Microsoft's Allchin proposed tie with Apple ... OSDL, Free Standards Group to merge

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Microsoft's Allchin proposed tie with Apple
News: OSDL, Free Standards Group to merge
News: Sun server deal with Intel likely
News: MySpace files lawsuit against 'Spam King'
Windows Tip: Troubleshooting group policy in Windows Vista
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Truly odd IT setups


NEWS UPDATES

Microsoft's Allchin proposed tie with Apple
A senior Microsoft Corp. executive was so frustrated by his experience with digital music players made by Microsoft's partners that he proposed turning to Apple Inc.'s iPod for salvation, documents made public as part of an Iowa antitrust case reveal.

OSDL, Free Standards Group to merge
The two main evangelizers of the Linux operating system, Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and the Free Standards Group (FSG) are merging to form the Linux Foundation.

Reports: Sun server deal with Intel likely
Sun Microsystems Inc. may start buying server chips from Intel Corp. in a deal that could be announced Monday, according to media reports.

MySpace files lawsuit against 'Spam King'
MySpace.com has filed a lawsuit against the self-proclaimed "Spam King" for allegedly blasting the portal with spam through the use of compromised user accounts, the Web site said on Monday

Cisco admits iPhone license violation
Cisco Systems Inc. plans to resolve a license compliance issue regarding the use of Linux in one of its iPhones, the company wrote in a blog posting, but a researcher contends that Cisco has more work to do.

Unisys untangles chargeback mess in IT
Unisys Corp. is introducing a software suite that, among other things, automates the process of billing departments for computing time in a virtual environment.

Microsoft offers Vista preview to fight piracy
Microsoft Corp. is offering a free online "test drive" of its Windows Vista OS in its latest effort to fight software piracy and counterfeiting.

3Par offers carbon-neutral storage
3Par is going for the green sysadmin by promising to offset storage purchases to make them carbon-neutral. For every terabyte sold in 2007, the company will purchase carbon credits to compensate for its disk drive products' greenhouse gas emissions, it has said.


WINDOWS TIP

Troubleshooting group policy in Windows Vista
By Mitch Tulloch, MTIT Enterprises

Group Policy is a key technology for managing computers on Windows-based networks where Active Directory is deployed. But Group Policy has been considerably enhanced in Windows Vista, and also in the soon-to-come Windows Server Code-Name "Longhorn." And of course, changes mean more learning for those who are going to administer these platforms, so this tip deals with one of these changes, namely how to troubleshooting Group Policy processing in Windows Vista.


PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
IBM adds social networking tools to Lotus Notes ... AMD may buy Intel server chips ... Microsoft exec discusses partnering with Apple iPod .. Riots in Bangalore


ITWHIRLED

Truly odd IT setups
Air conditioners in inappropriate places. Felt pads from three generations of equipment ago. U-bends. Slashdot readers share the weirdest IT setups they've had the pleasure of dealing with.