BSD Today deals with the issue of audio and video software under BSD/OS, and the improvements brought about by the advent of MPEG 4.

ZDNet reports on Microsoft’s final preparations for Windows XP, as Release Candidate 1 is expected within a few weeks time.

ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/alan/2.4/
Intermediate diffs are available from http://www.bzimage.org. In terms of going through the code audit almost all the sound
drivers still
need fixing to lock against format changes during a read/write.
Poll creating
and starting a buffer as write does and also mmap during write,
write during
an mmap.

2.4.5-ac11
o       Fix the megaraid driver ioctl check             (me)
o       Fix the moxa ioctl checks                       (me)
o       Fix the i810 dri length check                   (me)
o       Fix array check in se401.c                      (me)
o       Fix scc irq array problems                      (me)
o       Fix sign check on zr36120                       (me)
o       Fix sign check in raw driver                    (me)
o       Fix zr36067 array size check                    (me)
        | All the above from the Stanford checker
o       Fix an irq order assumption in the i810 audio   (Doug Ledford)
o       Make real mode poweroff configurable and also   (Arjan van de Ven)
        add DMI entries for it
o       Clean up Alpha oops reporting                   (Will Woods)
o       Fix ia64 build bug from mmap change             (Bill Nottingham)
o       Fix sysinfo padding so m68k comes out right     (Jes Sorensen)
o       Update pci ids related to ide devices           (Andre Hedrick)
o       Update ide registers/ioctl numbers/info         (Andre Hedrick)
o       Fix speed detection on slc90e66                 (Andre Hedrick)
o       Update promise IDE driver                       (Andre Hedrick)
o       osb4 becomes generic serverworks ide driver     (Andre Hedrick)
o       Use new inits on ide_tape, add a reinit         (Andre Hedrick)
o       Use new inits on ide_floppy add a reinit        (Andre Hedrick)
o       Add amd74xx ide driver                          (Andre Hedrick)
o       Tidy up ide disk init/reinit. Add feature       (Andre Hedrick)
        register clear
o       Additional ide updates                          (Andre Hedrick)

Sebastopol, CA–As the use of Linux by large corporations and the
general public increases, so has the demand for qualified Linux
administrators and technicians. Consequently, there has also
emerged a
need for a means by which to objectively measure these
administrators’
skills. Understandably, there is some controversy surrounding
certification of Linux professionals; some fear that certification
will
give an edge in the job market to less experienced candidates who
hold
the appropriate certification over more experienced candidates who
lack
certification. While these fears are not unfounded, the benefits of
a
certification program would seem to far outweigh them if Linux is
to
continue to expand into the mainstream.”Over the last few years the status of Linux has changed
significantly
in the press and popular opinion,” says Jeffrey Dean, author of
“LPI
Linux Certification in a Nutshell” (O’Reilly, US $39.95). “Once a
niche
solution at best, it’s now a strategic technology for major
corporations like IBM and Dell. It has also popularized Open Source
and
Free Software, and has the attention of Microsoft. I don’t see this
trend slowing anytime soon, so the need for qualified Linux
administrators is likely to rise. The LPI program serves this
growing
market with an affordable, objective certification. This book
prepares
candidates with detailed information and examples.”

The LPI (Linux Professional Institute) certification program is one
of
a number of programs formed over the last few years to provide
certification for Linux administrators. As Dean explains, each of
the
existing programs approaches the problem of certifying Linux
administrators in a different way. While Dean’s book covers the
range
of topics that will be useful to all system administrators who use
Linux, his focus is on preparing for the LPI certification
examination.
Deans says, “The LPI is vendor-neutral and a not-for-profit
organization, which make it unique in the Linux certification
market.
As for the future, as a certified professional myself, I hope the
market fully embraces these skill sets.”

Dean’s book is divided into two parts, one for each of the LPI
Level 1
Exams (Level 1 is aimed at junior to mid-level Linux
administrators).
Each part features a summary of the exam, a highlighter’s index,
labs,
suggested exercises, and practice exams.

