Eugene von Niederhausern writes, “L4sb.com has a short
editorial illustrating how the ‘power users’ of a business can get more done with Linux. The editorial includes two scenarios where the author feels Linux provides a much better solution for these common and not-so-common problems.”

Anonymous Reader writes, “I love SCSI Raid systems as much as the next person. However, sometimes you need something a little less costly. I needed to update my test network. Of course what I wished to have just was not cost effective (nor realistic).”

Read the full review at www.linuxlookup.com.

LinuxSecurity Contributor writes, “This month’s Crypto-Gram includes information on Oracle’s “Unbreakable” claim, reader comments, and
thoughts on Microsoft and Trustworthy Computing. “they’re going to have to reverse their mentality of
treating security problems as public-relations problems. I’d like to see honesty from Microsoft about their
security problems.”
http://www.linuxsecurity.com/articles/cryptography _article-4455.html

ITwales.com interviews major Linux kernel hacker Alan Cox and asks him questions like: “You?re a leading kernel developer on Linux. What exactly does your role entail?
“

– By Russell C. Pavlicek –

As someone who writes about Open Source, I spend quite a bit of time
considering its future in the enterprise. I don’t spend
much time reflecting on how Open Source can improve on the technology of
yesteryear. But there are people who do just that.

Consider MS-DOS. If you are my age (old enough that it takes too long to
calculate how old you really are), you remember MS-DOS. And if you
think about it too long and hard, you might begin to get the shakes
remembering the machinations required to manage memory, load CDROM
drivers, and get the graphics to display correctly.

DOS. It’s one of those things that is best left buried in the crevices of
time. Or so I thought.

Believe it or not, there are Open Source developers busily building a
better DOS. Why? Because DOS is a long standing platform that is still
used for some embedded applications. And embedded applications need a
reliable, inexpensive base. With MS-DOS no longer an important product
for Microsoft and its cost relatively significant to embedded developers,
some folks believed there was a need for an Open Source DOS-compatible
operating system.

FreeDOS was a project started in 1994 to counteract Microsoft’s stated intentions to do away with MS-DOS and move everyone to Windows. It employs no Microsoft code and is designed to be a work-alike equivalent to MS-DOS. FreeDOS does not guarantee that it does everything the same way
MS-DOS does, but it attempts to get it all done nonetheless. The
specification for FreeDOS is derived from public documentation describing
MS-DOS. It is still in beta test, but the system is quite usable.
Currently, FreeDOS is at version Ripcord Beta 7, aka “SPEARS.”

I resurrected an old 120 MHz 486/DX4 12MB machine in my basement and
proceeded to get to work. Because my machine is equipped with a 270 MB
disk drive, it has more than enough space to install the entire operating
system and its source code (when was the last time a 270 MB disk was more
than enough space for anything?). In fact, the total installation took
only about 35 MB of disk space.

The installation of FreeDOS was simple enough, once I got my old hardware
running. I downloaded the ISO image from Freedos.org’s download page, burned the CD, and cut the boot floppy. The FreeDOS CD does include a CD driver, but my 4x IDE CDROM was so old that it wasn’t recognized. So I had to use an old
vendor-supplied CDROM driver I had lying around. The installation
requires that you stay around during the process, because it constantly asks
for verification about installing various elements of the system. It is
not a large burden, though, because installation only takes a few minutes.

Booting up the system looks different than MS-DOS. First, there’s a neat
little boot manager that allows you to boot multiple operating
systems. This is very useful in a development situation. Next, the
boot-up messages are very different. This is not surprising, considering
the various drivers identify themselves as they load.

Once the system is booted, you are likely to notice that some things are familiar, while others have changed slightly. The output of the
“dir” command looks just like I remember from MS-DOS. The “edit” command
looks spookily like the MS-DOS “edit” command. Most of the normal DOS
commands look about the same under FreeDOS. Some commands (like “mem”)
use slightly different switches. Thankfully, the “/?” switch seems to
work to get a list of switches for most commands. There is also a decent
“help” command that documents a number of commands.

There are several factors indicating that this is a work in
progress. The installation notes warn that the floppy access is slow —
and it is. It does work fine, however. The “scandisk” utility only seems
to complete the first stage of work. The “format” command only seems to
do a quick format, regardless of which switches you specify.

There are a number of optional packages as well. Veterans of the
Linux/Unix/BSD crowd will be thrilled to learn that versions of “vi” and
“emacs” are available. There are also languages like Bywater Basic (which
I hadn’t touched since finding it on some of the early Linux
distributions) and an assembler.

