Samba is the most crucial tool in a successful NT to Linux migration. This package serves Microsoft's SMB protocol, enabling Windows Clients to see the Linux machine as a file and print server.

Unlike the GPL, the BSD license also allows developers to create proprietary software from modified code, without giving those modifications back as Open Source. By contrast, anything created with GPL code remains Open Source. The software can be sold, but the source code must be included, for free.

Part 2 of this series covers the reassignment of the services provided by the old firewall the authors replaced. This week the authors configure mail, FTP, and Web service -- all with the proper level of paranoia.

Part of the neatness of UNIX is that you can just about do everything programmatically in the same way that you do it by hand. For example, you ever wonder why chmod() is called such? This article explores various aspects of system calls.

You may not plan to deploy Linux on your network, but that doesn't mean that your company's users won't sneak it in. As the operating system makes inroads in the enterprise, you need to decide whether you want it on your network before a renegade user brings it in unnoticed.

This article takes a close look at several commercial Linux distros targeted towards stand-alone, enterprise server installations to assess whether companies selling this packaged open source code are coupling it with the tools and services necessary for enterprise server use.

Many commentators have warned that Linux is in danger of the same fragmentation or 'forking' as in the case of Unix. While for the most part talk of Linux forking is classic FUD propaganda, it's not an entirely ridiculous concept.

Quite a bit of press has been dedicated to the GNOME desktop environment on Linux. This article explains what GNOME is and how it differs from typical window managers. There is also a guide to installing and configuring it on a FreeBSD 4.0 system.

While the idea behind VB is good, MS VB is NOT a good language at its core. It isn't object-oriented, it's object-based. There is no inheritance, and its implementation of interfaces leaves much to be desired. Python is fully object-oriented and cross platform.

I would say it's better than the previous release, but it's a bit sloppy. Don't get me wrong, this is a very promising distro. It just seems to have teething troubles. Despite that, I've been using it for over a week now and it's been very stable.