Part 1 covers the General Linux Exam 101, which mainly tests
knowledge
of facts, including commands and their common options, important
file
locations, configuration syntax, and common procedures. Part 1
includes
the following:

–GNU and Unix commands
–Devices, Linux file systems, and the file system hierarchy
standard
–Boot, initialization, shutdown and run levels
–Documentation
–Administrative tasks
–Hardware and architecture

Part II of the book covers General Linux Exam 102, which tests a
slightly broader range of administration skills, including basics
such
as PC architecture and Linux installation, GUI (X Windows)
customization, and networking. Part II includes the following:

–Linux installation and package management
–The Linux kernel
–Text editing, processing, and printing
–Shells, scripting, programming, and compiling
–X-Windows
–Networking fundamentals

–Network services
–Security

“LPI Linux Certification In a Nutshell” is designed to help system
administrators prepare for the LPI certification exams, but even
experienced Linux administrators can benefit from a full review of
this
material. The tutorial-style approach will help newbies learn more
about their Linux systems. Dean adds, “This book makes no
assumptions
about Linux experience, and will be very effective for those coming
from other computer systems such as Windows or mainframes.”

Jeffrey Dean is a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), freelance
author,
editor, and consultant with professional experience in IT
management,
training delivery, and system administration of the VMS, Unix,
AS/400,
and Windows NT operating systems.

Part 2, Chapter 4, “Linux Installation and Package Management
(Topic
2.2),” is available free online at:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lpicertnut/chapter/p2_ch04.html

For more information about the book, including Table of Contents,
index,
author bio, and samples, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/lpicertnut/

For a cover graphic in jpeg format, go to:
ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/1565927486.jpg

LPI Linux Certification in a Nutshell
By Jeffrey Dean
June 2001
ISBN 1-565-92748-6, 550 pages, $39.95 (US)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
http://www.oreilly.com

# # #

O’Reilly is a registered trademark of O’Reilly & Associates, Inc.
All
other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

USA Today: “The newest version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Web browser
will be able to direct Web page readers to other sites without the permission – or
even the knowledge – of the page’s owner.

The feature, dubbed “Smart Tags,” will be included in Microsoft’s new operating
system, Windows XP, which will be released Oct. 25.”

CNET News.com: “After posting a farcical virus advisory on his Joke-A-Day site warning people to delete the
“insidious” AOL.exe virus, Webmaster Ray Owens found that quite a few of his readers actually
believed it.

Worse, they forwarded it to their friends.”

“The Java disputes are reminiscent of the wars of words between Unix vendors–and some of the
same people are involved. Each Java vendor is primarily interested in selling its products at the
expense of its rivals, which include the other Java vendors as well as Microsoft.

This is the latest demonstration of a key hindrance to standards development involving multiple
vendors: When money is to be made, the desire for competitive advantage overwhelms the desire
to create standards.” Commentary at CNET News.com.

Macworld: “When Symantec updated its Norton AntiVirus and Utilities products last fall, Mac users were able to run the
applications in Mac OS X — provided they launched either utility from a bootable CD or an OS 9 partition on their
hard drive. An upcoming update to Norton AntiVirus will allow Mac users running OS X to ditch the disc — version 7.0.2 of the
antivirus software has reworked to run in OS X. Symantec is also updating Norton Personal Firewall to run as an OS
X-native application.”

ComputerUser: “Most of the companies gathered at this week’s Internet
Security Conference 2001 had some permutation of the phrase, “we can help stop hackers!” displayed
prominently on their booths – leaving no doubt what the priority is in the Internet security industry.”

From a press release at LinuxPR: “Kapital is our personal finance manager package for KDE and Linux. It is meant to
be in the spirit of Intuit Quicken or Microsoft Money, but without the bloat
associated with those packages from years of justifying upgrades. Kapital has
everything you need for managing all your personal finances.”