Perhaps the most interesting add-on is Seal. Seal is a GUI that gives you a Windows-y interface, if you want one. The version I installed only contains a few
applications, but it shows a good deal of potential.

After checking out the software, the next step was obvious: load up some
serious DOS-based software and see what happens. My choice (perhaps
suggested by the code name “SPEARS”) was “Spear of Destiny,” the
relatively unsung sequel to the classic “Wolfenstein 3D”. It took some
research on the freedos.org Web site to find out how to free up enough low
memory to run the game (this is one area where there are some syntax
changes compared to MS-DOS), but once I got the memory in shape, the game
played just fine. The 486 was quite chipper (when was the last time I
called a 486 “chipper?”) and the game played true to form.

But, in the true spirit of Open Source, FreeDOS is not content to be an
imitation of the existing technology. In addition to impressive additions
like Seal, mentioned earlier, there is an effort underway to create a true
32-bit kernel. Yes, Virginia, there is a DOS Santa Claus. FreeDOS32 might someday be a DOS that doesn’t require
endless gyrations to manage memory. Isn’t it great what motivated technical people can try to do when there is no one in the way to say “no?”

So, while I certainly hope that DOS does not experience a resurgence as a
general-purpose business desktop, I do hope that the FreeDOS project
thrives. Open Source talks about freedom to use, but it also means
freedom to choose. FreeDOS gives people another choice. If you don’t
want DOS, try something else. But if DOS might be the key for that
special device you are building, check out FreeDOS. It is definitely
worth a look.

NewsFactor Network writes: “Many of you may remember that a partial remedy for Microsoft’s anticompetitive behavior was proposed a while ago, suggesting that the company be forced to sell a stripped-down version of its Windows operating system. This slimmer version of Microsoft’s Windows (slim-dows?) essentially would do away with Microsoft’s oft-repeated strategy of bundling software to gain instant market share, rather than earning it incrementally like everyone else.”

Anonymous Reader writes: “Harry LeBlanc noticed several articles recently about various
governments switching to, promoting, or just including Linux / open
source in their software procurement programs, and thought: “I don’t know about
where
you live, but here in Minnesota there’s much brouhaha about budget
shortfalls, where will we get the savings so we don’t have to cut
education or roads, etc.” The answer? Get governments to switch to
Linux! Read this guest
editorial at DesktopLinux.com and do something.”

This Week’s Summary: Mandrake Linux 8.2 Beta2 has arrived;
MandrakeSoft’s first quarter financial report; New Products at
MandrakeStore; Introduction of “Direct Trading Program” for
MandrakeClub members; MandrakeClub Interview featuring Frédéric Bastok;
Frozen-Bubble has been released!; Business Case of the Week; Request
for Desktop Screenshots; Software Updates; Headlines from MandrakeForum.What’s Cookin’ at MandrakeSoft?
—————————————-
Beta 2 is out!
The second beta of the upcoming Mandrake Linux 8.2 has been released;
ISO images can be found at the usual download locations:
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3

The normal process for beta-testing is to download the ISO images, burn
the images to CD, then install onto a test system (normally a machine
other than your production system). Make detailed notes about any
problems that were encountered during & after the installation, then
report your observations either to the Cooker mailing list, the
MandrakeExpert website, or to MandrakeForum. We would *especially* like
to receive reports from anyone who has had problems with previous
versions of Mandrake Linux on their equipment.

Read the official announcement at MandrakeForum:
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=1669
Learn how to become a better beta-tester with these tips from lead
developer Warly:
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=1606

Financial Corner
—————————————-
MandrakeSoft’s first quarter financial results (October 2001 – December
2001) are now available online at:
http://www.mandrakesoft.com/company/investors/newsletter

Product News
—————————————-
Several popular Linux commercial applications can now be purchased
online at MandrakeStore. Choose from the following programs:

* Beeweeb — A file sharing solution
* Intradat VShop3 MySQL/Linux — A complete e-commerce package
* Beacon Fax2Send — Fax software for Linux
* Eurologiciel GICA — Business Accounting package
* Channel one Intraline — User-friendly Intranet and Extranet platform
* Codeweavers — CrossOver Plugin lets you use several Windows plugins
(such as QuickTime, ShockWave Director, MS Office viewers and others)
in a Linux web browser.

