Security company Qualys has released a new open source tool, 'BlindElephant', which can accurately fingerprint web applications down to version level in order to better manage the security issues which now plague such software. According to the company, the need for such a tool is pressing.

If you are a web junkie, or depend upon various web sites and services daily you know how quickly your browser can fill up with tabs. Wouldn't it be nice if you can just use small web apps for these needs?

I don’t think it would surprise anyone that I respectfully disagree with this statement. I’m very supportive of his concern about cloud computing, and I agree that it’s something that the Free Software and Free Culture communities need to address. But in rejecting all network computing, I think RMS has thrown out the baby with the bathwater.

Concerned about the increasing popularity of Web applications, Marco Barulli of the Clipperz project has written one of the first detailed suggestions about how free and open source software (FOSS) should respond to the trend. Although neither Barulli nor Clipperz is well-known, his ideas are being listened to by such figures as Richard M.