pchy

挣钱需要很多步骤，其中一步常常是欺骗。

――Pchy

发地震假消息 腾讯会不会受到新闻办制裁？

发地震假消息 腾讯会不会受到新闻办制裁？

四川地震了，那时候，我正在工作以为自己低血糖， 晕了，突然有人说地震了，大家才反应过来。过了一会，腾讯通过QQ弹出了个消息，大意是说："中国地震局刚刚发布公告:北京 时间08年05月12日14点30分左右北京局部地区发生2级轻微地震 另警告在08年05月12日晚上22点至24点时间段北京局部地区还会有2-6级地震 望大家提前做 预防措施! "PS：现在这个文章已经被删除了

当时觉得中国地震局太牛B了，这个都能预测。后来据说4点半还有一次地震，估计有些公司看到此消息，就放假了。很强大。MD，我地震刚完，马上到会议室开会去了。

开完会回来，发现腾讯又给我弹出了个消息："国家地震局值班室称，关于北京今晚将发生余震的传言不属实，北京地区近期不会发生破坏性地震。 "

这腾讯倒挺猛，勇于否定自己。不知道发第一个消息的时候，编辑有没有问过老李这样可不可以发？

当一项工具足够强大的时候，一旦出问题，所带来的负面消息影响面也足够大。不知道这次腾讯会不会被新闻办秋后算账了，毕竟这样的弹出，影响足够大。


第一次发的，已经不可点



第二次发的辟谣


PS：来个搞笑一点的，在百度地震吧，有一个匿名用户竟然成功预测了今天的地震，相当强大，现在这个帖子以秒速10-20贴的速度在增长。不过，预测地震这个事情，就像赌博的时候，把所有的可买的都买一遍，总有一个能开中。

地震时的10条须知

地震时的10条须知

今天下午，我国四川省发生地震，其他有些地方也受到一些影响。地震对人类的伤害非常大，至今没有很好的应对办法。这里是我刚刚从网上看到的地震时十条须知，希望大家能耐心阅读，在发生地震时使用正确的方法减少地震带来的伤害。

1.为了您自己和家人的人身安全请躲在桌子等坚固家具的下面

大的晃动时间约为1分钟左右。这是首先应顾及的是您自己与家人的人身安全。首先，在重心较低、且结实牢固的桌子下面躲避，并紧紧抓牢桌子腿。在没有桌子等可供藏身的场合，无论如何，也要用坐垫等物保护好头部。

2.摇晃时立即关火，失火时立即灭火

大地震时，也会有不能依赖消防车来灭火的情形。因此，我们每个人关火、灭火的这种
努力，是能否将地震灾害控制在最小程度的重要因素。

从平时就养成即便是小的地震也关火的习惯吧。

为了不使火灾酿成大祸，家里人自不用说，左邻右舍之间互相帮助，厉行早期灭火是极
为重要的。

地震的时候，关火的机会有三次：

第一次机会在大的晃动来临之前的小的晃动之时

在感知小的晃动的瞬间，即刻互相招呼："地震！快关火！"，关闭正在使用的取暖炉、煤气炉等。

第二次机会在大的晃动停息的时候

在发生大的晃动时去关火，放在煤气炉、取暖炉上面的水壶等滑落下来，那是很危险的。

大的晃动停息后，再一次呼喊："关火！关火！"，并去关火。

第三次机会在着火之后

即便发生失火的情形，在1-2分钟之内，还是可以扑灭的。为了能够迅速灭火，请将灭火器、消防水桶经常放置在离用火场所较近的地方。

3.不要慌张地向户外跑

地震发生后,慌慌张张地向外跑,碎玻璃、屋顶上的砖瓦、广告牌等掉下来砸在身上，是很危险的。此外，水泥预制板墙、自动售货机等也有倒塌的危险，不要靠近这些物体。

4.将门打开，确保出口

钢筋水泥结构的房屋等，由于地震的晃动会造成门窗错位，打不开门，曾经发生有人被封闭在屋子里的事例。请将门打开，确保出口。

平时要事先想好万一被关在屋子里，如何逃脱的方法，准备好梯子、绳索等。

5.户外的场合，要保护好头部，避开危险之处

当大地剧烈摇晃，站立不稳的时候，人们都会有扶靠、抓住什么的心理。身边的门柱、墙壁大多会成为扶靠的对象。但是，这些看上去挺结实牢固的东西，实际上却是危险的。

在1987年日本宫城县海底地震时，由于水泥预制板墙、门柱的倒塌，曾经造成过多人死伤。务必不要靠近水泥预制板墙、门柱等躲避。

在繁华街、楼区，最危险的是玻璃窗、广告牌等物掉落下来砸伤人。要注意用手或手提包等物保护好头部。

此外，还应该注意自动售货机翻倒伤人。

在楼区时，根据情况，进入建筑物中躲避比较安全。

6.在百货公司、剧场时依工作人员的指示行动

在百货公司、地下街等人员较多的地方，最可怕的是发生混乱。请依照商店职员、警卫人员的指示来行动。

就地震而言，据说地下街是比较安全的。即便发生停电，紧急照明电也会即刻亮起来，请镇静地采取行动。

如发生火灾，即刻会充满烟雾。以压低身体的姿势避难，并做到绝对不吸烟。

搭乘电梯的话

在发生地震、火灾时，不能使用电梯。万一在搭乘电梯时遇到地震，将操作盘上各楼层的按钮全部按下，一旦停下，迅速离开电梯，确认安全后避难。

高层大厦以及近来的建筑物的电梯，都装有管制运行的装置。地震发生时，会自动的动作，停在最近的楼层。

万一被关在电梯中的话，请通过电梯中的专用电话与管理室联系、求助。

7.汽车靠路边停车，管制区域禁止行驶

发生大地震时，汽车会象轮胎泄了气似的，无法把握方向盘，难以驾驶。必须充分注意，避开十字路口将车子靠路边停下。为了不妨碍避难疏散的人和紧急车辆的通行，要让出道路的中间部分。

