Reduce the propagation of malicious code, lower your risk profile, provide greater network availability and much more with Symantec Network Access Control. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007