Lineox releases first of many expected updates

Lineox, a Finnish Linux company that emerged from the book publishing industry, Monday released Lineox Enterprise Linux 3.001, the first revision of Lineox Enterprise Linux 3.0 in the company’s Always Current series.

Lineox is unusual in that it releases a new revision every time any bug or security fix is released, which eliminates the need for its customers to update previous packages. As a result, the system is secure from the start, the company contends.

As one might imagine, this means Lineo will be in the update business full time. The company expects to release new revisions of the Always Current Lineox Enterprise Linux once or twice per week.

“When you install an ordinary, partially outdated Linux distribution,
you have to download and install all the accumulated updates to ensure
you installation is current and secure,” said Lineox co-founder Raimo Koski. “Using Always Current Lineox Enterprise Linux, you install only current program packages and save both download and installation time.”

Lineox Enterprise Linux 3.0, an enterprise-level system without bundled
support options released on Jan. 29, is a new Linux distribution built from modified Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 sources, Koski said.

“Our previous distributions published by IT Press in Finland have been sold as books, and book buyers don’t usually expect technical support from the publisher or authors,” Koski said recently in DesktopLinux.com. “Lineox now is trying to expand its support, but we feel that support should be separated from products. The best support option would be some local company or consultant combined with Web or email-based support. Anyway, the customer should have the choice.”

Lineox Enterprise Linux 3.0 contains all freely distributable programs
found in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 AS/ES/WS, Red Hat Cluster Suite,
and Red Hat Developer Suite. As a preferred package management system,
Lineox Enterprise Linux 3.0 utilizes its own version of Debian’s apt-get, which resolves package
dependencies automatically. Lineox Enterprise Linux 3.0 users can use
apt-get to get security and feature updates from www.lineox.com and other sites. Synaptic, a graphical front end to apt-get, is also included.

“Lineox’s apt-get utility is a port of Debian’s apt tools for RPM-based distributions, originally for Conectiva and now including Red Hat Linux,” Koski said. “It provides a simpler, safer way to install and upgrade packages.
APT features complete installation ordering, multiple-source capability, and
several other features.”

Lineox Enterprise Linux 3.0 DVD-ROM is available directly from www.lineox.com and also from resellers. The suggested
retail price is 18 euros for the DVD-ROM and approximately 20 dollars or euros
for the separately sold printed Lineox Enterprise Linux 3.0 Installation
Guide.