都市中心地区的绝大部分道路将会全面禁止通行。充分注意汽车收音机的广播，附近有警察的话，要依照其指示行事。

有必要避难时，为不致卷入火灾，请把车窗关好，车钥匙插在车上，不要锁车门，并和当地的人一起行动。

8.务必注意山崩、断崖落石或海啸

在山边、陡峭的倾斜地段，有发生山崩、断崖落石的危险，应迅速到安全的场所避难。

在海岸边，有遭遇海啸的危险。感知地震或发出海啸警报的话，请注意收音机、电视机等的信息，迅速到安全的场所避难

9.避难时要徒步，携带物品应在最少限度

因地震造成的火灾，蔓延燃烧，出现危机生命、人身安全等情形时，采取避难的措施。

避难的方法，原则上以市民防灾组织、街道等为单位，在负责人及警察等带领下采取徒步避难的方式，携带的物品应在最少限度。绝对不能利用汽车、自行车避难。

对于病人等的避难，当地居民的合作互助是不可缺少的。从平时起，邻里之间有必要在事前就避难的方式等进行商定。

10.不要听信谣言，不要轻举妄动

在发生大地震时，人们心理上易产生动摇。为防止混乱，每个人依据正确的信息，冷静地采取行动，极为重要。

从携带的收音机等中，把握正确的信息。相信从政府、警察、消防等防灾机构直接得到的信息，决不轻信不负责任的流言蜚语，不要轻举妄动。

安全软件使用技巧――杀毒软件

安全软件使用技巧――杀毒软件

杀毒时根据病毒路径处理病毒

　　1.病毒在系统盘:Documents and Settings用户名Local SettingsTemporary Internet Files文件夹(IE临时文件夹)下时如果杀毒软件能清除最好，不能清除的话清空IE临时文件夹即可(IE属性里可以清除)，病毒在系统盘 Documents and Settings用户名Local SettingsTEMP下时处理方法同上。

　 　2.病毒在System Volume Information文件夹(系统还原文件夹)下时杀毒软件一般不能清除(系统保护的)，病毒在这个文件夹下一般不能被激活(不能运 行)――除非你用系统还原还原到某个时刻(微软关于系统还原的解释：http://www.microsoft.com /china/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/xpsysrst.mspx)，如果你要清除此文件夹下的 病毒关闭系统还原即可(有需要的话再打开，此时病毒已经被清除――此前的系统还原点也没了)。关闭系统还原的方法：右键我的电 脑――属性――系统还原――可以选择关闭所有盘符的系统还原、也可以点击某个 盘符后点击设置来关闭特定盘符的系统还原。

　　3.病毒在系统盘:WINDOWSTemp(系统临时文件夹)下时杀毒软件能清除最好，不能清除的话清空系统临时文件夹即可(一般系统在关机时 会自动清空的，也可以用一些工具清除，如：卡卡上网安全助手、360安全卫士、金山清理专家等)。一般在这个文件夹下的不是病毒主体，发现这个文件夹下有 病毒时请全盘杀毒。

　　3.病毒在某个安装文件、可执行文件(.exe文件)或者在压缩文件(.zip ＼.rar等文件)下杀毒软件无法清除时删除这个文件即可(但是要注意如果是系统正常的.exe文件被感染，请不要盲目删除，最好通过论坛等途径求助)如 果是那些可选的插件程序被报毒那可以不处理(安装时注意不要选择安装)――最好不要这样(因为你无法确定此插件是否可以选择安 装)。

　　4.病毒在其它文件夹下时根据杀毒软件的提示处理病毒，失败的话请通过论坛等途径求助。

　　5.其它一些文件夹介绍：系统盘:windowssystem32――系统目录(很关键的一个文件夹)、系统盘: windowssystem32drivers――系统驱动目录(在这个文件夹下的驱动文件可以直接被加载)：此文件夹下不应该 出现.exe文件，若出现删除即可。

　　根据报毒文件的扩展名来处理病毒

　　1.(.exe)这个是常见的可执行程序，处理方法参见上面的第三条。

　　2.(.sys)这个是驱动文件，如果杀毒软件报毒的话一般是病毒主体释放的驱动，在清除此驱动后务必全盘杀毒。

　　3.(.dll)这个是动态链接库文件，一般根据杀毒软件的提示处理(清除病毒)。如果失败请通过论坛等途径求助。

　　杀毒软件出现提示时的处理方法

　　1.杀毒软件提示要修改、创建"run"开头的键值时要注意是不是病毒的启动项。

　　2.杀毒软件提示要创建或者加载某个驱动(.sys文件)时要注意是不是病毒在释放或加载驱动。

　　杀毒软件使用误区

　　1.安装多个杀毒软件：有些人认为某个杀软杀毒能力强、某个杀软防毒能力强，所以安装两个杀毒软件(当然只开启了后者的监控)，其实即使不同时打开监控安装多个杀毒软件也会在系统底层上造成冲突，从而影响系统的安全性和稳定性(同时打开监控的话后果更是可想而知)。