View the latest products and place your order at MandrakeStore:
http://www.mandrakestore.com

MandrakeClub

—————————————-
MandrakeSoft introduces a new “Direct Trading Program”.
In addition to trading shares on the Euronext Marché Libre and the U.S.
OTC markets, MandrakeSoft now offers a third way to trade MandrakeSoft
securities with a new “Direct Trading Program”.

Direct Trading is a convenient way to trade MandrakeSoft shares outside
of the official market by conducting transactions directly with other
participants. For the moment, the “Direct Trading Program” is only
available to MandrakeClub members. Learn more about MandrakeSoft’s
Direct Trading Program at:
http://mandrakeclub.com/modules.php?name=DirectTrading&file=info

—

This week’s “members-only” interview features Frédéric Bastok, the head
of MandrakeSoft Research & Development department. The answers to
your most interesting questions will be released next week in the form
of an interview.
http://mandrakeclub.com/article.php?sid=10

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

Application of the Week
—————————————-
Frozen-Bubble has been released!
A new game developed by MandrakeSoft’s Guillaume Cottenceau (and with
graphics from two fellow Mandrakians) has been released called
“Frozen-Bubble”. This very addictive game has players shooting colorful
bubbles across the gameboard and features 50 unique levels in 1-player
mode; hours of play in 2-player mode; 3 professional quality 20-channel
musical tracks; 15 stereo sound effects; 7 unique graphical transition
effects; and lots more. You need this game : )

Learn more about Frozen-Bubble at the project website which also offers
an interesting “behind the scenes” look at various stages of the game’s
development. Packages are available for several distributions including
Mandrake 8.0 & 8.1.
http://www.frozen-bubble.org/

Business Case of the Week
—————————————-
Legambiente ECOPOLIS runs Linux Mandrake 8.x: rock solid and cheap!
An environmental group based in Turin, Italy develops projects &
campaigns for improving the quality of life in their city; they chose
Mandrake 8.x for their busy office of computers.

The network is comprised of several Mandrake workstations including a
rock-solid NFS file server, Squid Proxy server, Print server & Back-up
server. 5 full-time employees and many volunteers use the workstations
for web surfing and personal email management. StarOffice is used as
the productivity suite for everyday tasks (email, word processing,
spreadsheets, ftp, newsletters, etc.). “We’ve been using this LAN for
seven months and we did not experience any trouble at all” says Daniele
Russolillo.
http://www.mandrakebizcases.com/article.php?sid=255

For many more examples of Mandrake in the workplace, please see:
http://www.MandrakeBizcases.com

Mandrake Linux Desktop Screenshots
—————————————-
Do you have a great-looking Mandrake desktop that other people are
always “oohing and aahing” about? Share it with the rest of the world
by sending a screenshot to screenshots@linux-mandrake.com. Be creative
and show us how you use Mandrake Linux!

View some cool Mandrake desktops at:
http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/fscreenshots.php3

Software Updates
—————————————-
Security-related software updates have been released for:
groff — fixes buffer overflow
slocate — fixes segfault

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

Headlines from MandrakeForum
—————————————-
Where Do I Find Linux Games?
“Anonymous” asks for suggestions on how to download & play Linux games
from the Internet; Tom provides provides some helpful links and tips,
and several readers add their suggestions.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=1664

8.2 beta testing: Mandrake Linux beta testing organization.
Denis describes in detail how beta testing works at MandrakeSoft. A
good read since Beta2 has just been released.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=1659

Is There Still A Place For MUO?
Tom Berger, the webmaster & editor of MandrakeUser.org, has been
wondering if there is still a place for his website or if he should
move on to other things.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=1654

MandrakeClub Newsletter — Issue #2.

Learn about the latest MandrakeClub activities.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=1646

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

NewsFactor Network writes: “An information security firm has reported that a component of Microsoft’s just-released Visual Studio .NET programming tool kit contains a security flaw. Microsoft’s Visual C++ .NET, the latest incarnation of the company’s highly touted signature developers’ tool, appears to be vulnerable to buffer overflow attacks, despite efforts on the part of Microsoft’s development team to update a mechanism to plug the hole. According to officials at Cigital, the consulting firm that discovered the vulnerability, Microsoft may have implemented a process that is susceptible to attack in compilers used with Linux.”

NewsFactor Network writes: “Microsoft’s release Wednesday of its Visual Studio.NET developer tools, touted by Bill Gates as one of the most important software developer releases of all time, was greeted by a blast of media fanfare. Almost drowned out in the din was a question that many ordinary computer users are asking: What is .NET (pronounced dot-NET), anyway?”