Computerworld reports: “Paper ballots were sent out today to all 24 members of a technical committee that’s working on a controversial standard for preventing the copying and unauthorized distribution of protected data stored on removable media devices.”

Alan Cox posts the latest updates to the Linux kernel. 2.4.2-ac8 includes a fix to the “loop over loop” crash, stops more than one person from claiming the same misc dev ID, and adds a quintet of ARM updates and fixes.

Linux.com: “Unwanted email is the downside to our networked lives. Joshua Drake shows how to use procmail to filter the wheat from the chaff.”

From CNN: “Like a child with a futuristic toy box, Matsushita executive Toshiro Iizuka lifts the latest test models from his aluminum suitcase.
The first is worn like a wristwatch. The second has a detachable tiny ball that’s a digital camera. Another resembles a portable video-game machine.
All are cell phones.”

USENIX Association writes “REGISTER by March 2, 2001, and save $100! The Internet continues to evolve in interesting and unexpected ways. We invite you to join us at USITS ’01 to examine what’s next.”

The 3rd USENIX Symposium on Internet Technologies and Systems
(USITS ’01)
March 26-28, 2001
Cathedral Hill Hotel
San Francisco, California USA

http://www.usenix.org/events/usits01
Sponsored by USENIX, the Advanced Computing Systems Association.

Highlights include:
*Keynote Address by Scott Guthery, one of the world’s leading
smartcard researchers, on “Interfaces Are Forever”
*Invited Talk by Mike Burrows, now with Compaq, on developing
the Altavista search engine
*Refereed papers on streaming media, new architectures, Internet
measurements, managing mobility, and more . . .
*Opportunities to meet peers and gurus at Birds-of-a-Feather sessions,
Work-in-Progress reports, receptions, luncheons, and the hallway track.

Please come and share your expertise with us! And remember,
register by March 2, 2001, to receive the early bird rates for registration and hotel rooms. We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco, March 26-28! Visit our Web site for more information:
http://www.usenix.org/events/usits01.

USENIX Symposium on Internet Technologies and Systems is sponsored by
USENIX, the Advanced Computing Systems Association, USENIX is an
international membership society.”

From the New York Times (free registration required): “I have used the Macintosh operating system for more than a decade, and Windows off and on since it became less annoying a few years ago, but the notion of trying Linux intrigued me. Could someone like me, without a computer science degree or past love affairs with a Radio Shack TRS-80, do anything with Linux — like installing it on an old PC and getting it to do things I usually do on my I.B.M. ThinkPad or Mac G4 desktop-tower machine?

And the lawsuits keep on coming: California DSL and local telephone provider Pacific Bell has now been slapped with a third lawsuit. The latest legal volley alleges that the company engaged in a fraudlent promotion that offered free DSL service with the purchase of a new PC. By sheer coincidence, there were no service installation dates available until after the promotion’s expiration date. Full story at PC World.

The March 2001 issue of the Linux Gazette is now available. In this issue: “Displaying CVS version control numbers in Webpages” … “Mean thoughts on the Linux Router Project” … “Setting up an international keyboard with Xmodmap.”

PC World reports: “Napster and the recording industry are again set to face off, with a return visit on Friday to the court of U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel for a hearing that could lead her to rewrite an earlier ruling in the case.”

Alistair G. Crooks summarizes and highlights some of the changes made to files in the NetBSD packages collection during the month of February. Posted at BSD Today.