　　2.使用破解的杀毒软件：杀毒软件好比是门卫，如果你的门卫都有可能有问题，你觉得你的家还安全吗？同时，破解杀毒软件不可避免地要修改、删除 或者增加某些文件――有些甚至是关键文件，这样会造成不可预见的后果，从而影响软件的安全性和稳定性。杀毒软件都用破解还有什么 安全可言？

　　3.把木马和病毒区别对待，所以安装木马专杀软件：广义上说木马也是病毒的一种(木马的全名就叫木马病毒，对应的有蠕虫病毒等)，在病毒命名里 木马的名称便是以"Trojan"开头的、蠕虫病毒以"Worm"开头，由此可见它们都是病毒的一个分 类，所以正规的杀毒软件都能较好的清除木马，没有必要安装木马专杀软件。

　　4.安装杀毒软件不打开监控：监控的确会占用一些系统资源，于是有些用户便不打开监控，只用杀毒软件来杀毒。其实这样是十分危险的，比如你发现 你的密码被盗了而后再去杀毒就算成功清除了又有什么意义呢？你已经受到了损失了；而打开监控可以在病毒入侵电脑的第一时间提示或清除病毒，尽可能地避免损 失的发生。

　　5.安装杀毒软件不及时升级：升级对于杀毒软件来说尤为重要，每天都会产生无数新的病毒，若不及时升级杀毒软件的话杀毒软件就无法认出这些病毒更不用说清除病毒了。

　　6.用安全辅助软件代替杀毒软件：安全辅助软件查杀木马主要依据MD5值，文件名、路径等，而不是用特征码查杀，所以查杀的结果令人怀疑。而且 安全辅助性软件主要针对木马病毒，对于其它的病毒没有什么查杀能力。同时安全辅助性软件无法对某个文件进行查杀(下载了一个带毒的安装程序它去无法认出 来)

　　附：尽量防止中毒的方法

　　1.设置强壮的系统密码。

　　2.尽量不要使用外挂程序(实在要用请确保安全)。

　　3.打齐所有补丁(包括系统补丁、OFFICE补丁、系统中安装的所有软件的补丁――即使用没有漏洞的软件版本)

　　4.尽量保持杀毒软件病毒库为最新。

　　5.安装并开启防火墙。

　　6.杀毒软件的监控一定要打开。

　　7.QQ、MSN、Email中出现的链接不要随意点击。

　　8.下载的文件查毒后再打开。

　　9.使用U盘时注意尽量右键打开(虽然不是万无一失的办法，但是可以防止一部分病毒)，最好关掉系统的自动播放功能。

　　10.上网时不要访问一些不正规的网站

2008 Linux Journal 读者选择奖公布

2008 Linux Journal 读者选择奖公布

2008Linux Journal读者选择奖公布   今年的结果冷门不多，vi击败Emacs和vim出线算一个。主流产品在各处都更加受到欢迎，比如Eclipse、Firefox、MySQL、 Apache、Dell。而竞争激烈的领域包括编程语言（C语言折桂）、脚本语言（Python再次胜出）、内容管理系统（WordPress）和桌面环 境（GNOME），Ubuntu的领先优势仍然不明显。

最受欢迎Linux图书 (2007年1月后出版或者再版)

Linux System Administration by Tom Adelstein and Bill Lubanovic (O'Reilly) (16%)
英文影印版：LINUX系统管理，东南大学出版社

【荣誉入围】
Linux System Programming by Robert Love (O'Reilly) (7.2%)
Official Ubuntu Book by Benjamin Hill (Prentice Hall) (7%)
中文版：UBUNTU官方指南，人民邮电出版社
Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linux by Mark G. Sobell (Prentice Hall) (6.6%)
中文版：Ubuntu Linux实用指南，即将由人民邮电出版社图灵公司出版

最受欢迎Linux Journal 专栏

Cooking with Linux by Marcel Gagné (26.9%)

【荣誉入围】
Work the Shell by Dave Taylor (15%)
Hack and / by Kyle Rankin (14.1%)

年度Linux产品

华硕 Eee PC (37.3%)

【荣誉入围】
One Laptop Per Child (17.9%)

最受喜爱Linux发行版

Ubuntu (37.4%)

【荣誉入围】
Mandriva (13.9%)
Fedora (11.1%)

最受欢迎桌面环境

GNOME (45.7%)

【荣誉入围】
KDE (42.5%)

最受欢迎网页浏览器

Firefox (86%)
Opera和Konqueror都低于5%

最受欢迎邮件收发程序

Mozilla Thunderbird (44.9%)

【荣誉入围】
Gmail Web Client (19.7%)
Evolution (13.4%)
KMail (10.1%)

最受欢迎办公程序

OpenOffice.org (85.1%)
AbiWord 和KOffice只有3%

最受欢迎内容管理系统

WordPress (23.8%)

【荣誉入围】
Drupal (21.4%)
Joomla! (18.9%)

最受欢迎数据库

MySQL (62.7%)
PostreSQL, SQLite, Firebird都未构成威胁

最受欢迎编程语言

C (26%)

