Rogue file sharing via IRC bots

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May 10, 2002

infoanarchy.org writes: “A number of underground file-sharing networks have recently grown which utilise hacked third-party resources. The files traded tend to have large transfers, eg dvd movies and software application files.”

Embedded Linux Journal announces NIC contest winners

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May 10, 2002

Anonymous Reader writes: “The Embedded Linux Journal has announced the winners of their second annual design contest, which was based on projects using the New Internet Computer (NIC) as a platform. From twenty finalists selected last August who were sent NICs and later submitted their results, one winner and two runners-up have now been selected. The grand prize winner receives an all-expense-paid trip to Costa Rica, and the two runners-up each receive a Lego Mindstorms package.”

Caldera eSTREET for Partners — May 2002 Edition

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May 10, 2002

Paul Hatch writes: “Caldera eSTREET Newsletter — May 2002 Edition.
================================================== ====================
In May’s edition:

* Caldera Executive Message – Caldera Forum 2002: Bigger and Better Than Ever
* Caldera Forum 2002 – Bigger and Better Than Ever
* Compaq-Caldera Complete Solution
* Caldera Product Announcements
* Partner Spotlight – Adaptec, Inc.
* Solutions Showcase CD – Order One FREE Today!
* Technical Corner – Developing with XML, Tips and More
* Caldera Partner Program – Solutions Directory and Services Updates
* Made For Caldera – New Solutions From Caldera Partners
* Caldera News – Articles, News and More

(For the web version, please visit http://www.caldera.com/partners/estreet/0205)
================================================== ====================
Caldera Executive Message – Caldera Forum 2002: Bigger and Better Than Ever

Curt Porritt, Director of Corporate Strategy and Business Development announces the next chapter in Caldera Forum. Due to the worldwide demand for Caldera solutions, Forum 2002 will take place in various geographies around the world. Due to the geographical nature of these events, we have decided to refer to Forum this year as ‘GeoForum.’

http://www.caldera.com/partners/estreet/0205/exec. html

================================================== ====================
Caldera GeoForum – Powerful Choices for Caldera Partners

As Caldera International looks for ways to engage our partners around the world, a new format for Forum is taking shape. As mentioned by Curt Porritt in this month’s Executive Message we are bringing Forum to you through the new ‘GeoForum’ format.

Get more details about this exciting change!
http://www.caldera.com/partners/estreet/0205/forum . tml

================================================== ====================
Compaq-Caldera Complete Solution

How do two companies create the necessary partnership to help a war-torn nation modernize itself? The key is found in the relationships that begin at the top.

Explore the Compaq-Caldera story as it relates to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
http://www.caldera.com/partners/estreet/0205/compa q.html

AbiWord 1.0.1 quick look

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May 10, 2002

Anonymous Reader writes: “Check out AbiWord 1.0.1! MozillaQuest Magazine (MozillaQuest.com) reports: “AbiWord 1.0.1 now is available for downloading. You can download the source code or you can download binary builds — your choice. . . . AbiWord is a very nice, lightweight, Microsoft Word clone. It looks and feels very much as MS Word looks and feels. You can use AbiWord for word-processing [or] a WYSIWYG . . . HTML authoring program.”

“SOT Office 2002 . . . another . . . MS Office clone. . . . word-processing module has more features, including better table support, than does AbiWord. However, SOT Office has a much heavier footprint than does AbiWord — but you are getting a word-processor plus spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing modules with SOT Office.”

“AbiWord takes only about 5-MB of MS Windows memory whereas SOT Office takes about 37-MB and MS Office takes about 18-MB.”

Check this MozillaQuest.com story for details, screen shots, & download links.

