Slashdotters discuss an announcement from Loki, which ports popular games to Linux, that it is offering 50 percent discounts to Linux User Groups that order 10 or more copies of a game.

A reader points us to this story from mozillaquest.com. “The Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) comes with some pre-installed, basic, productivity tools for word processing and other office or school productivity chores. So do many Linux distributions come with pre-installed, basic, productivity tools.

These pre-installed tools generally are simple, stripped-down, lightweight, applets. Nevertheless, they are handy and can be useful for simple tasks.

In like manner, the Linux-based K desktop (KDE) comes with some pre-installed productivity-tool accessories too. Our primary interest in learning to use these lightweight Linux productivity tools today is to get familiar with starting, running, and using Linux programs — and to get comfortable using the Linux desktop.”

Jay writes, “I have completed a Mandrake 8 review and installation guide at PCTalk.org. I have listed the step by step procedure of installing Mandrake, as well as some of my first impressions of the OS.”

ZDNET.co.uk: “Apple has released an updated to its Mac OS X operating system just
three weeks after the product’s initial launch, but the latest code is still
without some important features.”

ZDNET.co.uk: “The site of Microsoft Belgium has been hacked. On Thursday evening
the hacker Black-Fuuuuuuuu took over the site www.microsoft.be.
The hack was discovered by the website Attrition.org.”

greybeard writes: “InfoWorld is reporting release of the Linux ADK from Compaq. The Compaq site link is http://www.support.compaq.com/alpha-tools/. The InfoWorld article mentions that software support isn’t available for the AlphaServer line. This isn’t correct. Compaq offers both hardware and software support for Linux on Alpha and Intel Compaq servers up to the ES40 (up to 8 833mhz cpus) AlphaServer. It’s only the GS-Series AlphaServers (32cpu) that haven’t been qualified, yet.

Details on support for Linux is available here :

http://www.compaq.com/services/software/ss_linux.html“

ZDNET.co.uk: “Open source platform developer Red Hat expects to ship its Linux 7.1
operating system imminently, with improvements for better
multiprocessor performance and virus protection. However, some
analysts argued that few European firms will invest in operating
systems upgrades during a period when IT budgets are tight.” Hello???

ZDNET.co.uk: “It’s here – the latest update to the open source software that
lets Linux machines mimic Windows file and print servers. Is
Microsoft feeling the pressure?”

Wired: “Call it digital graffiti: a fledgling wireless application that allows users to leave floating messages wherever they go. Sounds spacey — and prone to abuse, observers say.”

Infoworld: “Dozens of U.S. government agencies have banded together to use a form of
peer-to-peer (p-to-p) technology to provide up-to-date statistics and other
government information to the public from a central location on the Web.”