A new version of iptables fixing various minor security problems and some
other bugs is available.Some problems in earlier releases of iptables could lead to bad
iptables-save files, causing the firewall not to come up when iptables
was restarted (e.g. at system reboot).

More information posted at Linux Weekly News.

From ZDNet: “It seemed clear from the proposed decree that the government finally acquiesced to Microsoft’s assertion that middleware code is inextricably bound into the OS — a claim that many critics have disputed.”

Computer News Daily: ” A Silicon Valley attorney credited with saving the first MP3 audio player is now defending a company that has been called the new Napster.

Andrew Bridges, a partner with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, said an entertainment industry lawsuit against MusicCity Networks Inc. represents the latest crucial legal battle between Hollywood and Silicon Valley.”

From SeattleTimes: “Gates said there’s a role for free software alongside commercial software, but the open-source
movement taken to its extreme would mean no software jobs or taxes paid by software
companies, and it would mean companies such as Microsoft would not risk investing in advanced
products.

Gates also took some credit for the genesis of open-source software. He said Microsoft made it
possible by standardizing computers: “Really, the reason you see open source there at all is
because we came in and said there should be a platform that’s identical with millions and millions
of machines,” he said.”

IDG News Service reports that
RLX Technologies has started selling a
new blade server that allows users to take
advantage of the company’s tightly packed
server architecture in a smaller system design, and the company is likely to begin using
low-power processors from Intel along with
the Transmeta processors it uses now

IDG News Service reports that
RLX Technologies has started selling a
new blade server that allows users to take
advantage of the company’s tightly packed
server architecture in a smaller system design, and the company is likely to begin using
low-power processors from Intel along with
the Transmeta processors it uses now

“Release early, release often”.
Release 1.6 of kernel build for kernel 2.5 (kbuild 2.5) has been
released. http://sourceforge.net/projects/kbuild/, Package kbuild-2.5,
download release 1.6. Changelog and more links within.

http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=linux-kernel&m=99725412902968&w=2
contains information about the base release.

Changelog:

  Correct race condition on first build after renaming source
  or object trees.

  Support negated CONFIG options, this is easier to read
    select(CONFIG_QUOTA  dquot.o)
    select(!CONFIG_QUOTA noquot.o)

  This release does not support CML2, only use it with CML1.
  ESR is upgrading CML2 to kernel 2.4.14 first.

ZDNet has a story about the SANS Institute and the FBI developing a
top 20 list of common vulnerabilities that leave Internet sites open to attacks.

“What Alan Paller, Director of
Research for the SANS
Institute, and the FBI found is
that some problems are more
widespread than others. ‘This
year it’s Microsoft IIS,’ Paller
says, ‘because it’s so
widespread and so easy to
break into.’ ”

“Welcome to the Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter — dedicated to
keeping you up-to-date with the latest MandrakeSoft-related news & info.”

This Week's Summary: 
* Mandrake Linux as a drop-in replacement for NT Primary Domain
Controller
* List of all packages from Mandrake Linux ProSuite
* What's cooking at MandrakeSoft?
* Business case of the week
* This Week's Online Poll
* Security-related Software Updates
* Headlines from MandrakeForum.

 
Mandrake Linux as a drop-in replacement for NT Primary Domain Controller
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to recent improvements of Samba server, Mandrake Linux can finally
replace that last Windows server on your network: a computer acting as
"Primary Domain Controller". In addition to this, newest Samba packages
add the possibility to Point-and-Print from Windows clients to printers
hosted on Mandrake+Samba server, "winbind" lets you use windows domain
authentication for all PAM-enabled services, new XFS journaling
file-system lets you use windows ACLs on Mandrake Linux file server,
etc.
http://mandrakeforum.com/article.php?sid=1376?=en
 
According to one MandrakeForum reader, replacing a PCD by Mandrake Linux
machine is not only possible, but even simpler than using Windows 2000
server. Go figure??
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?sid=1317

 
List of all packages from Mandrake Linux 8.1 ProSuite
-----------------------------------------------------
Following popular request, our web slaves have made a list of all the
packages from Mandrake Linux 8.1 ProSuite available on the web. Did you
know that Mandrake Linux 8.1 Pro Suite comes with seven e-books in PDF
format, Opera web browser, Star Office, Sun Java SDK, Borlands JBuilder
and Kylix IDEs, Vshop virtual store, ...?
 
