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DistributionsNews and Editorials New in Fedora Core 5Fedora Core 5 is due out on March 20 according to the current schedule. We looked at the latest draft of the release notes to see what has changed since Fedora Core 4. First and foremost among those is the latest version of the GNOME desktop. Here's a look at GNOME 2.14 which will be included in FC5. The GNOME Power Manager and GNOME Screensaver will be available as a technology preview. Behind the screen, this release will use gnome-mount, which interacts with hal directly to control user mounted volumes, instead of fstab-sync.KDE fans will find KDE 3.5.1 on their desktop. Other new software includes OpenOffice.org 2.0.2, Firefox 1.5. Pup,the package updater has been joined by Pirut. Pirut replaces system-config-packages, providing comprehensive software package management using yum as a backend. The Anaconda installer has also been revamped to use yum. Also new is Beagle - an index-based search interface, f-spot - a photo management tool and tomboy - a note taking application. I18N support has been improved with the SCIM language input framework, replacing IIIMF for inputting many different non-English languages. Totem now uses the improved Gstreamer 0.10 media framework for a better multimedia experience. Lots of work has gone into integrating Xen Virtualization software with the yum package manager to provide remote logging and improved support for tracebacks. Modular Xorg X11R7.0 has been included in this release. The entire set of Fedora packages have been compiled with the newly included gcc 4.1. Also the SELinux implementation has undergone a major change, and now uses the Reference Policy. Overall, Fedora Core 5 will provide users with a wide variety of the latest free applications and as such it may also have a few rough edges.
New Releases DebianEdu/Skolelinux v 2.0r0 is outSkolelinux has announced the 2.0 release of DebianEdu/Skolelinux. "The new version of Skolelinux offers a variety of popular programs such as OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Firefox, and GCompris -- all in many languages. A wide variety of educational software is also available. Thin client support has been improved, and it is now possible to install half-thick clients. Half-thick clients allow for full use of newer hardware, offering support for CD/DVD-ROM, USB-pen, and audio devices. Since all software is distributed from the Skolelinux servers, maintenance costs on half-thick clients are still kept low."
Ubuntu Flight 5Flight 5, the latest alpha of Dapper Drake, is available. "These releases are tested to be reasonably free of show stopper bugs, but are obiviously still alpha quality, so do not use these on your production systems." Kubuntu Flight 5 is also available.
UltraSPARC T1 (Niagara) support in Ubuntu SPARC buildsThe Niagara is not an officially supported platform for Ubuntu, at least not yet. Nonetheless, it should now be possible to test out the complete Ubuntu installer and environment on Niagara machines.
Debian Installer etch beta 2 releasedThe Debian Installer team has announced the second beta release of the installer for Debian GNU/Linux Etch. Click below of a list of improvements.
Distribution News Debian stable release manager quitsMartin "Joey" Schulze, the person who has managed updates to Debian stable releases for some years, has thrown in the towel. His message is somewhat bitter; he has not had an easy time working with other parts of the Debian project. It looks like Andreas Barth and Martin Zobel-Helas will be taking on this work in the future.
Results for Debian's Position on the GFDLThe results are in on Debian's position regarding the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). Option two "GFDL-licensed works without unmodifiable sections are free" is the winner.
Fedora Core 5 release delayedFor those of you anxiously awaiting the Fedora Core 5 release: that release has just been pushed back to March 20. The new date should give the Fedora hackers time to integrate the final GNOME 2.14 release, among other things. (For those who are curious about what will be in FC5, there is a set of draft release notes available).
Ubuntu "Dapper" delay proposedMark Shuttleworth has sent around a message proposing that the upcoming Ubuntu "Dapper Drake" release, currently scheduled for April 20, be delayed for six weeks. "We would like to show that a Debian-based distribution can deliver the same world class desktop punch that you might traditionally expect from Novell or Red Hat. We will live with Dapper for five years - so let's give it a few extra weeks now so that it can be a real asset to the Ubuntu project for the full duration of its lifespan." An IRC meeting will be held on March 14 to discuss the proposal.
FSMLabs RTLinux Delivers AMCC PowerPC ProcessorsFSMLabs has announced support for a range of embedded PowerPC processors from AMCC. "Deployed in storage, networking, software-defined radio, data acquisition, and motor control, these CPUs combine high-performance, low-power processor cores with rich peripheral sets with both vertical and horizontal applications."
Yellow Dog Linux updateTerra Soft Solutions, creator of Yellow Dog, has updated the Resources page to provide a simplified overview of the Lifecycle of Yellow Dog Linux and now includes a guide to Manual, Semi-Automated, and Fully Automated methods of updating your local YDL system.
Call for help with Dapper localizationUbuntu seeks to improve language support in Dapper, particularly for those languages with complex display and input requirements like Korean, Japanese and Chinese in all its variants. "We have a framework in place, and need some specific information for each language. If you use Ubuntu in a language that needs some configuration to get right, we would REALLY appreciate it if you would help us make sure we have it perfect for Dapper. In particular, experience with Fontconfig is needed."
Ubuntu-IN mailing listA new mailing list has been created for Ubuntu enthusiasts in India. "This list is meant for all Ubuntu users, volunteers, developers and anyone wishing to involve themselves in the Ubuntu Indian LoCo community."
