From LinuxPlanet: “I was talking to a colleague recently who wanted to know what it’s like to write about Linux. He’d read discussions on a few Linux sites
and come across one where a writer had gotten himself fairly mauled for drawing the wrong conclusion and getting linked by the wrong
site for his troubles.

“I don’t know,” my colleague said, “but you guys are sorta out there. No one else cares about stuff like this and you guys are all like
‘GPL this’ and ‘Microsoft sucks that’ and you all just rip on anybody who doesn’t see it that way. No one takes you guys seriously.””

“The discovery of the first Linux worm to go feral has sent a stark message to the Linux community not to be complacent about protecting their computer systems.” Full report at NewScientist

InfoWorld reports on what attendees of LinuxWorld Expo should expect to see at next week’s show in New York. Don’t count on many distributions showcasing the new 2.4 kernel; prepare to be blown away by an array of 64-bit Itanium systems from Dell and HP – including an IA-64 cluster demonstration from Intel.

“For months, you read logs that basically consist of the same sequence of messages. Then one morning, you see a different message.
Your first thought tends to be “I’ve been hit!” You want to determine whether the attack was successful. You comb through logs and
examine files on your systems, looking for signs of abnormal behavior. There are none; maybe the attack has failed.” LinuxWorld’s Jon Lasser provides a basic “defensive driving course” in Linux security.

ZDNet UK reports on the next version of SuSE’s Linux distribution. Version 7.1, slated for release on February 12, will include the new 2.4 Linux kernel.

ZDNet UK follows up on reports that automobile manufacturers in Europe, including DaimlerChryslter, Delphi Delco Automotive Systems and Visteon, are working on plans to
test-drive Linux and other Open Source software in cars.

From PR Newswire: Jabber.com, Inc., provider of commercial
Jabber Instant Messaging solutions and a subsidiary of Webb Interactive
Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: WEBB), today announced that the Jabber open source
project has been selected as one of two projects for early scalability testing
in the industry’s first independent, non-profit lab designed for developers
who are adding new business-oriented capabilities to Linux and Linux-based
software.

The humor site Segfault has an item saying, “Linux is finally hitting the mainstream, not only among computer users, but among High Society. The New Londener Society Column this evening premiered its reporting of supplemental kernel development list, linux-kernel. Mr. R—, esteemed contributor of NetBSD and Linux kernel endowments, ignited a scandalous reparte
amongst Linux Society. The events unbecoming of the Linux clique transpired this Thursday past. ‘I do
protest!,’ began foppish Mr. R— of ix.netcom.com, speaking of Mr. G—‘s most recent contribution, ‘This
cache colouring patch is as feltback foul served with wine of red! Ill-conceived and unsettling, I say!’ “

ZDNet UK reports that Red Hat will give European
users of its operating system with an update CD including the new
kernel 2.4 in mid-February.

The humor site Segfault interviews a “Mr. Jeffrey Davis,” who’s been trying to get his message out to the world via Slashdot. His message: “First post.”