Sean Michael Kerner

In most cases, public agencies including state, local, federal, fire, police, ambulance and military all use different voice radio networks to communicate. Similar disparities also exist in commercial environments as well. Cisco’s latest IP Interoperability and Collaboration Systems (IPICS) platform, announced today, introduces a new paradigm and allows disparate voice networks to talk to each […]

The word “Maven” is a Yiddish colloquialism that is defined as a self-appointed expert who shares knowledge with others. It’s also a very appropriate name for a software project management tool, developed through the auspices of the venerable open source Apache Software Foundation (ASF). With the launch of Maven 2.0 this week, the open source […]

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is normally not on the list of companies likely to say anything positive about Microsoft. Yet that’s exactly what happened yesterday, as the Free Software Foundation’s European branch (FSFE) congratulated Microsoft for its new shared source licenses. Microsoft’s Shared Source Initiative now only offers three primary licenses, which is down […]

In an interesting case of technical irony, a tool used to help security professionals detect intrusions into their networks is in fact vulnerable to intrusions itself. US-CERT issued an advisory this week warning that the open source Snort intrusion detection system had a highly critical buffer overflow vulnerability that could allow an attacker to execute […]

Middleware is more than just .NET and J2EE . That’s the message coming from Zend Technologies, the corporate backer of the open source scripting language. Zend and its partners announced a new PHP Collaboration Project that will build a new PHP Web application development and deployment environment. The Zend-led effort to drive PHP adoption as […]

New versions of both branches of the Apache Software Foundation’s (ASF) HTTP Web server are now available. Apache HTTP Server 1.3.34 and Apache HTTP Server 2.0.55 are both principally security and bug fix releases. The Apache 1.3.34 release addresses two potential security issues. A TraceEnable per server directive has been added and a change made […]

It’s now easier than ever for Macromedia users to get early versions of the latest Macromedia technologies. The Macromedia Labs portal, launched this week, provides developers with early access to applications, as well the opportunity to contribute to product direction through feedback. The first applications available on Macromedia Labs are public alphas of Macromedia Flash […]

Standardized Linux desktop components are needed in order for the Linux desktop to achieve widespread adoption, according to the Free Standards Group (FSG). The popular GNOME and KDE environments are among the more popular Linux desktops, as well as up and comers like the Xfce environment. Though efforts are underway to help create some compatibility […]

A non-critical bug in the Mozilla FireFox browser can be used to trigger a Denial of Service (DoS) attack, according to Whitedust Security. Whitedust Security has publicly posted proof of concept exploit code as well as simple test link here to prove its assertion. The bug that the exploit code triggers is not unknown to […]

What comes after a Hoary Hedgehog? If you’re Ubuntu Linux, it’s a Breezy Badger. Ubuntu Linux 5.10 is now available and includes a number of enhancements that improve installation, networking and server support, including the Linux 2.6.12.6 kernel and GNOME 2.12.1, among the usual suspects. The release, code-named Breezy Badger, follows the April release of […]

It shouldn’t be surprising that Google aggressively goes after the best talent in the business. Google’s nascent IM business is apparently no exception. To that end, Google has hired the lead developer of the Gaim instant messaging project, one of the most popular open source projects on the planet, to help its IM development. Sean […]

Bright students with time on their hands need to be served by the university’s IT enterprise. They also need to be defended against so they don’t try and teach their educators a lesson in security. The small-city-sized enterprise that is Stanford University is actually made up of seven major schools. Sitting at the helm of […]