【荣誉入围】
C++ (25.7%)
Java (22.9%)

最受欢迎脚本语言

Python (28.9%)

【荣誉入围】
PHP (21.7%)
bash (19.8%)
Perl (17%)

最受欢迎Linux软件开发工具

Eclipse (29%)
KDevelop, Emacs, GNU autoconf 和 NetBeans 也在发起有力的挑战

最受欢迎音频工具

Amarok (40.5%)

【荣誉入围】
XMMS (18.1%)
Audacity (12.3%)
Rhythmbox (11.9%)

最受欢迎媒体播放器

MPlayer (34.6%)

【荣誉入围】
VLC (27.4%)

最受欢迎通信工具

Pidgin (42%)

【荣誉入围】
Skype (17.8%)
Kopete (12.8%)

最受欢迎图形设计工具

The GIMP (76.4%)

最受欢迎数字照片管理工具

digiKam (24.9%)

【荣誉入围】
Picasa (24.5%)

最受欢迎文本编辑器

vi (35.3%)

【荣誉入围】
gedit (15%)
vi是在Emacs和vim中脱颖而出的。

最受欢迎Linux游戏

Frozen Bubble (19.2%)

【荣誉入围】
Doom (12.3%)
Tux Racer (11.7%)

最受欢迎备份系统

Simple Linux Backup (25.5%)

【荣誉入围】
Amanda (16.1%)
Bacula (16.1%)

最受欢迎备份工具

tar (35.4%)

【荣誉入围】
rsync (22.4%)
k3b (15.1%)

最受欢迎语言构造工具

Flex (18.1%)
注意，不是Adobe的那个Flex啊。

【荣誉入围】
Bison (14.7%)
javacc (12.8%)

最受欢迎安全工具

SSH (29.5%)

【荣誉入围】
iptables (19.4%)

最受欢迎包管理程序

Apt (35.3%)

【荣誉入围】
RPM (16.5%)
Yum (14.9%)
Synaptic (11.6%)

最受欢迎系统管理工具

OpenSSH (52.7%)

最受欢迎Web服务器

Apache (90.9%)

最受欢迎Linux友好网站托管公司

GoDaddy.com (14.7%)

【荣誉入围】
1&1 (9.8%)
DreamHost (9.4%)
Rackspace (7.5%)

最受欢迎网络或服务器设备

Avocent Cyclades ACS Console Server (15.7%)

【荣誉入围】
Guardian Digital Linux Lockbox (12.7%)

最受欢迎Linux手持设备

Nokia N800 (43.9%)

【荣誉入围】
OpenMoko Neo (23.7%)

最受欢迎Linux笔记本

华硕 Eee PC (34.7%)

【荣誉入围】
联想 T61p (20%)

最受欢迎Linux桌面工作站

Dell (30%)

【荣誉入围】
惠普 (12%)

最受欢迎Linux服务器

Dell (21%)

【荣誉入围】
IBM (14%)
惠普 (12%)

最受欢迎绿色Linux产品或解决方案

VMware (42.6%)

【荣誉入围】
PowerTOP (16.3%)

来源：turingbook

原文如下：

Back in January and February, we surveyed you, our readers, to find outwhat Linux-based products, tools and services you prefer thesedays. More than 5,900 of you completed the survey, and your favorites are theworthy recipients of the 2008 Readers' Choice Awards. Although some resultsare predictable, many are certain to both interest and surprise you.
In this year's competition, we designated only one winner percategory, with strong contenders receiving honorable mention awards.For instance, in the categories where a cluster of formidable contendersfollowed the outright winner, we designated up to three honorable mentions.However, if one product clearly dominated a category (for example, OpenOffice.orgwith 85% in Favorite Office Program or Apache with 92% in FavoriteWeb Server), and the contenders were barely on the radar, there were nohonorable mentions.
The developers among you will want us to weigh in on how we dealt withlanguages. We created two categories: Favorite Programming Languageand Favorite Scripting Language. See Technical Editor Michael Baxter'sreasoning in the sidebar, as well as the category contents and winners. Please letus know what you think of our approach.
And now, without further ado, we present the 2008 LinuxJournal Readers'Choice Awards.
Favorite Primary Linux Distribution of Choice
Ubuntu (37.4%)
Honorable Mentions
Mandriva (13.9%)
Fedora (11.1%)
In the last LJ Readers' Choice awards, many readerswere "shocked" and"flabbergasted" that the upstart Ubuntu handily took the crown forfavorite distribution. This year, however, there is little surprisethat Ubuntu has won again, garnering nearly triple the votes of itsmost able challenger, Mandriva―supposedly the forgotten distro?Clearly Ubuntu has morphed from the "little distro that could" to the"big distro that did". How would the results differ if we asked foryour favorite distribution for servers?


Favorite Desktop Environment
GNOME (45.7%)
Honorable Mention
KDE (42.5%)
Clearly independent decision making is in ample supply in our community,because (despite Nick Petreley's anti-GNOME rants over the years)GNOME is your Favorite Desktop Environment. GNOME barely edged outits also-popular desktop rival, KDE. The result makes sense given thatthe GNOME-defaulting Ubuntu trounces all other distributions. However,the fact that GNOME won by just a few percentage points perhaps meansthat many of you use Ubuntu's sister distribution, the KDE-based Kubuntu?

