In this latest edition of the Linux kernel: “Fix es1370 build bug” … “Fix vmalloc mismerge” … “New xircom_cb driver” … “Revert previous wrong bootmem change.” Full details at LWN.net.

The KDE Project today announced the release of KDE 2.1.1, a powerful and easy-to-use Internet-enabled desktop for Linux. KDE features Konqueror, a state-of-the-art web browser, as an integrated component of its user-friendly desktop environment, as well as KDevelop, an advanced IDE, as a central component of KDE’s powerful development environment. KDE 2.1 is the first stable Linux desktop completely to integrate the new XFree anti-aliased font extensions and can provide a fully anti-aliased font-enabled desktop.
This release follows four weeks after the release of the industry-acclaimed KDE 2.1, which marked a leap forward in Linux desktop stability, usability and maturity. KDE 2.1.1 is suitable for enterprise deployment and the KDE Project strongly encourages all users of the award-winning KDE 1.x series and of the KDE 2.0 series to upgrade to KDE 2.1.1.

The primary goals of the 2.1.1 release are to improve documentation and provide additional language translations for the user interface, although the release includes a few bugfixes, and improvements to the HTML rendering engine. A list of these changes and a FAQ about the release are available at the KDE website. Code development is currently focused on the branch that will lead to KDE 2.2, scheduled for its first beta release in two weeks.

KDE and all its components are available for free under Open Source licenses from the KDE server and its mirrors and can also be obtained on CD-ROM. As a result of the dedicated efforts of hundreds of translators, KDE 2.1.1 is available in 34 languages and dialects, including the addition of Lithuanian in this release. KDE 2.1.1 ships with the core KDE libraries, the core desktop environment (including Konqueror), developer packages (including KDevelop), as well as the over 100 applications from the other standard base KDE packages (administration, games, graphics, multimedia, network, PIM and utilities).

For more information about the KDE 2.1 series, please see the KDE 2.1 press release and the KDE 2.1.1 Info Page, which is an evolving FAQ about the release. Information on using anti-aliased fonts with KDE is available here.

Downloading and Compiling KDE

The source packages for KDE 2.1.1 are available for free download at http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1.1/distribution/tar/generic/src/ or in the equivalent directory at one of the many KDE ftp server mirrors (diffs are also available). KDE 2.1.1 requires qt-2.2.3, which is available from Trolltech at ftp://ftp.trolltech.com/qt/source/ under the name qt-x11-2.2.3.tar.gz, although qt-2.2.4 or qt-2.3.0 is recommended (for anti-aliased fonts, qt-2.3.0 and XFree 4.0.3 or newer is required). KDE 2.1.1 will not work with versions of Qt older than 2.2.3.

For further instructions on compiling and installing KDE, please consult the installation instructions and, if you encounter problems, the compilation FAQ.

Installing Binary Packages

Some distributors choose to provide binary packages of KDE for certain versions of their distribution. Some of these binary packages for KDE 2.1.1 will be available for free download under http://ftp.kde.org/stable/2.1.1/distribution/ or under the equivalent directory at one of the many KDE ftp server mirrors. Please note that the KDE team is not responsible for these packages as they are provided by third parties — typically, but not always, the distributor of the relevant distribution.

KDE 2.1.1 requires qt-2.2.3, the free version of which is available from the above locations usually under the name qt-x11-2.2.3, although qt-2.2.4 or qt-2.3.0 is recommended (for anti-aliased fonts, qt-2.3.0 and XFree 4.0.3 or newer is required). KDE 2.1.1 will not work with versions of Qt older than 2.2.3.

At the time of this release, pre-compiled packages are available for:

* Caldera eDesktop 2.4: i386
* Debian GNU/Linux stable (2.2): i386 and PPC; please also check the main directory for common files
* Linux-Mandrake 7.2: i586
* SuSE Linux (README):
* 7.1: i386, Sparc and PPC; please also check the i18n and noarch directories for common files
* 7.0: i386 and PPC; please also check the i18n and noarch directories for common files
* 6.4: i386; please also check the i18n and noarch directories for common files

* Tru64 Systems: 4.0e,f,g, or 5.x (README)

Please check the servers periodically for pre-compiled packages for other distributions. More binary packages will become available over the coming days and weeks. In particular RedHat packages are expected soon.

About KDE

KDE is an independent, collaborative project by hundreds of developers worldwide to create a sophisticated, customizable and stable desktop environment employing a component-based, network-transparent architecture. KDE is working proof of the power of the Open Source “Bazaar-style” software development model to create first-rate technologies on par with and superior to even the most complex commercial software.

For more information about KDE, please visit KDE’s web site. More information about KDE 2 is available in two (1, 2) slideshow presentations and on KDE’s web site, including an evolving FAQ to answer questions about migrating to KDE 2.1 from KDE 1.x, anti-aliased font tutorials, a number of screenshots, developer information and a developer’s KDE 1 – KDE 2 porting guide.