“

Category:

Open Source

Red Hat puts out a new release and offensive

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May 10, 2002

Timothy R. Butler writes: “RedHat, Inc., the leading Linux vendor, announced the availability of RedHat Linux 7.3 earlier this week. The new package looks very much like the latest Mandrake and SuSE Linux releases in respect to the software included, save a few surprises mentioned below. Interestingly enough, it seems that the most intriguing part of the new release is not the distribution at all. Read more at Open for Business“

Category:

Linux

Report roasts Linux on mainframes

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May 10, 2002

ZDNET has published its own version of a report on the “It’s a nice place to visit…” study that says Linux is not mature enough for data centers. ZD has pointed out that the experts think Linux isn’t good enough because users have to update so frequently to fix errors. Yeah, so much more than Windows and NT users.

IBM in US jobs cull

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May 10, 2002

theregister.co.uk, citing the Wall Street Journal, says IBM will get rid of 8,000 employees this quarter alone, after profits have not been what they should.

YaSR (Yet another SuSE Review)

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May 10, 2002

jleveille writes: “With this being our first installation, and look at SuSE, I dare say we are impressed. SuSE has done an excellent job with the installation, it can be as easy as 1,2,3, or as detailed as you would like. The YaST (Yet another System Tool) system for both installation and system configuration is easy to use and powerful. Updates and patches are just a couple clicks away and adding software from the packaged CD’s is a breeze. Hardware support is top notch. This is an excellent system for both the beginner and advanced user alike.Full Review“

Category:

Linux

Mozilla chief: RC2 and what happens after that

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May 10, 2002

– By Grant Gross –

The Mozilla Web browser project has been getting a lot of mainstream ink lately, with the impending release of 1.0. The project that’s been over three years in the making is creating a lot of anticipation, from the regular tech media, but also from the likes of Time.com [link is to NewsForge summary; the original Time.com story has moved to its “pay for” archive].
With all this watching for 1.0, we thought it was time to catch up with chief lizard wrangler Mitchell Baker and ask her what’s next. Late Wednesday, Baker announced plans for a RC2 release to follow Release Candidate 1, and Mozilla.org has an updated project roadmap that shows where its headed. For another recent Q&A with Baker, with more of a big-picture bent, check out this story from ZDNet.

NewsForge: How did the team decide there was a need for an RC2 release?

Baker: RC1 received very good reviews. It also spurred the identification of a set of issues that we would like to see fixed before Mozilla 1.0. In making the decision to release an RC2 we looked at the bugs nominated by the community for inclusion in RC2. For a subset of those bugs the usefulness of having them fixed outweighed the additional time required before a Mozilla 1.0 release.

NewsForge: Any chance of a RC3 release as well?

Baker: We expect RC2 to be released very shortly, within the week. In the meantime, we have created a tracking mechanism for remaining issues that could possibly be important enough to warrant fixing before Mozilla 1.0. We will ask the community to test RC2 thoroughly and nominate those bugs, if any, that could rise to this importance. Then mozilla.org’s project management team (known as “drivers”) will evaluate any bugs nominated, using stringent evaluation criteria. So it is possible that something will require an additional release candidate.

NewsForge: How much pressure do you and the team feel about getting a 1.0 release close to perfect?

Baker: We are not striving for perfection, and so this is not a source of great pressure. But there is pressure, and it comes from striving for the right balance between including a small set of additional fixes and finalizing the 1.0 release. We evaluate this constantly and feel the pressure acutely.

NewsForge: What are the issues left before a 1.0 release? And, I have to ask. 🙂 Any predictions about the date of a 1.0 release?

Baker: The things we care about before Mozilla 1.0 are API and stability issues where a few days will make a noticeable difference in the ease with which people can use Mozilla. RC2 will have only a fraction as many fixes in it as did RC1.We haven’t designated a date for Mozilla 1.0.

NewsForge: How important is it for 1.0 to get good reviews from users?

Baker: Mozilla releases are intended for the development community rather than the general consumer market. Mozilla.org is not set up for marketing, distribution or support for the consumer market; we rely on companies building Mozilla products to do that. So we’re not expecting millions of consumers to rush out and test Mozilla. The end-user applications in Mozilla (browsing, mail, news and chat) are end-user quality, but we don’t have the organization to reach this market. So we’re not expecting millions of consumers to download and review Mozilla.