Favorite Web Browser
Firefox (86%)
Given our readers' extreme penchant for tinkering, it's no surprisethat we love Firefox and its ever-growing treasure trove of extensions [see"Must-Have Firefox Extensions", page 80].Firefox wins Favorite Web Browser with 86% of your votes. But where,oh where, have the very capable Opera and Konqueror gone? Fewer than 5%of you named them your favorite browser. Honorable mention for mostcreative response in this category goes to "All I know is that IE7 isworse than dreadful."


Favorite E-mail Client
Mozilla Thunderbird (44.9%)
Honorable Mentions
Gmail Web Client (19.7%)
Evolution (13.4%)
KMail (10.1%)
Although Mozilla Thunderbird did not vanquish its opponents as decidedly asits sibling Firefox did in the browser category, it had more than twicethe support of its nearest rival, the Gmail Web Client, to win FavoriteE-Mail Client. We were a bit surprised to see that only about 7% of you are stillusing text-based e-mail clients, such as Alpine (formerly Pine) and Mutt.


Favorite Office Program
OpenOffice.org (85.1%)
OpenOffice.org garnered a whopping 85% of the votes to win FavoriteOffice Program, while competitors AbiWord and KOffice squeaked in a barelyperceptible 3% each. Nor did EIOffice, a program that has received muchpraise in our pages in the past, register more than a few votes. OpenOffice.org hasbecome the de facto default office suite for Linux.


Favorite Audio Tool
Amarok (40.5%)
Honorable Mentions
XMMS (18.1%)
Audacity (12.3%)
Rhythmbox (11.9%)
Perhaps the most feature-rich audio player on any platform, Amarok haswon most of your hearts and minds for Favorite Audio Tool. Meanwhile,the applications XMMS, Audacity and Rhythmbox each have their loyalconstituencies of a bit lesser but similar size, making each worthy ofan honorable mention.


Favorite Media Player
MPlayer (34.6%)
Honorable Mention
VLC (27.4%)
This close race in the Favorite Media Player category may be as much atestament to MPlayer's legacy to thankful Linux users everywhere as a votefor excellence. When playing nonfree media content was still a problemfor Linux users, MPlayer was there, leveling the field and making surewe could play anything our Windows-using friends were playing and thensome. VLC, a close second, is growing in popularity for its friendlyinterface and equally adroit ability to play pretty much any format youcan throw at it.


Favorite Communications Tool
Pidgin (42%)
Honorable Mentions
Skype (17.8%)
Kopete (12.8%)
Pidgin, the messaging tool formerly known as Gaim, readily handled all ofits competitors, garnering 42% of your votes. Pidgin users appreciatethe ability to monitor all of their messaging accounts using one tool.Currently 15 protocols are available, including AIM, Google Talk, NovellGroupWise, ICQ, MySpaceIM, Yahoo and others. Despite Skype's popularity,it remains in Pigin's long shadow―maybe because its closed-sourcecredentials tug at our consciences?


Favorite Graphics/Design Tool
The GIMP (76.4%)
If anything qualifies as a legendary piece of Linux software, thenThe GIMP certainly has earned that mantle. Winning 76.4% of thevotes, The GIMP wins for Favorite Graphics/Design Tool. As for theothers? "Ouch!" is the collective cry from the other graphicsapplications, such as Inkscape, Scribus and Blender, each of whichreached percentagesonly in the single digits. Notable for its absence is the increasinglyimpressive KDE graphics tool, Krita.


Favorite Digital Photo Management Tool
digiKam (24.9%)
Honorable Mention
Picasa (24.5%)
digiKam, at 24.9%, edged out its image-organizer rival Picasa fromGoogle by a mere 13 votes. Picasa's excellent functionality is powerfulenough to make up for its deficits―its non-FOSS status and Wine-basedemulation. Like its e-mail cousin Gmail, Picasa is an interesting choicegiven that it is not a Linux application, per se. Gmail exists only inGoogle's cloud, and Picasa is―gasp!―a Windows application.


Favorite Text Editor
vi (35.3%)
Honorable Mention
gedit (15%)
Who would have thought that after all these years, the vi editorwould rule the roost? It beat out every other editor, including Emacsand vim. Three years ago, it didn't even make the top three! Go figure.It is interesting to note that Emacs, KWrite and Kate all scored aboutevenly, clustering around the 10% mark.


Favorite Linux Game
Frozen Bubble (19.2%)
Honorable Mentions
Doom (12.3%)
Tux Racer (11.7%)
It is beginning to seem that no game will ever knock FrozenBubble fromits lofty perch as Favorite Linux Game. Not only does FrozenBubblelure you in with its pure simplicity, but also those penguins are just toodarn cute! Doom and Tux Racer,which won honorable mentions, are twomore of your favorites.


Favorite Virtualization Solution
VMware (38.7%)
Honorable Mention
VirtualBox (20.4%)
Given VMware's meteoric rise during the past few years, it's no surprise tosee it win the gold for Favorite Virtualization Solution. More surprisingis VirtualBox's showing, the application that a fellow publication called"The best virtualization program you've never heard of" in late 2007.VirtualBox's patron, innotek of Germany, was acquired by Sun Microsystemsearlier this year, giving VirtualBox the marketing injection it neededto match its technical prowess. Wine and Xen fared decently in thiscategory too.


