Sometimes a system administrator needs to get around a few rules that are in place for good (or not) reasons. One example is when networks have ICMP turned off (or even just a portion of it). With ICMP off it can be difficult to configure tools like Nagios for simple up and down checks. In this text getting around the no ICMP problem and a script to handle it for Nagios.

Read the full thing at http://systhread.net/texts/2010q3nmap_ping.php

In his role as executive director of the Linux Foundation, Jim Zemlin is part legal guardian, part keeper of the flame. The non-profit foundation he runs is charged with promoting the growth of Linux, drafting new industry standards for its use, and defending it against legal challenges.

Read the full thing at http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/08/linux-chief-sounds-off-on-android-apple-and-app-stores/

Linux doesn't have a CEO. Consequently, there's no annual keynote hosted by a charismatic alpha male. But if it did, and if there were a conference covering the first half of this year, the first speech would start with three words: "Linux is winning".

Read the full thing at http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/linux-is-winning-707828

Amaze your friends with cool vi tips and tricks that will improve the efficiency of your file editing. This article takes you through ten of the less well-known vi commands that should form part of any serious vi user's toolkit.

Read the full thing at http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-vitips.html

For those too impatient to wait for next month for a new native Linux game release when Amnesia: The Dark Descent is set to premiere, there is another game with a native Linux client that was released today: And Yet It Moves.

Read the full thing at http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODQ4Mg

Last month, we featured some of the best collection of wallpapers made using Inkscape, now lets take a peek into some stunning works of art created using GIMP and also the tutorials on how to get them done!

Read the full thing at http://www.techdrivein.com/2010/08/top-15-gimp-tutorials-from-around-web.html

I thought you'd want to hear about what's just happened in the Software Freedom Conservancy v. Best Buy, et al case. It's another BusyBox case regarding infringement of the GPL, mostly about high definition televisions with BusyBox in them, and while the case is not finished regarding other defendants, it's certainly set another precedent. One of the defendants was Westinghouse Digital Technologies, LLC, which refused to participate in discovery. It had applied for a kind of bankruptcy equivalent in California. Judge Shira Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York has now granted Software Freedom Conservancy, a wing of Software Freedom Law Center, triple damages ($90,000) for willful copyright infringement, lawyer's fees and costs ($47,685), an injunction against Westinghouse, and an order requiring Westinghouse to turn over all infringing equipment in its possession to the plaintiffs, to be donated to charity. So, presumably a lot of high-def TVs are on their way to charities.

Read the full thing at http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100803132055210

Hello, today i will show you a new plugin for Kate, called KateSQL.

As you may have guessed, it brings to Kate the basic features of an SQL client, allowing you to open connections, execute queries, and display result data from SELECT statements or stored procedures.

Since this plugin makes an extreme use of the Qt Sql module, most of database drivers are supported.

Read the full thing at http://kate-editor.org/2010/07/29/katesql-a-new-plugin-for-kate/

I am writing this article on a fresh install of Mandriva KDE 2010.1 – or the Spring Edition -, enjoying a modern-looking desktop, boasting amazing visual effects right out of the box, communicating with multi-network friends, watching YouTube, checking the weather forecast through a widget and so on.

Read the full thing at http://www.itlure.com/2010/07/distro-hoppin-mandriva-20101.html

Okie dokie - so I've mentioned before that I play Starcraft 2 under my Linux install with no issues. Since the game's official release a few days ago I have been getting a good bit of traffic on those two pages - so I figured I would put together a quick HOWTO for getting Starcraft 2 working on your Linux distro of choice. The game runs under Wine 1.2 and/or Crossover Games 9.1 with a small bit of work (the latter is easier to make work).

Read the full thing at http://jeffhoogland.blogspot.com/2010/07/howto-starcraft-2-on-linux-with-wine.html