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Trademarks Notices. KDE and K Desktop Environment are trademarks of KDE e.V. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Unix is a registered trademark of The Open Group. Trolltech and Qt are trademarks of Trolltech AS. All other trademarks and copyrights referred to in this announcement are the property of their respective owners.

————————————————————————

Press Contacts:

United States: Kurt Granroth
granroth@kde.org
(1) 480 732 1752

Andreas Pour
pour@kde.org
(1) 917 312 3122

Europe (French and English): David Faure
faure@kde.org
(44) 1225 837409

Europe (English and German): Martin Konold
konold@kde.org
(49) 179 2252249

It seems that the bottleneck in true broadband is TCP. UniSci reports that researchers have discovered a flaw in the Transmission Control Protocol that prevents users from seeing more than 3Mbps throughput. Working on solution called Web100, “programmers are refining TCP software in the Linux operating system to automatically achieve the highest possible transfer rate.” Full story at UniSci.

LinuxPlanet on mice and window managers: “On first glance, I have already noted a pattern in many if these window managers. For some reason, several of them seem to go out of their way to eliminate or reduce the need for the mouse. Critics of the mouse device are quick to point out the time that’s wasted in picking up your hand, moving the hand to the mouse, moving the mouse across the mouse pad, clicking something, and then moving your hand back to the keyboard to start typing again.”

– By Jeff Field
After previously reviewing Plextor’s ATAPI 12/10/32A, I was curious as to the benefits of SCSI over IDE for a burner. You see, up until now one of the reasons I have always heard to buy SCSI CD-RWs is because you will get fewer buffer underruns. Performance wasn’t ever really brought up, mostly because CD-RWs are not very fast devices, and so IDE has no trouble keeping up. With BURNProof, underruns are no longer an issue, so what does that leave?
The drive
Physically, the 12/10/32S is very similar to the 12/10/32A I reviewed on NewsForge earlier. The differences are relatively minor, though one proved rather interesting. On the back of the 12/10/32S is a fan that pulls air into the drive in order to cool it. Why the 12/10/32A did not have this I do not know, but it is something I have not seen on an internal CD rewriteable drive before. Perhaps it is just that Plextor expects SCSI users to use the product more or push it further, but that is simply speculation.

The other physical differences are trivial — different jumpers, as you would expect, because the 12/10/32S has to set the SCSI ID and not simply the slave/master setting of IDE, and instead of one light that can be off (empty), green (loaded but no activity) or yellow (busy) as with the ATAPI model, you get four lights, letting you know whether the drive has a disc in it, is reading (or, if empty, that the drive is on), writing high (on if writing at highspeeds) or writing low (writing at low speeds). These are just minor issues, but it is interesting to see that Plextor includes more features on its SCSI writers, unlike some companies who simply make two of the same drive with different connectors.

BURNProof
CD-Rewriteable drives all come with relatively large buffers (2 or 4 megs, usually) so that they can keep a constant flow of data going to the CD. When this buffer does not get data fast enough, for whatever reason, an error called a “buffer underrun” occurs, which halts the writing of the CD, thereby ruining the CD. Like its ATAPI counterpart, the 12/10/32S has the “revolutionary” BURNProof technology, licensed from Sanyo. What this technology does is have the drive remember where in the CD it stopped writing, and resume at this point. While this technology does revolutionize the process of burning a CD — allowing you to do other tasks without worry — I wonder why so many revolutionary ideas, in hindsight, seem rather obvious. This is something that should have been done from the beginning with CD-R drives, I guess no one thought of it. Many coasters later however, BURNProof is a reality and works wonders, I have been able to do any number of tasks, including occupying the source drive with a large copy operation while loading programs, and the drive just stops, and then happily resumes when the data flow returns. If you are wondering about whether BURNProof works with Linux, it does indeed, as the latest versions of CDRecord supports it “out of the box.”

Configuration and documentation
Configuration via the jumpers is simple, thanks to the included documentation. Jumpers allow you to change the SCSI ID of the drive and turn on the drives internal terminator features, useful if this device is that last one on the SCSI chain. The jumpers are easy to access and the provided documentation makes them simple to understand. My only complaint is there was no summary on the drive itself, meaning if you did not have the original documentation, you would have to get it online to change the ID. The SCSI ID is by default set to 4, which was unoccupied on my machine. You can set the device to any ID you like, or you can set it to automatically pick up an ID.

The documentation included with the device is excellent. It includes detailed instructions on the physical installation and configuration of the drive, as well as detailed information on the media you should use, the functions of the device, how to upgrade the firmware, even how to install a SCSI card (which was certainly going above and beyond as Plextor does not sell SCSI cards). Also included is a giant fold-out diagram of how exactly to install the drive — very impressive. I have to say I was taken aback by the extensive and very well written documentation included with this device, and applaud Plextor’s efforts to make every customer’s experience a good one.

