No matter how hard you try to build a 100 percent Free/Open Source (FOSS) computer, there are a few bits you can't reach that contain non-FOSS code: ROM chips. These power the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), Ethernet interfaces, SCSI controllers, and SATA/PATA drive controllers.

The mainstream adoption of service processors has been hampered by a number of factors. Primarily, many enterprises are unaware of the potential power of service processors. There are also a number of specific concerns about how to integrate service processors into the existing management framework.

Open source networking vendor Vyatta is rolling out the latest community edition of its routing software, continuing efforts to target Cisco users in a battle for a slice of the multi-billion-dollar router market. But while Vyatta Community Edition 3 (VC3) adds new features, users of Vyatta's subscription-based edition may not notice much change.

Flock is essentially Firefox with a handful of highly focused extensions built in to let you connect with social services like Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and others. We think Flock 1.0, which is now in public beta, offers a fantastic browsing experience that brings you the best of Firefox with a few tweaks that prove to be exceptionally helpful.

Privileges define the access level of the user, or what operations the user is allowed to do and the sections of the Command Center which the user is allowed to see. Every person entry in Command Center has some sort of privileges set. There are two major categories of privileges: administrator and user.

Most streaming audio and video on the Internet is disseminated in proprietary formats such as RM, RAM, WMV, and ASF. Fortunately, the open source application MPlayer can play and even record streams in almost any format.

I get this question often from many: How does one use a Virtual Private Network in Linux?