New Distributions Advanced Linux desktop released from SingaporeSingapore-based Tomahawk Computers has released the Tomahawk Desktop 1.1, an advanced multimedia Linux desktop distribution.
Distribution Newsletters Debian Weekly NewsThe Debian Weekly News for March 14, 2006 covers a collaborative maintenance infrastructure for Debian, the Debian QA meeting in Extremadura, a dedicated backup server, updates from the Debian Kernel Team, Martin 'Joey' Schulze steps down as Stable Release Manager, results of the General Resolution about the GFDL, reflections on the role of the project leader, influencing Haskell development, and other topics.
Fedora Weekly News Issue 37The Fedora Weekly News for March 13, 2006 looks at Fedora Core 5 Status, Release Notes: released!, compiz on aiglx, Fedora Legacy Repo included in FC5, Fedora Core 5 Test 3 Review, Linux Audio Comparison on FC5T3, 2005 LQ.org Members Choice Award Winners, OpenOffice.org 2.0.2 Released, Red Hat's New-Look Enterprise Linux, and more.
Gentoo Weekly NewsletterThe Gentoo Weekly Newsletter for the week of March 13, 2006 covers the availability of Gentoo Linux 2006.0 release media at the Gentoo store, the launch of the Gentoo community directory project, Gentoo events in Calicut and Leipzig, a report from Chemnitzer Linuxtage and several other topics.
DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 142The DistroWatch Weekly for March 13, 2006 is out. This edition looks at Kororaa, the Gentoo based live CD with Xgl, and more.
Package updates Fedora updatesUpdates for Fedora Core 4: system-config-bind (bug fixes, updated translations), net-tools (bug fixes, new options), tcsh (bug fix), slib (bug fixes, spec cleanup), shadow-utils (bug fixes), db4 (bug fixes), squid (new upstream version).
Slackware updatesSlackware shows a lengthy change log entry for March 13th (click below), with a new version of gcc-3.4.6 causing lots of other packages to be recompiled and new kernel (linux-2.6.15.6) in testing. An stunnel upgrade messed up /var/lib permissions, which have since been fixed.
Newsletters and articles of interest The Perfect Linux Firewall Part I -- IPCop (HowtoForge)HowtoForge covers the installation of IPCop firewall to create a small home office network. "The IPCop project is a GNU/GPL project that offers an exceptional feature packed stand alone firewall to the internet community. Its comprehensive web interface, well documented administration guides, and its involved and helpful user/administrative mailing lists make users of any technical capacity feel at home. It goes far beyond a simple ipchains / netfilter implementation available in most Linux distributions and even the firewall feature sets of commercial competitors." Part 2 looks at setting up IPCop for web hosting/mail hosting.
Rubix Linux 1.0 goes gold (DesktopLinux.com)DesktopLinux.com looks at the first stable version of Rubix Linux 1.0. "The first stable version of Rubix Linux 1.0, a distribution that combines a Slackware core, the KDE desktop, and Arch Linux's "pacman" package management software, was released Tuesday. It also has a revamped init system that maintains the BSD style but adds modularity, project team leader Joshua Rubin said."
Distribution reviews Kororaa live CD has Linux quivering (NewsForge)NewsForge looks at the Kororaa live CD with Xgl. "Kororaa is a distro that provides a binary installer for Gentoo. Djpharoah, one of the Kororaa IRC and forum moderators, says using Kororaa allowed him to completely install and configure a Gentoo system in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days. The response to the live CD has been so great that the ISO had to be removed from the Kororaa site and is available at present only from the list of mirrors you can find here. Articles on Groklaw and elsewhere have fanned the flames of interest even higher."
Review: Dyne:bolic 1.4.1 live CD (Linux.com)Linux.com reviews the Dyne:bolic 1.4.1 live CD. "Dyne:bolic is a multimedia-centric Linux distribution on live CD. Recording, mixing, streaming, and broadcasting audio and video content is its stock in trade. It has been nearly two years since NewsForge first reviewed the Dyne:bolic 1.0 alpha release. The distro has matured considerably in the intervening time. This is a look at the 1.4.1 release."
My desktop OS: Kanotix (NewsForge)NewsForge has this article about Kanotix. "I expect both ease of use and advanced capabilities in any GNU/Linux distro. I am therefore hard to please when using a live CD-based distro, which is necessarily limited to about 2GB of software compressed onto a 700MB CD. I have tested more than a dozen live CD distros. Of all of them, Kanotix comes closet to being the "perfect distro." Simply put, Kanotix is Knoppix on steroids..."
10 Best Security Live CD Distros (Darknet)Darknet takes a look at ten of the best live Linux CDs for Pen-Test, Forensics & Recovery. Some are old, some are new, all are available for download.
Suse Linux Bible 10 Review (Gnuman.com)Gnuman.com reviews the book Suse Linux 10 Bible. "Suse Linux 10 Bible, as its name states is not only a reference book for those who are quite in tune with Suse Linux, but for those who are familiar and comfortable enough with Suse 10 or Linux in general, this book could take your Linux experience to the next level. The book is written by Justin Davies, Roger Whittaker and William von Hagen. This book comes with a Suse 10 DVD and weighs in at over 800 pages."
Page editor: Rebecca Sobol |
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