Sun Microsystems has released the source code of its StarOffice suite, the company announced via Linux PR.

ThinkFree Office (what a name, huh?) has rolled out a suite of office software that works across multiple OSes, including Linux and Windows. GNULinux.com staffers review it, and like what they see.

Linux certification company Sair has announced that global publisher John Wiley & Sons will publish a second series of test preparation guides for the Sair Linux and GNU Certification program, according to Linux PR. The series will cover the program’s Linux Certified Engineer (LCE) level and be released in 2001.

–By Grant Gross –

Free Software and consumer-rights activists are asking for their positions to be heard during a digital rights management workshop sponsored by the Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Critics say the panel as of now — with bigwig representatives from the Motion Picture Association of America, Recording Industry Association of America, EMI, Disney, Microsoft, and ContentGuard — sounds like a “pep rally for Hollywood.”
Of 17 panelists scheduled to speak at the workshop Wednesday afternoon, only two — Digitalconsumer.org and the Home Recording Rights Coalition — appear to be opposed to Big Hollywood’s vision of digital “rights management.” But consumer-rights activists are expected to show up in force, including representatives of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Free Software Foundation and New York’s Linux community.

“These panelists represent the major forces who have prompted
Congress to propose such radical measures as Senator Fritz Holling’s CBDTPA bill, which proposes to require content control to be built into all computers,” says Seth Johnson, of the Information Producers Initiative. “Since the public holds the largest stake in the prospects of digital information and communications technology, it is crucial that a strong showing be made at this meeting.” More of Johnson’s “We are the Stakeholders” message he’s been circulating is at the Information Producers Initiative Web site.

Members of the public are able to comment on digital rights management at the Technology Administration’s Web site. Among the topics the Commerce Department is asking for comments on (our comments follow):

• “The effectiveness of efforts to pursue technical standards or solutions that are designed to provide a more predictable and secure environment for digital transmission of copyrighted material.” While at the same time taking away the public’s fair-use rights to copyrighted material?

• “Major obstacles facing an open commercial exchange of digital content.” Could an obstacle to exchanging digital content be the commercial entities themselves?

• “What a future framework for success might entail.” If it’s up to the RIAA, the MPAA and Microsoft, success is a lock-down on all digital content.

• “Current consumer attitude towards online entertainment.” Perhaps that fat-cat entertainment companies are trying to get richer by controlling every little detail about how their customers use legally purchased products?

Consumer-rights activists are also encouraging people to contact their congressional representatives to ask about fair representation on this panel and about digital “rights management” issues in general. [See the “What you can do NOW!” comment on the above linkedNewsForge NewsVac item.]

Cheryl Mendonsa, a public affairs officer for the Technology Administration, encourages people to comment on the Web site or to show up at the workshop, from 1 to 4 p.m. While she notes that only two consumer groups are on the panel, she adds, “we’re in no way trying to leave the public out.”

Comments from the Web site will be posted, she says, and members of the audience should have time to ask questions Wednesday. The workshop, a follow-up to one held last December, is a chance to “button-hole” big players in the debate, she adds, although it’s hard for us to imagine someone changing Disney’s opinion during a five-minute discussion

The purpose of the workshops is to get both sides on the issue together and talking, Mendonsa says, but there’s no specific goal of introducing digital “rights management” legislation based on what happens during the workshop. “We’ve got two sides that disagree, and we can’t move forward until we solve the problems,” she says. “Let’s solve the problems and move forward.”

It should be interesting to see if the workshop moves the two sides closer together.

LuteLinux simplifies. We make Linux easy to install and use. We
distribute Linux with an easy installer, and a great deal of application software. We are the provider of choice for installations, documentation,
training and certification, consulting and administration.

LuteLinux.com
is THE base on the web for LuteLinux information, downloads, support,
training, certification, and consulting.

Website : www.lutelinux.com
Contact : info@lutelinux.com
 

The following patch will change the behavior of the window maker dock to that of the clip allowing you to place icons in any arbitrary order.

(click the read more button for the patch)

---

Author: Mike Baker

--- wmaker-0.61.1.orig/src/dock.c Mon Sep 27 11:58:05 1999
+++ wmaker-0.61.1/src/dock.c Tue Nov 2 18:34:12 1999
@@ -1231,10 +1231,7 @@
dock = wmalloc(sizeof(WDock));
memset(dock, 0, sizeof(WDock));

- if (type == WM_CLIP)
icon_count = CLIP_MAX_ICONS;
- else
- icon_count = scr->scr_height/wPreferences.icon_size;

dock->icon_array = wmalloc(sizeof(WAppIcon*)*icon_count);
memset(dock->icon_array, 0, sizeof(WAppIcon*)*icon_count);
@@ -1673,14 +1670,6 @@
wwarning(_("bad value in docked icon state info %s"),
PLGetString(dPosition));

