Terra Soft Solutions, Inc., the leading developer of Linux
solutions for PowerPC(tm) microprocessors, is pleased to announce the immediate availability of
Yellow Dog Linux version 2.1.

                    YDL 2.1 offers both incremental and monumental improvements to deliver a more solid, speedy, and
                    easy-to-use Linux operating system. 

                    "While on the surface, version 2.1 might seem like a minor update, there are some substantial
                    improvements. The 2.4 kernel is now default and we are pleased to be the first PowerPC Linux vendor
                    to provide NVidia GeForce 2 video support," states Dan Burcaw, CTO of Terra Soft Solutions, Inc. 

                    YDL 2.1 offers the following updates and improvements:
                    - YDL installer now supports individual package selection
                    - KDE 2.2.1
                    - XFree86 4.1.0
                    - 2.4.10 (default) and 2.2.19
                    - Mac-on-Linux 0.9.60 which automatically grabs the ROM image from your Mac OS
                    partition--reducing setup to a minimum. - Webmin web-based system administration tool
                    - Mozilla 0.9.4
                    - Ext3 journaling file system
                    - Sound support on iBook 1 and iBook 2 (2001)
                    - Sleep support on full range of Apple portables (include all iBooks)
                    - Improved support for Apple Network Servers
                    - ... and support for NVidia GeForce 2 & ATI Radeon video cards (Apple Display Connector not yet
                    supported).

                    YDL 2.1 is immediately available from select resellers (call first to verify availability) and from our
                    online store. Please support your local reseller (http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resellers/) whenever
                    possible. 

                    Pre-orders of the "Getting Started with Yellow Dog Linux", which will include the YDL 2.1 Install CD,
                    are being taken now. 'Getting Started' is expected to ship before the close of October. 

                    About Terra Soft Solutions, Inc.
                    Terra Soft Solutions, Inc. is a leading developer of innovative technologies and provider of integrated
                    HPC solutions for PowerPC Linux. Yellow Dog Linux, the flagship product, has boosted viability of
                    Linux on PowerPC microprocessors. Black Lab Linux provides an advanced Linux environment for
                    embedded and high performance, parallel computing systems. And Terra Soft now offers the Yellow
                    briQ Node, a high-density PowerPC Linux computer. 

                    For more information, visit www.terrasoftsolutions.com

IBM has released version 2.0.0 of the Jikes Research Virtual Machine (Jikes RVM), an open testbed for academic and research communities to prototype new virtual machine technologies and mix and match design alternatives. Jikes RVM has been released under the Common Public License. Jikes home page and 2.0.0 release notes.

The Register reports on a Gartner study showing that the DRAM market will shrink by 19 percent during 2002. Tough news for the DRAM market, which saw sales shrink by 67 percent this year, making the entire segment worth less than a fifth of what it was in 1995.

ZDNet: “If the public has been unclear
on the concept, that may be
precisely what Microsoft had
planned all along. Although it
has a 25-year history of
trumpeting grandiose
initiatives, sometimes with
dubious intentions and
chameleon-like business
plans, .Net may appear
uniquely enigmatic. The
company is targeting a new
and rapidly evolving
area–Web services. And, in
light of the company’s current
legal problems, Microsoft’s
plans may appear so grand
that a detailed announcement
would be tantamount to a
public dare to antitrust
authorities.”

Posted at LWN.net: “We are not trying to take away individuality of the Distribution. The
installer should be built on three different levels. Two of these are
completely changeable and customizable to the Distribution using the
installer. The Three layers will consist of a Functional Layer, a Text
Layer, and a Graphic Layer. The Graphic Layer and Text Layer are totally
customizable should the Distribution want to customize it. This way ALL
istributions can be modified and seem to have there own Installation.”

From Net-security.org: “The ‘login’ program in util-linux stored the user’s
credentials in a static buffer that could later be reused
in other PAM calls issued on behalf of other users. This
could lead to a user gaining access to other accounts.

Note that this is not possible by default.”

The Register reports that the Business Software Alliance has closed 118 UK warez (pirate software) sites
between January and September 2001, including Waraz.at, which it says distributed “pirated” software to several nations.

From InternetWire: Men & Mice today released QuickDNS
for FreeBSD, a comprehensive DNS management
system. The QuickDNS software is a market leading
multi-platform DNS Management system. QuickDNS is
also available for Linux, Solaris and Mac OS X.

Anonymous Reader writes, “According to this story at LinuxDevices.com, Sharp Electronics announced today that next month they will begin supplying developers with the new Zaurus SL-5000D, the first Linux-based PDA from a major consumer electronics corporation. Included in the story are a summary of the new Linux/Java PDA’s specs, info on how to participate in the developer program, and a long list of links to further info, including a device profile of the SL-5000D.”

It’s at LWN.net, of course. Among the items: “LWN received an announcement for the
‘Common Linux Installer Group,’ an organization which is trying to develop a
standard, GPL-licensed installer for Linux distributions. The group is being
supported by the folks at Blue Linux.

Normally LWN is all in favor of standards and this is, in fact, no exception.
Nonetheless, we think it is doomed to failure. Why? Because the installation
procedure is a stamp of individuality for many of the leading distributions.”