this "Linux Product Insider" features "PDF Gets ISO Standard", Imation's Atom Flash Drive, Sabayon Linux 3.5, VariCAD 2008 2.0, Arkeia's EdgeFort 500 Series Backup Appliance and the book Investigatng Digital Crime.

Here is this week's Linux product news:

PDF Format Becomes ISO Standard

As supporters of open standards cheer, the ubiquitous Portable Document Format (PDF) recently became accessible as an ISO International Standard, i.e. ISO 32000-1. Adobe Systems, the original developer and copyright owner of the PDF format relinquished its control to ISO, who is now in charge of publishing the specifications for the current version (1.7) and for updating and developing future versions. Adobe's CTO, Kevin Lynch stated that "As governments and organizations increasingly request open formats, maintenance of the PDF specification by an external and participatory organization will help continue to drive innovation and expand the rich PDF ecosystem that has evolved over the past 15 years."

http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1141

Imation's Atom Flash Drive

For those who can't get their portable storage small enough, check out Imation's new Atom Flash Drive, the company's smallest. Around the size of a paper clip and weighing less than one ounce, the Atom features a compact design, password protection, partitioning software and (not that we care) Windows Vista ReadyBoost compatibility. It comes in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities.

http://www.imation.com/flash

Sabayon Linux 3.5

When a Linux distribution markets itself with the tagline "Dreams we can believe in", you can't help but be curious to see what it's all about. Such is the hope of the Sabayon Linux team, which has just released v3.5 of its Gentoo-based distro. Besides having its own official music and groovy design work all around, Sabayon 3.5 offers features such as very fast boot time (~30 seconds), out-of-the-box hardware detection, easy-to-setup 3D desktop, wide range of applications and desktops and more. Furthermore, it includes Entropy, which Sabayon says is the "Cool, Exclusive, Fast, User-oriented, Sabayon Linux Package Manager, Portage compatible, written from scratch." A list of download sites is available on Sabayon's Web site.

http://www.sabayonlinux.org

VariCAD 2008 2.0

The new VariCAD 2008 2.0 is a 3D/2D CAD system intended for use in mechanical engineering design. Core features include: tools for 3D modeling and 2D drafting and dimensioning; libraries of standard mechanical parts (ANSI, DIN); calculations of standard mechanical components; and tools for working with bills of materials (BOM) and blocks. This new version adds new features like 32- and 64-bit versions, a 2D drawing editor that also works in 3D space, and improvements in 2D drawing, colors and color settings and 3D display and object selection. A free 30-day trial version is available for download.

http://www.varicad.com

Arkeia's EdgeFort 500 Series Backup Appliance

Arkeia is expanding its appliance business with the new EdgeFort 500 Series, an all-in-one, hardware and software backup system. This set of appliances comes standard with 5TB virtual tape library (expandable to 10TB), disk-to-disk-to-tape management software, Fibre Channel connectivity and is fully integrated with Arkeia's network backup software. Arkeia's federated data management architecture allows remote and centralized data protection, making it possible for remote offices and branch offices to backup, restore and archive critical data, with no local IT resource needed. The EdgeFort 500 series is for the largest datacenters, while the earlier 100, 200 and 300 models were for small, medium and large ones.

http://www.arkeia.com

Robin Phillip Bryant's Investigatng Digital Crime (Wiley)

If you are interested in the societal impacts of digital technologies, specifically their criminal exploitation, then get your hands on Robin Phillip Bryant's Investigatng Digital Crime from Wiley. This book examines the reaction to these technologies by the criminal justice system, both from legislative and enforcement perspectives, and provides a clear account of the different forms of digital crime. Included are detailed descriptions and analyses of digital crimes such as smart card crime, cyber crimes and telecommunication crimes in relation to a number of theoretical perspectives. The book clearly identifies the relationship between developments in digital technologies and changes in criminal behavior. The book also examines enlightening case studies from around the world.

http://www.wiley .com

To send feedback on this article, or to send product news, please contact Products Editor, James Gray at jgray@linuxjournal.com.

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