No? Follow this link to see which other treasures are hidden inside the
Mandrake Linux ProSuite package:
http://www.MandrakeForum.com/article.php?sid=1329?=en

 
What's cooking at MandrakeSoft?
-------------------------------

Would you like to have a better rescue system, for instance, one which
lets you choose some actions from a menu, rather than relying on you
knowing what should be done in case of disaster? If answer is yes, it
may be
your lucky day: our rescue system just got a simple menu, which lets you 
re-install boot loader, or mount your partitions under /mnt for now. 
Please join the discussion about features needed in a rescue mode at
MandrakeForum.
http://mandrakeforum.com/article.php?sid=1371?=en


Business Case of the Week
--------------------------
 
Frustrated owner of an Internet cafe in Karnatka/India decided to ease
his life and switch from Windows-run shop to stable, virus-free
environment. Four months later, he is happy owner of a completely
Mandrake Linux
powered Internet cafe.
http://www.mandrakebizcases.com/article.php?sid=162&mode=thread&order=0

"Most people still don't have a clue to real capabilities of a Mandrake
Linux distribution. Submitting a story explaining your own experiences
with Mandrake Linux in a business environment to MandrakeBizCases is a
great way
to help others get a better idea of advantages Mandrake Linux has to
offer,
and choose our distribution rather than Windows.
 
Every "bizcase" counts: please share your own story with others, by
submitting it to MandrakeBizcases.com
http://www.mandrakebizcases.com/submit.php

 
This Week's Online Poll
-----------------------
My web server is powered by:
 
1) Mandrake Linux + default apache rpms
2) Mandrake Linux + customized apache server
3) Mandrake Linux, but not apache
4) Another Linux distribution
5) BSD
6) Solaris
7) Unix (anything but BSD and Solaris)
8) Windows
9) I do not have a web server
10) none of the above

Cast your vote in the Voting Booth and check the results:
http://www.MandrakeForum.com/pollBooth.php?pollID=16?=en

 
Software Updates
----------------

Following security updates for Mandrake Linux 8.x distributions have
been reported last week:
 
         htdig, util-linux, kernel
 
Please keep in mind that updating of kernels should always be done in
two steps: first install the new kernel next to the old one, test it,
and finally remove the old kernel. Updating the kernel using urpmi, 
Mandrake Update, or rpm -U command is discouraged.

A complete list of all official security and bug-fix updates for
all Mandrake Linux distributions is available in the "security" section
of Linux-Mandrake.com
http://www.Linux-mandrake.com/en/security/

 
Top Stories of the Week from MandrakeForum
------------------------------------------
 
Fix for ugly true type fonts in Mandrake 8.1
One Dutch user has compiled a freetype2 library with bytcode interpreter
compiled in, and made it available for download for other users. Thus
compiled freetype2 library assures better rendering of Truetype fonts
under X, but can't be shipped with Mandrake Linux distribution due to 
patent issues.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?sid=1340?=en
 
Memory, Penguins And Confirmations
Tom explains the difference between "free memory" as reported by "top"
and similar programs, and amount of RAM which is really available for
programs, as reported by "free". Read this article if you are worried
about memory usage of your Linux box.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?sid=1312?=en
 
Wow, I've realized the true speed of linux!
This funny story will not tell you anything about "true speed of linux",
but it nicely illustrates one reason for keeping user interface
separated from "back-end" of the program.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?sid=1314?=en
 
VMWare 2.0.4 in Mandrake 8.1?
Officially, VMWare 2.0.4 does not work with 2.4 kernels. VMWare users
have three choices: stay with 2.2 kernel, use beta version of VMWare 3,
or apply unofficial patch to VMWare 2.0.4, to get it working with 2.4
kernels 
"at their own risk". See what other Mandrake Linux users have to say
about these three
options.
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?sid=1324?=en

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

CNet has a story on several start-ups that are looking to cash in on the Web services market. The story also mentions Open Source initiatives such
as Ximian’s Mono, which are
“gathering momentum.”