That being said, Mozilla does have an end-user community. It includes both developers who use Mozilla technology for their projects, and people who simply want the browsing, mail news and chat applications we offer. It’s important that Mozilla 1.0 be useful both to people who want to use the applications and to people who use Mozilla technology to build products. Good reviews are one measure of this.

Mandrake Linux community newsletter #42

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May 10, 2002

This Week’s Summary: Incident-based Support Packs at MandrakeStore;
Latest MandrakeClub Activities; Business Case of the Week; Mandrake in
the News; KDE3 Packages for 8.2 PPC; Spotlight on DrakX “Kick Start”;
This Week’s Online Survey; Errata Updates for 8.2 x86 & PPC;
Security-related Software Updates; Headlines from MandrakeForum.

MandrakeStore
----------------------------------------
MandrakeSoft Support Services -- Purchase support as you need it.
Perfect for people who require support for Mandrake products after the 
complimentary support period has ended, MandrakeSoft now offers an 
incident-based program that provides quality web-based technical 
assistance that scales easily to fit your requirements. Support can be 
purchased in convenient packs of 1, 5 or 10 support incidents.

For product information and pricing, please see:
http://www.mandrakestore.com/


MandrakeClub
----------------------------------------
Getting Started with StarOffice 6.0.
A new article shows how to get started with the StarOffice 6.0 office 
suite. Readers are welcome to share their own StarOffice tips & tricks 
by posting comments at the end of the story.
http://www.mandrakeclub.com/article.php?sid=26

--

The recent article "Ask Mandrake: The future direction of the 
distribution" is now closed. We are currently sorting and grouping your 
comments (over 200!), and will present them to MandrakeSoft executives 
this week. Thanks for all the thoughtful suggestions.

Not yet a Mandrake Club member? To learn more, please visit:
http://mandrakelinux.com/en/club/


Business Case of the Week
----------------------------------------
Belgocontrol - the control center for Belgian air traffic -- uses 
Mandrake Linux on workstations and servers.

Their current deployment includes:
 - Server Compaq Proliant: Mandrake 8.1 enterprise
 - 20 development workstations: Mandrake 8.0 
 - Multiple firewalls: Mandrake 8.1 enterprise
 - 2 monitoring workstations: Mandrake 8.1
 - 1 print server: Mandrake 8.1 enterprise

Eric Bogaerts of Belgocontrol quotes some statistics:
 - Number of daily crashes: 0
 - Number of insoluble problems: 0
 - Number of serious problems: 0
 - Ease of implementation: too easy
 - Time to install the current configuration: 15 days (including net
    stability)
http://www.mandrakebizcases.com/article.php?sid=282

Every "bizcase" counts; please share your story by submitting it to 
MandrakeBizcases.com.
http://www.mandrakebizcases.com/submit.php


Mandrake in the News
----------------------------------------
TuxPPC.com -- Review: Mandrake PPC 8.2.
TuxPPC, the popular website dedicated to Linux on the PowerPC platform, 
offers a complimentary review of Mandrake Linux 8.2 PPC:

"All in all, I think Mandrake has done it, the first PPC distribution 
that installed perfectly and automagically on my iBook. I didn't have 
to manually correct one single setting. And I think that's quite 
amazing, as it eventually makes a Linux install as effortless as a 
MacOS or Windows install.

Therefore, I believe there can't be any better distribution for 
unexperienced PPC Linux users than Mandrake PPC. It's worth every cent 
you spend on it."
http://www.tuxppc.com/plain_page.php?caller=imaclinux.php3+record=95


What's Cookin' at MandrakeSoft?
----------------------------------------
MandrakeSoft PPC developer Stew Benedict has recently uploaded over 340 
new packages to cooker-ppc. He also reports: "The bulk of 
KDE3 built for 8.2 PPC should be up on the mirrors now, in the 
'contribs' section."

