Marc Bintener writes, “TuxPPC has the news. Mandrake confirmed over email that there will be a PPC release of Mandrake Linux 8.2. First beta ISO CD images of the new release will be available shortly.”

Robbie Williamson writes: The Linux Test project ltp-20020207 has been released. For more information about the Linux Test Project, or to download the testsuite, see our website at http://ltp.sourceforge.net.

This release contains enhancements to support execution on the following additional architectures:

IBM z-Series mainframe
PowerPC
Intel IA-64

New test results, that include these new architectures, are published at http://ltp.sourceforge.net/results.html. Initial support for an IPv6 network environment were also added to the testsuite. Modifications were made to the Makefiles to allow non-root and cross-compiler compilation, and numerous bugfixes are implemented.

NewsFactor Network writes: “If there was ever any doubt about what the majority of U.S. citizens thought of the proposed Microsoft antitrust settlement, the questions can be laid to rest. The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday posted the results of feedback that it requested from the public regarding how the case should be handled. Even after removing the script-kiddie crowd’s feedback from consideration, the overwhelming majority of respondents opposed the settlement proposal put forth by Microsoft, the federal government and nine states.”

Anonymous Reader writes: “DesktopLinux.com chats with Gaël Duval, Founder of Mandrake Linux. Duval relates the history of Mandrake, explains what makes Mandrake unique, discusses the company’s market focus, describes Mandrake’s philosophy with respect to open source, and offers his vision of the future of the Desktop Linux Market and what will help its success. Read the interview here.“

Jason writes: “RealTech-VR, creators of the V3X 3D engine, also developed a Direct3D-to-OpenGL wrapper and they have now open sourced their work. They are seeking for more hackers to help porting the wrapper to Linux and MacOS. A lot of the functionality of Direct3D is already ported but it still needs quite some work. Get the scoop at OSNews.”

PCWorld has a think piece about the efficacy of removing our right to anonymous email in light of the difficult of tracing terrorist communications.

Times Of India: “When a small Internet service provider called Cloud Nine Communications Ltd crashed to earth, it blamed hackers for overwhelming its networks with bogus traffic. The blitz cut short Cloud Nine’s six-year existence and underscored the mounting costs of protecting online businesses against increasingly sophisticated attackers.”

Wired: “No more jokes about video games being mind-numbing toys. Programmers are now getting college degrees in game design.”

Wired: “Even if British Telecom proves its 1989 patent for linking on the Web is legit, critics say it’s too late, and that programmers would just use another technique.”

NewsFactor Network writes: “Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates is expected to testify in the company’s antitrust case on March 11th at a hearing concerning the nine holdout states that have refused to be part of current settlement talks. Gates and nearly a dozen other Microsoft executives, including CEO Steve Ballmer, were listed as potential witnesses Sunday by the company in its final witness list submission.”