OSOpinion: “We tend to focus on the cutting edge of technology, with the unspoken assumption that the cutting edge is best. Sometimes that assumption is not warranted. For example, the wheel is not going to be replaced by magnetic levitation on a large-scale basis any time soon. DOS is still alive in embedded systems, where the task to be performed gets better press than the technology behind it. However, the relegation of DOS to obsolescence is premature.” –Kelly McNeill

– by Tina Gasperson –
A visit to the Mandrakeuser.org (MUO) website is reassuring, like holding hands with your mom when you’re a little kid. She’d point to the lightning and say, “It’s scary, isn’t it? But you’re safe with me.” In much the same way, Tom Berger, the webmaster and wise man of MUO, takes Mandrake disciples deftly by the hand and leads them through Linuxland.Be assured, there is a lot to learn once you’ve taken the plunge into an Open Source operating system. The more you learn, the more you realize that resources like MUO are vital to your sanity. After all, LUGs are great, but not everyone manages to latch on to a real live mentor who is available 24 hours a day. That’s where Berger’s site comes in, at least for Mandrake users (though much of the advice at MUO is applicable to other distributions).

The site is plain-Jane, something all help-seekers should be grateful for, because fancy design and frilly graphics only slow down the answers to questions. MUO has nine major topic sections: administration, connectivity, hardware, installation, gnu/linux basics, other resources, security, troubleshooting, and X. The articles, for the most part, are easy, step by step instructions for things like using root, scheduling, using bash, upgrading the kernel, installing non-RPM programs, compiling source code, and lots of other important intelligence.

Where the tutorials fail at times: jargon usage without adequate translation, and lack of newbie-geared detail. It’s a forgiveable failing. When someone who is intimately familiar with a process or a culture speaks about it, he tends to overlook the fact that his listeners are clueless compared to him, and so includes specialized terms without explaining them, or leaves out elementary but essential processes. That happens a little bit here, even though Berger freely admits he’s not a programmer, just a relative newcomer to gnu/linux.

MUO also provides a user forum, in case you can’t find the answer to your burning question on the site, or if you have a tip to share with the world. The general discussion is the busiest section of the forum, though. It’s the place to go if you want chatty conversation – and questions about how to install stuff, etc. (It seems people don’t always bother to go to the correct section to post requests for help.)

MUO has a place right on the front page to sign up for the Mandrakeuser.org newsletter. I just recently subscribed to the weekly tome and so haven’t received my first issue. There is an archive on the site that stops back in July. I hope that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any new editions since then, because the old ones are interesting.

Tom’s ‘to-do’ list is posted right on the main page, too, but it looks like it’s gone ‘un-done’ for some time. Again, I hope that this is just a temporary lapse in the upkeep of the site, because it is definitely worth keeping current.

The site is downloadable as a zip or tar file, and this is current as of early November. Included in the site files is an about page that is not linked from anywhere in the site, that I’ve been able to ascertain. It’s a little look into the background of the webmaster and worth a read.

You’ll enjoy visiting this site whether you’re a Mandrake user or just a GNU/Linux generalist. Check it out.

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Tech TV reports on the US Senate’s continuing grilling of the FBI over it’s controversial Carnivore email sniffing software.

Linux World’s review of Netscape 6 puts the new browser behind expectations. Though unscientific, the review indicates Netscape 6 can take as much as five times longer then 4.7 to load under Linux.

ZDNet reports that DSPsoft has created a Linux-lookalike operating system that can run on 340K of RAM, and still be able to support some X capability.

Florida Today reports on NASA’s efforts to bring space home by putting helmet mounted cameras on two of the astronauts going to the space station this week, aboard the space shuttle Endeavor.

Linux Journal reminds us all that Open Source software, often referred to as “Free Software” is not always free and suggests ways to give back to the community.

O’Reilly discusses ways to reduce power consumption under Linux, using a combination of well chosen hardware and software commands to optimise power usage.

“Stephan (Somogyi on ZDNet) is of the opinion that Linux is mainstream and Open Source is so much more than just Linux. He ‘kvetches’ about the state of development of Darwin and how it’s not quite as open source as it should be, and that there are non-Apple employees doing the right thing but that the ‘list of Stuff That Needs Doing’ remains a long one. By catering to the Linux/FreeBSD/hacker/developer audience, Stephan is in his own way contributing to the FUD that we see around us.” That’s according to a piece at OS Opinion. –Kelly McNeill

“Do you desire more speed from your Linux system? We all do, so in this article we will cover ways of speeding up Linux.” More at OSFAQ.com.