- /* check position sanity */
- /* incomplete section! */
- if (type == WM_DOCK) {
- aicon->xindex = 0;
- if (aicon->yindex xindex, aicon->yindex);
- }
} else {
aicon->yindex = index;
aicon->xindex = 0;
@@ -2538,82 +2527,30 @@
return False;

if (dock->type == WM_DOCK) {
- if (icon->dock != dock && ex_x != 0)
- return False;
-
+ int neighbours = 0;
aicon = NULL;
for (i=0; imax_icons; i++) {
nicon = dock->icon_array[i];
- if (nicon && nicon->yindex == ex_y) {
+ if (nicon && nicon->xindex == ex_x && nicon->yindex == ex_y) {
aicon = nicon;
break;
}
}
-
- if (redocking) {
- int sig, done, closest;
-
- /* Possible cases when redocking:
- *
- * icon dragged out of range of any slot -> false
- * icon dragged to range of free slot
- * icon dragged to range of same slot
- * icon dragged to range of different icon
- */
- if (abs(ex_x) > DOCK_DETTACH_THRESHOLD)
- return False;
-
- if (ex_y>=0 && ex_y= 0) {
- for (j = 0; jmax_icons; j++) {
- if (dock->icon_array[j]
- && dock->icon_array[j]->yindex==closest) {
- /* slot is used by someone else */
- if (dock->icon_array[j]!=icon)
- done = 0;
+ for (i=0; imax_icons; i++) {
+ nicon = dock->icon_array[i];
+ if (nicon && nicon != icon && /* Icon can't be it's own neighbour */
+ (abs(nicon->xindex - ex_x) yindex - ex_y) = 0 && closest = closest && ex_y - closest = 0 && ex_y 

‘vim’ (vi Improved) has built in syntax highlighting. To enable this, simply enter command mode (:) and type syntax on. You can even add your own syntax highlighting schemes, which are placed in /usr/share/vim/syntax

---

Author: Marius Aamodt Eriksen

Did you know the IEEE is responsibe for the MAC (machine address) of your network card? Click here and punch in the first 6 hex digits of your card (3 bytes) to see the manufacturer.
On a related note, you can also have your card use a different MAC address

ifconfig eth1 hw ether deadbeef0001
(this needs do be done while the card is down for obvious reasons)

now your card will answer all arp requests with DE:AD:BE:EF:00:01.

Note:

The kernel performs this trick on most cards by setting the card into promiscuous mode and using software to filter out all MACs that aren’t yours which stands to reason it would be slightly slower than just using your real MAC.

---

Author: Mike Baker

Elfstone Linux is a highly stable Linux distribution
specifically designed for
programmers, engineers and network administrators. This distro is a networking specific OS and perhaps the most Unix-like of all commercial
distributions. Keeping it simple, thin, and fast is the common sense principal and basis for all Elfstone products.

Elfstone Linux

Elfstone Linux is a highly stable Linux distribution designed specifically for programmers,
engineers, and network administrators. As a real
network OS and perhaps the most Unix-like of all commercial distributions, Elfstone Linux is built around the OSF Motif 2.1 API with a universal
package management feature. This distribution currently based on the .RPM format easily allows for the installation of both RPMs and Tar/Tar.gz
packages.

Unlike other commercial distributions, Elfstone Linux was not designed from the installation perspective to share disk partitions with other
operating systems. Elfstone Linux is among the first distributions to provide USB
support as well as the highly intuitive, and extremely fast, interface that is a Motif/Athena hybrid.

Click for screen shots

The key to the outstanding performance of Elfstone Linux is really very simple. When servers are called upon to perform specific tasks, potential
points of failure are created when the software includes more than what is required to perform these functions.

Keeping it simple, is the common sense principal and basis for the development of all Elfstone products. Elfstone Linux contains only the software
that is necessary to operate your network each and every day without fail. Each app has been chosen strictly on the basis of
functionalityand reliability. While Linux has many fine applications available, we believe there is no need to load working servers with
unnecessary software.

Here is a quick list of what’s included with Elfstone Linux

• The Linux 2.2.6 kernel with supporting libraries.
• The Xfree86 windowing system with supporting libraries.
• The GNU gcc compiler and supporting tools.
• The Elfstone RTX Runtime libraries based on OSF Motif 2.1.
• An excellent collection of handpicked system administration tools.
• An efficient universal package management system tool.

  For more information about Elfstone Linux, please visit our website at
  http://www.elflinux.com

The Best Linux operating system is easy to install with no
complicated options. Graphical installation goes smoothly, either on a new computer or beside another operating system. Selecting which operating
system to start is simple thanks to an advanced graphical boot menu.