Favorite Backup System
Simple Linux Backup (25.5%)
Honorable Mentions
Amanda (16.1%)
Bacula (16.1%)
In this year's competition, we differentiated between comprehensiveapplications, or systems, and specific utilities. Regarding the FavoriteBackup System category, most of you prefer the no-frills, low-budgetapproach over corporate solutions―that is, the application Simple LinuxBackup. The open-source applications―Amanda, with the Zmanda interfacefor server backup, and Bacula, for network-based backup―also got manyof your votes. Backup also is the category in which the most readersroll their own script-based solutions.

Favorite Backup Utility
tar (35.4%)
Honorable Mentions
rsync (22.4%)
k3b (15.1%)
For Favorite Backup Utility, the perpetual winner is the workhorse tar,tallying 35.4% of the vote. Enough of you love rsync and the CD/DVD-authoringapplication k3b to warrant honorable mentions.

Favorite Database
MySQL (62.7%)
MySQL is not only the world's most popular open-source database, it'syour favorite as well. Although PostreSGL, SQLite, Firebird and othersregistered votes, the competition was not fierce. It doesn't hurt thatMySQL runs on more than 20 different platforms.


Favorite Programming Language
C (26%)
Honorable Mentions
C++ (25.7%)
Java (22.9%)
'Twas the battle of the Cs in the Favorite Programming Language category,with C taking first prize, C++ landing in second and Java in the thirdspot. Don't see your own wildlyfavorite language here? You wouldn't believe the number of"WTFs"we got when readers didn't find Python, Ruby or other languages herebut rather in the scripting language category. Check out that category'sresults, as well as Michael Baxter's explanation in the sidebar for how we differentiatedbetween programming and scripting languages. (No doubt we'll see youin the on-line comments section too!)


Programming Languages and Scripting Languages
We received a lot of feedback about our on-line survey of favoritelanguages. A particular point from this feedback has been why somelanguages were called scripting languages, and others not. A criterionwas used to decide this, as will be explained. A plethora of issueswas raised in the responses we received, so highlighting some of theissues will contextualize how the criteria emerged for this survey.
One simple way of distinguishing computer programming languages iswhether they are compiled or interpreted, which several LinuxJournalreaders pointed out. However, even that is an issue. Java isconsidered as a general-purpose programming language, but nominallythe runtime environment is a Java Virtual Machine. This is verysimilar to a variety of scripting languages actually, including EmacsLisp. However, Java also can be compiled to native machine code. So,for the interpreted versus compiled issue, one might ask, "What kind ofcompiled?"
A scripting language could generally be a language that ishosted by another environment. In other words, it's "running on topof something", whether that be a byte-code interpreter or, in thecase of embedded application use, as an adjunct to another softwareapplication. One also might ask whether the breadth and representativepowerare obtained by libraries, or because of built-ins to the language?
Scripting languages also can have object features and work at a higherlevel, or work more like a dynamic language, such as Lisp, which doesmanifest typing. AWK and Python or Perl are arguably scriptinglanguages, but they are quite different in their utility. One mightthink of AWK as slightly easier to use than bash, with theparticularly nice facet of associative arrays. But, Python or Perl (viastrong libraries) are much more powerful, and they are glued tonumerous layers in the complete FLOSS stack. So, the "grainsize" of ascripting language tends to matter as to its utility.
One of the scripting languages that was omitted in the original surveywas Tcl, and this was a mistake. Tcl is very popular, especially in certainapplication domains, such as CAD tools, where it is a de factoscripting language. Similarly, upon further reflection, it might beargued that the general-purpose programming language BASIC that ismost in use today is not really a later variant of Kemeney and Kurtz'1964 original, but rather Visual BASIC, arguably a scriptinglanguage. However, that language generally does not run well on Linux,and efforts to bring this particular language to Linux have provokedsome controversy.
Based on comparative technical criteria, one could make the case thatJava is a scripting language. Its runtime implementation is strikinglysimilar to Python, though there are clearly very divergent languagesyntax and semantics in both: Python is much less strongly typed. Theproblem is that Java users really don't use it as a scriptinglanguage, and its promoters don't promote it that way either. It'smuch more ubiquitous in any of its roles, such as middle-ware, forcomplete applications, or as a standalone embedded platform. So, aleading clue is that what defines a "scripting language" is notnecessarily decided along strictly technical lines.
Perhaps the motivating factor behind what determines whether a languageis a scripting language or programming language is ultimately how acritical mass of users tend to use it. Other factors include how it'spromoted, whether it's standardized, how the user community isresponded to with emergent problems or technical issues, and how theprimary maintainers allow the language to "evolve" where necessary. Areally good way to see this is to compare the number of technical booktitles on computer languages and associated libraries or environmentsin a modest bookstore.
Finally, it was this "tendency of use" that was the primary litmus test toassert which language was selected as a programming languageversus as a scripting language. Some respondents have rightly pointedout that this was relatively "arbitrary", and that there were numerousdissonances along the axis of "compiled" versus"interpreted". Theyare right. This arbitrariness is borne out, in fact, by the usagepatterns seen; the mass of users themselves really have decided theuse models. Practical and reasonable programmers, in fact, do disagreeon such distinctions.
Such divides cut across much more than compiled or not. A largerdivide would appear to be strongly typed versus dynamiclanguages. Another would be functional versus imperative. One dividethat seems to be waning is whether object-oriented is good; we generally seem tobelieve that it is. Despite this general consensus, C is notgoing away any time soon. C is viewed as the most portable high-level"assembly language" there is.
I think a conundrum about languages is benign, and actually good news,because it reflects the diversity of choice and utility. If theabsolute ultimate runtime performance is not relevant to a programmingproblem, modern scripting languages are a strong play. One can getmore done with fewer lines of code, if compared with starting a programin the C language. Most are easier to learn and use than, say, C++. Thismay well be a legacy of highly evolved computer technology. If youbelieve that "premature optimization is the root of all evil", perhaps using a "standard" programming language is one kind ofpremature optimization. A lot of careful thinking has gone intocertain scripting languages, and very strong compilation software isavailable to host these languages. But, these advances in computerscience also derive benefit from late-modern hardwaretechnology. Machines today are so fast that it really is possible touse scripting languages as general-purpose programming languages fornearly any purpose on a wide variety of applications.
―Michael Baxter, Technical Editor, Linux Journal


