The Register reports that Red Hat has offered to give free software out to poorer schools across the United States, freeing up some $500 million of Microsoft’s donation to the schools to go to hardware, rather than software.

The Register reports that “a major network incidenct that wiped out much of the UK’s ADSL and unmetered dial-up Internet service earlier today has been fixed.”

ZDNet reports that “Via Technologies announced a faster version of its chipset for Intel Pentium 4 processors on Tuesday, in the face of a continuing dispute with Intel over the product’s legality.”

CNet reports that “Playboy.com has alerted customers that an intruder broke into its Web site and obtained some customer information, including credit card numbers.”

An Anonymous Reader writes “Yesterday the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) filed their own suit against the three companies who presently operate the most popular peer-to-peer file sharing services since Napster’s shutdown, Morpheus, Grokster and KaZaa.

http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2001/nmpa.html”

O’Reilly.net is warning in this week’s security alerts of a buffer overflow in SSH 1: “The big news this week is that the SSH Communications Security recommends that users stop using the SSH1 protocol and replace it with SSH2. Users of OpenSSH should upgrade to version 2.3.0 as soon as possible.”

Network World Fusion reports that “A bug in the way that Microsoft’s Windows Media Player 6.4 handles a certain type of streaming media file can allow attackers, given the right conditions, to execute any code on target systems, Microsoft said in a security bulletin released Tuesday.”

From ZDNet: “The German Ministry of Economics and Technology has spoken out against the broadening of software patent laws within Europe, on the basis that it would stifle innovation and the open-source movement.”

JoeUser writes: “Last month Progeny Linux Systems ceased development on their own distribution in order to focus on selling professional services. In their announcement, the company cited the prohibitive cost of developing and publishing a distro. This move marked another firm in the wave of tech companies, Linux and otherwise, making significant changes to adjust to the market slump. Progeny’s distribution was based on Debian GNU/Linux, and many in the Linux community were closely watching the company because it was founded by Debian creator Ian Murdock. OSNews spoke to the President of Progeny Linux Systems, Michael Schafer, once the dust had settled on his company’s announcement.”

Patrick Mullen writes “The Duke of URL has posted their review of Mandrake Linux PowerPack 8.1.
Over the last few years, MandrakeSoft has climbed its way to the top of the pack with its user-friendly approach on Linux. The review covers the installation, configuration, security, and much more.”