A computer hardware problem caused more than 800,000 credit and debit card transactions to be double- or triple-billed last week at Wal-Mart stores nationwide, according to officials at First Data Corp., which handled the electronic payments.

SYWARE has announced FoneDB 2.0, the newest version of the company’s database software for Windows Mobile-powered Smartphones. FoneDB allows users to quickly and easily create personal databases.

Buffalo Technology has announced the latest addition to its AirStation series. The AirStation 54Mbps Wireless Cable/DSL Router with AOSS (WBR2-G54) combines 54Mbps of wireless data rates with Buffalo’s new connectivity and security technology, AOSS.

MagicScore Maestro is a music notation software application with extended editing capabilities and internal spell-checker. It features a variety of input methods, virtual keyboard, external MIDI devices, or an extended set of musical note symbols.

CREDANT Technologies has announced support for Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition software for Smartphones and Pocket PCs on CREDANT Mobile Guardian, its security and management software platform.

Here’s an open question to our Linux gurus out there. I’d like to back up a full Linux file system (containing a / partition, a /boot partition, and a /var partition — our firewall box). I don’t have a second volume on that drive. Is there a way I can back up everything, while the server is running, to a remote destination in such a way that it could later be restored, if necessary? I know that open database files might be problematic, and I’ll try to stop those services. If it’s possible, what’s the best way to do it? Also, any easy way of telling the distro a machine’s running? If you’ve got some ideas, please pop a note off to me at david@ZATZ.com. And now, I return you to our regularly scheduled news, and news editor James Booth. — DG

Royal Consumer Information Products will ship its delayed Linux-powered handheld sometime this spring. The Linea LX will use a Motorola i.MX1 ARM-based processor running at 200 MHz, the same chip used in the Tapwave Zodiac.