Favorite Scripting Language
Python (28.9%)
Honorable Mentions
PHP (21.7%)
bash (19.8%)
Perl (17%)
It's no surprise that Python grabbed top honors in the Favorite ScriptingLanguage category, and that PHP, bash and Perl all deserve honorablemention for their strong showings.


Favorite Language Construction Tool
Flex (18.1%)
Honorable Mentions
Bison (14.7%)
javacc (12.8%)
You know you're reading the right publication when a collective cheerrises up to celebrate the scanner-generator Flex winning a prize.Although Flex took top honors for Favorite Language Construction Tool with18.1% of the votes, its yacc-compatible parser generator, Bison, talliedenough votes for an honorable mention (14.7%), as did the compiler-compilerfor Java, javacc (12.8%). Although this category registered fewer votesthan other categories, nearly 2,000 of you weighed in with your opinions.

Favorite Security Tool
SSH (29.5%)
Honorable Mention
iptables (19.4%)
Just as it did in the last edition of this competition, the hyperversatileand hyperfavorite SSH wins this year in the Favorite Security Toolcategory with 29.5% of the votes. You also showed your love for theiptables tool for your packet-filtering tasks, which deserves an honorablemention for garnering 19.4% of the tally.

Favorite Linux Software Development Tool
Eclipse (29%)
This year, Eclipse easily eclipsed all of its competitors to win FavoriteLinux Software Development Tool. Although the rest of the votes werewidely dispersed among many different tools―KDevelop, Emacs, GNUautoconf and NetBeans all registered significant vote counts.


Favorite Package Management Application
Apt (35.3%)
Honorable Mentions
RPM (16.5%)
Yum (14.9%)
Synaptic (11.6%)
One of the main reasons so many of you love (K)Ubuntu so much is its sweetpackage management via Apt, this year's victor in the Favorite PackageManagement Application category. Apt won 35.3% of your votes. Many ofyou also cast your votes for the classic RPM (16.5%) and its useful friendYum (14.9%). Meanwhile, a respectable number of you (11.6%) prefer theSynaptic front end on top of Apt to perform your package management tasks.


Favorite System Administration Tool
OpenSSH (52.7%)
The depth of your love for OpenSSH is clear. Not only did you chooseit for Favorite Security Tool (above), but you chose it as FavoriteSystem Administration Tool as well. With 52.7% of your votes,it stands head and shoulders above its nearest competitors.

Favorite Content Management System
WordPress (23.8%)
Honorable Mentions
Drupal (21.4%)
Joomla! (18.9%)
Competition was tough for Favorite Content Management System, for you loveyour myriad options. Nevertheless, your favorite application in thiscategory was the blog publisher WordPress (23.8%), which edged out theable Drupal (21.4%) and Joomla! (18.9%) to take the prize. It appearsthat the vast majority of you bloggers are gravitating toward WordPress,while the Webmasters are splitting into Drupal and Joomla! camps.


Favorite Web Server
Apache (90.9%)
Rather than offer a Favorite Web Server category, we should just ask"Do you use the Apache Web server, yes or no?" and leave it at that.Apache wins with 90.9% of your votes.

Favorite Linux-Friendly Web Hosting Company
GoDaddy.com (14.7%)
Honorable Mentions
1&1 (9.8%)
DreamHost (9.4%)
Rackspace (7.5%)
Given the variety of hosting companies available today, it's no surprisethat none of them dominated the voting for Favorite Linux-FriendlyWeb Hosting Company. Although the winner, GoDaddy.com, garnered arespectable 14.7%, the real winner was "Other" with a whopping 42.4%.Nevertheless, hats off to GoDaddy.com for its rapid rise inpopularity―it was absent from our last awards.

Favorite Network or Server Appliance
Avocent Cyclades ACS Console Server(15.7%)
Honorable Mention
Guardian Digital Linux Lockbox (12.7%)
As with hosting, the voting for Favorite Network or Server Appliancecategory was diffuse due to the rabbit-like proliferation of usefulproducts in the marketplace. The top vote-getter at 15.7% was the AvocentCyclades ACS Console Server, and following up with honorable mention(at 12.7%) was the Guardian Digital Linux Lockbox.


Favorite Linux Handheld Device
Nokia N800 (43.9%)
Honorable Mention
OpenMoko Neo (23.7%)
In case you hadn't noticed, many of us Linux Journal editors adore theNokia N800. The N800 won the 2007 awards for Ultimate Linux Handheld,and its predecessor, the N770, would have won the 2006 Editors' ChoiceAward for Best Mobile Device, only we were afraid we never talked aboutanything else. Well, clearly our readers dig it too, because 43.9% of youchose it as your favorite handheld. Keep your eye on the newer OpenMokoNeo 1973, which burst on the scene and grabbed 23.7% of the vote.