Performance — CD-ROM replacement?
The performance of the drive is excellent — certainly good enough for use as a primary CD-ROM. The average data read speed of the drive clocked in at an average of 2184KB/sec, roughly 14x in CD-ROM terms. Comparing this to an average of 1422KB/sec on my Acer “50x” CD-ROM, you’ll see the Plextor is quite a bit faster at reading CDs. As for digital audio extraction, the Plextor clocked in at an average of 2590KB/sec, or 15x, much faster than my Acer drive’s speed of 1382KB/sec or 8x. Mind you, these are averages, and are not the maximum speeds — the Plextor got as high as 26x on digital audio extraction, depending on where on the disc it is reading from.

Benefits of SCSI
With the advent of BURNProof, one major concern of people who burn CDs has been taken away — that of having buffer underruns. One of the major advantages of SCSI was that it had less frequent buffer underruns. Thanks to BURNProof, this is no longer an issue, which begs the question — what does SCSI offer now? Well, after my testing, I have found that one advantage of SCSI is that is uses significantly less CPU time — CPU usage hovered around 40% with an IDE burner, but with a SCSI burner it was down to around 10% during the burn. This helps because while an IDE BURNProof burner can do other things while burning, you only have 50% of the CPU time to do it in. With a SCSI burner, the system performs a lot better while burning. I did not notice a significant change in system speed with the SCSI drive, while my PIII-933 slowed to a crawl with an IDE drive. For some, who need to do other things while burning a CD, this might just be an important benefit of SCSI.

What’s in the box?
Besides the drive itself, the unit comes with a 10x CD-RW disc, a 16x CD-R disc, the manual for the drive, the software (Windows only), and a giant fold-out diagram of how to install the drive — Plextor really goes out of their way to make it extremely easy to install its products, and I have to say I am impressed. The drive does not come with a cable, not surprising as SCSI cables can be expensive and come in so many varying sizes that it would be somewhat of a waste, plus the fact most SCSI cards come with all the cables you would need to install this drive.

Conclusion
The 12/10/32S from Plextor is, all in all, a remarkable drive. Capable of 12x CD-R burning, 10x CD-RW burning and fast reading, this drive is an all around great combination. If you are looking for an all in one drive, or just a drive for writing CDs, I feel safe recommending this drive. According to Pricewatch, the drive can be had for $259. Not a bad deal, because comparable IDE drives go for not much less than that (in fact, the IDE counterpart of this drive goes for $189, a $70 dollar difference — not exactly small, but it will not break the bank). I recommend this drive wholeheartedly — it is clear Plextor took time in thinking about what features this drive should have, and ended up with a very well-rounded CD-RW.

NewsForge editors read and respond to comments posted
on our discussion
page.

From LinuxPR:: “Free Software project TradeClient announced release of version 0.9.0. This release marks the addition of full IMAP support and numerous feature additions such as support for additional UNIX mail formats. It also marks the first release of the client as an autonomous Free Software project. TradeClient is a UNIX mail client and personal information manager for X.”

Internetwire: “CollabNet(TM), a leading provider
of collaborative software development solutions based on open source concepts, today
announced that it is continuing its commitment to open source development and open
standards by sponsoring several online communities. CollabNet now hosts www.cvshome.org
and www.webdav.org, in addition to www.mozdev.org, which CollabNet has been supporting since September 2000. More
information about these projects can be found at: www.collab.net/dev.html.”

TechNewsWorld: “Microsoft said Gates will describe two applications; the UK’s Government Gateway project, an
initiative designed to have 100 percent of government transactions online by 2005; and
Accenture’s eGovernment Accelerator, a system designed to help governments deliver seamless
services across agencies via the Web.”

Avatar writes “Hard are work as always, Evil3D is happy to announce two new Linux distro reviews have been posted today.

First up is WinLinux 2000, a FAT based distro with a Windows based config tool.

“After all my bantering over Linux this and Linux that, have you gotten the urge to try it out yet? So what is holding you back? The rumors of partitioning hell? The fear of losing your ability to use precious Windows? Well check this out; WinLinux 2000 may be just what you’re looking for… or not.”

Next in line is KRUD, which is a subscription style distro.

“Ah KRUD. No, that is not some poor slang from ’50s TV or an expression of exasperation. KRUD is the acronym for Kevin Red Hat Uber Distribution. Yet another Red Hat rip off? Kevin certainly doesn’t think so. He originally created it to help himself out during mass installations, and later decided to share it with the rest of the world.”

“

“Currently, Samba can go beyond merely emulating Windows shares to actually
acting as the Primary Domain Controller for your Windows network. Of course,
Samba can also become a NT domain member. In this article we shall look at both
these options.” More at FreeOS.com.