KDE3 packages are intended to be installed in parallel with KDE 2.2.2, 
which makes it possible to use KDE 2.2.2 applications that haven't been 
ported to KDE 3.0 yet. For this reason, the KDE3 packages are installed 
into /opt/kde3.

Please note: These packages are unsupported and are intended for users 
who enjoy the "bleeding edge" -- use at your own risk. For all the 
details, plus installation instructions, please see the following page:
http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/mdk-kde3.0.php3


Spotlight on the DrakX 'Kick Start'
----------------------------------------
Have you ever installed Mandrake Linux on multiple machines, but wished 
you didn't have to sit in front of each computer filling in the blanks, 
picking this and that and hoping that you correctly remembered the 
selections from a previous install? Then you're in luck. Mandrake user 
David Eastcott has extensively documented the 8.2 "Auto Install" 
feature (a.k.a. Kick Start) and makes it available from his website.

An Automated Installation is ideal for situations where the same 
'Install' set is to be conducted on multiple computers. This extensive 
how-to provides an overview of the complete process, plus details about 
the Install disks and the configuration files which drive the 
installation process.

Chapters include:

* Getting Started
* Anatomy of the files
* Advanced Features
* Creating an Updated Installation CD Set
* Setting up a Simple NFS Server
* Network and Connection Examples
http://members.shaw.ca/mandrake/


This Week's Survey
----------------------------------------
The cute penguins were removed in Mandrake 8.2...

* Good!!!! Hope they never return.  [:-)] 
* I want them back!!!!  [:-(] 
* Who cares?
* Penguins? Gone? Eer... ?:-O 

Cast your vote in the Voting Booth and check the results:
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/pollBooth.php?op=results&pollID=33


Website Updates
----------------------------------------
Errata pages, which describe known problems and how to solve them, 
are released simultaneously on MandrakeForum and on the Mandrake Linux 
website to make locating solutions easier.

Mandrake Linux 8.2/PPC errata.
Some users have encountered problems installing or using the 8.2/PPC 
release due to specific configurations that we did not have an 
opportunity to fully test. Topics include:

* Error -39 while unpacking the BootX installer package. 
* The BootX installer package doesn't work with languages other than
  English. 
* Black screen on iMacs with Riva128 video 
* Sleep issue with Radeon TiBooks 
* Unable to boot NewWorld system after successful installation 
* Troubleshooting potential video problems
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/82errata-ppc.php3

--

8.2 errata additions for x86.
Just added to the errata page for Mandrake Linux 8.2:
* XFree86 unstable when using KDM with some graphics cards
* Problems installing on K6-2 systems with an SiS530 or VIA MVP3 chipset
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/82errata.php3


Software Updates
----------------------------------------
Security-related software updates have been released for:

libsafe -- updated md5sums

View the complete list at:
http://www.mandrakesecure.net


Headlines from MandrakeForum
----------------------------------------
Mandrake on a Wal-Mart OS-less PC.
Denis discusses a NewsForge article where Rus Pavlicek describes buying 
a Wal-Mart OS-less box and installing Linux, including Mandrake. Deno 
adds: "...at least one guy (Tim Bergen) acknowledged that he already 
bought one of their boxes, and that it works fine with MandrakeLinux."
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=2105

Beyond Advocacy - Promote and Advertise.
Mandrake user 'treeg2' posts several good suggestions for effectively 
promoting and advocating Mandrake Linux to Windows users.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=2103

Crappy hardware.
'Anonymous' writes: "I have a problem, and I've been asking for help 
for a while and nobody could come up with a solution. I have a very old 
notebook, 386 processor with 4 MB RAM and floppy is the only input, 
which linux would run with this limited hardware, and where to find it?
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=2102

Advantages of club membership for a computer hobbyists association.
Deno presents a possible way of introducing student discounts, and 
making "Corporate Club" membership attractive for non profit 
organizations at the same time. What do you think of it?
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=2099

Read these and other stories at MandrakeForum
http://www.MandrakeForum.com/

----------------------------------------

Category:

Linux