Favorite Linux Laptop
ASUS Eee PC (34.7%)
Honorable Mention
Lenovo T61p (20%)
Is there any surprise that the ASUS Eee PC got 34.7% of the vote towin the Favorite Linux Laptop category handily? Finally, a company createda laptop with Linux in mind and didn't consider Linux as a second-rateafterthought. It also is nice to see that our readers appreciateLenovo's better-late-than-never but admirable effort to pre-installits T61p with SLED. This helped the device win honorable mention.Hopefully, awards like this will encourage Lenovo and others to pre-installall of their laptops with Linux from the start. If you accumulate thevarious models from our Linux-specialist friends like LinuxCertified,EmperorLinux and R Cubed, they fared well as a group too.


Who Makes Your Favorite Linux Desktop Workstation?
Dell (30%)
Honorable Mention
Hewlett-Packard (12%)
It wasn't surprising to see PC giant Dell win top choice in this category with 30% ofthe vote tally. Dell's product line has become more Linux-friendly over the years, whichshows up clearly in your preferences. HP gets an Honorable Mention for its Linuxofferings, and there were lots of write-ins for various verndors in this category, butthey were too diverse to merit a third place award. And of course, many of you chose ahome-brew solution as well.

Who Makes Your Favorite Linux Server?
Dell (21%)
Honorable Mention
IBM (14%)
Hewlett-Packard (12%)
The majority of voters in this category give their server business to the big vendors,such as Dell (winner of both Favorite Desktop Workstation and Server categories), IBM,HP and Sun. Many readers also like to purchase from the smaller mom-and-popshops―with too many write-ins to list here. And, as with the Favorite DesktopWorkstation category, many readers prefer to build their own servers.

Favorite Green Linux Product or Solution
VMware (42.6%)
Honorable Mention
PowerTOP (16.3%)
Because virtualization is such a fabulous and popular way to improve theefficiency of your servers, VMware landed the top spot in the FavoriteGreen Linux Product or Solution category. The PowerTOP tool for findingenergy wasters on your systems also is popular and won an honorable mentionat 16.3%. Although many readers earnestly consider energy consumption andenvironmental impacts in their data-center strategy, we were surprisedto see the high number of responses like "Hummer" and "I promote globalwarming". We wonder with concern, "How much good science is necessaryto convince us of the seriousness of our environmental challenges?"

Favorite Linux Book (revised or released in or after January 2007)
Linux System Administration by Tom Adelstein and Bill Lubanovic (O'Reilly) (16%)
Honorable Mentions
Linux System Programming by Robert Love (O'Reilly) (7.2%)
Official Ubuntu Book by BenjaminHill (Prentice Hall) (7%)
Practical Guide to Ubuntu Linuxby Mark G. Sobell (Prentice Hall) (6.6%)
There are so many great Linux books, how can one choose a favorite!Despite the amazing diversity, your clear winner for Favorite Linux Bookis O'Reilly's Linux System Administration by BillLubanovic and LJ regularTom Adelstein. Three other books clustered around the 6�7% mark, one from O'Reilly and two from Prentice Hall. Interestingly, severalof you mentioned that you don't read "analog" printed books anymore,only digital materials.


Favorite Linux Journal Column
Cooking with Linux by Marcel Gagn� (26.9%)
Honorable Mention
Work the Shell by Dave Taylor (15%)
Hack and / by Kyle Rankin (14.1%)

Looks like Marcel Gagn� is going to have to be knocked off beforeanyone knocks him off the award stand for Favorite LinuxJournal Column.Marcel's Cooking With Linux column, where Linux must be fun and one handmust remain free to fill the wineglass, has tickled and informed LinuxJournal readers since its inception more than 100 issues ago. The ever-popularDave Taylor also fared well (15%) for his Work the Shell column,and the upstart Hack and / from Kyle Rankin has become quite popular(14.1%) in its short life.

Linux Product of the Year
ASUS Eee PC (37.3%)
Honorable Mention
One Laptop Per Child (17.9%)
We are pleased to present you with your very own Linux Journal Readers'Choice Product of the Year...drumroll please...the ASUS Eee PC! Once again,we congratulate ASUS for making a great Linux product from the ground upand not as an afterthought. The win is well deserved due to the pureexcitement it has created in our community. And, it's created excitementhere at LJ as well―see Jes Hall's review of the ASUS Eee PC atwww.linuxjournal.com/article/9947, her "Hacking the EeePC" atwww.linuxjournal.com/article/10003 and Shawn Powers' video review atwww.linuxjournal.com/node/1005898. See also "Eee PC Gets anUpgrade" onpage 13 of this issue. We're also pleased to announce that theOLPC wins the Honorable Mention in this category; see Dave Phillips'"Sounding Out with the OLPC XO" on page 46 of this issue.


Weigh in on the debate in our on-line forum: www.linuxjournal.com/forums/hot-topics/programming-languages-vs-scripting-languages.


James Gray is Linux Journal Products Editor and agraduate student inenvironmental science and management at Michigan State University. A Linuxenthusiast since the mid-1990s, he currently resides in Lansing, Michigan,with his wife and cats.