Versatile
Best Linux is perfectly suited for use in the home, as a workstation or an internet
server.

Easy to install and versatile

The Best Linux operating system is easy to install with no complicated options.
Graphical installation goes smoothly, either on a new computer or beside another
operating system. Selecting which operating system to start is simple thanks to
an advanced graphical boot menu.

Best Linux starts straight into a graphical Windows-like KDE-desktop which
includes almost all of the software that you use daily. The multilingual desktop
consist of multiple workspaces to help you group your tasks. You can use one workspace
for work matters, another to surf the internet and a third e.g. for writing a
book. All this is possible due to Best Linux’s superior multi-tasking.

Best Linux supports networks

With Best Linux it’s easy to connect to the Internet. Largely based on Unix
servers, the Internet functions perfectly with Linux, a variety of Unix. You will
notice the difference in its superior performance and security. Best Linux will
not easily become infected by viruses which spread over the Internet. The operating
system includes a wide range of internet services, which gives you the opportunity
e.g. to easily build your own email and Web server. Best Linux functions as a
reliable and robust server for local area networks. It serves e.g. Windows and
NT workstations as a file and print server. A Best Linux file server for Windows
workstations outperforms NT in speed.

Better value from the most popular Linux in Finland

Best Linux is a completely free operating system with open source code. Because
of this, anyone can participate in developing it. This ensures that new drivers
and fixes are quickly produced. Linux is an operating system made by and for its
users, of which it has nearly 20 million around the globe. In only 4 months Best
Linux has become the most popular Linux distribution in Finland, the home of Linux.
It differs from other Linuxes in its reliability and precise refinement.

After an easy installation Best Linux requires almost no configuring or fine-tuning,
because we’ve already done that for you. Best Linux is also more secure. At boot,
no unnecessary programs are started automatically. For home users Best Linux offers
a CD-ROM full of carefully tested and selected Linux games. To guarantee a successful
installation we provide you with an installation support service during the life
span of the program. And finally, as an extra bonus we will ship you the latest
installation CD after you have registered your Best Linux for free. This guarantees
that your Best Linux Box is always up-to-date regardless of the date of purchase.

How does Best Linux compare with other distributions? See our comparison chart for
details.

Includes over 2000 applications: Star Office(tm), games, multimedia, desktop publishing, utilities, programming languages, compilers, databases, instructions and manuals, …

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (R2):

Kernel 2.2.14
XFree86 3.3.6 and 4.0
KDE 1.1.2
Star Office(tm) 5.1a

Languages supported by Best Linux: Finnish, Swedish, English, Russian, Estonian,
French, German and Spanish. Other languages which are not yet completely supported
are Czech, Danish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish,
Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Turkish and Ukrainian. Please see the todo
directory in your installation CD.

CONTENTS:

Complete documentation

A printed manual and reference book.

Thousands of pages of manuals and instructions in electronic format
to help you to configure, fine-tune and utilize your Best Linux Operating System

4 CD-ROMs in a handy box

Best Linux Installation CD

Best Linux Source code CD

Best Linux Games CD

Well-tested Linux games and emulators, e.g. DOS, Atari ST, Amiga, C64, C128,
VIC20, PET, ZX Spectrum, Gameboy, Nintendo, ZX81.

Best Linux Software Library CD

A comprehensive software collection.

Installation support in English, Finnish, Russian and Estonian

System requirements and supported hardware

All processors from Intel 386 to the latest Pentium III and compatible

Hard disk space at least 160 MB for minimal, 900 MB for typical and
1400 MB for full installations excluding swap

Minimum of 32 MB RAM, 64 MB or more recommended

CD-ROM

Best Linux also supports most video cards, monitors, sound cards, printers,
network cards, IDE, Ultra DMA (33 and 66) and SCSI hard disks, scanners, modems,
ISDN cards, some USB devices and many other peripherals. Further information regarding
supported hardware can be obtained from Hardware Compatibility
List.

Support and training

Price includes the most recent installation CD update sent to you by
mail after registration and an installation support service during the life span
of the program delivered by SOT Support System.

The latest updates are available at ftp.bestlinux.net.

Best Linux news group alt.os.linux.best
and mailing lists provide a forum for discussions and
fast answers to your questions about Best Linux

Commercial technical support

Training and certification

Publication

Title: Best Linux 2000 R2 (Moscow)
Author: SOT Finnish Software Engineering Ltd. and others
Publisher: SOT Finnish Software Engineering Ltd, Finland
Date: 11.5.2000
UPC-code: 69871732000
ISBN (User Manual): 952-5320-02-2
Language : English

For more information, please see: http://www.bestlinux.net/

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, StarOffice and StarOffice
logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems,
Inc. in the United States and other countries, and are used under
license.