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<title> News Bytes LG #81 </title>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#0000AF"
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<H4 ALIGN="center">"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"</H4>
<HR>
<center>
<table cellpadding=7><tr><td>
<IMG SRC="../gx/bytes.gif" border=1 ALT="News Bytes">
</td><td>
<H3>Contents:</H3>
<ul>
<li><a HREF="#leg">Legislation and More Legislation</a>
<li><a HREF="#links">Linux Links</a>
<li><a HREF="#conferences">Conferences and Events</a>
<li><a HREF="#general">News in General</a>
<li><a HREF="#distro">Distro News</A>
<li><a HREF="#commercial">Software and Product News</a>
</ul>
</td></tr></table>
<STRONG>Selected and formatted by <A HREF="mailto:michael.conry@softhome.net">Michael Conry</A> and Mike Orr</STRONG>
</center>
<P> Submitters, send your News Bytes items in
<FONT SIZE="+2"><STRONG>PLAIN TEXT</STRONG></FONT>
format. Other formats may be rejected without reading. You have been
warned! A one- or two-paragraph summary plus URL gets you a better
announcement than an entire press release. Submit items to
<A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com">gazette@ssc.com</A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<font color="green">
August 2002 <I>Linux Journal</I> -- 100th issue!
</font>
</H3>
<IMG ALT="[issue 100 cover image]" SRC="misc/bytes/lj-cover100.png" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=268
ALIGN="left" HSPACE="20">
The August issue of <A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"><I>Linux
Journal</I></A> is on newsstands now.
This issue focuses on LJ's 100th issue. Click
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=NS-lj-issues/issue100&file=index">here</A>
to view the table of contents, or
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/subscribe/">here</A>
to subscribe.
<P>
<FONT COLOR="green">All articles through December 2001 are available for
public reading at
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/magazine.php">http://www.linuxjournal.com/magazine.php</A></FONT>.
Recent articles are available on-line for subscribers only at
<A HREF="http://interactive.linuxjournal.com">http://interactive.linuxjournal.com/</A>.
<BR CLEAR="all">
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<a name="leg"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Legislation and More Legislation</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">JPEG
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
It emerged during the past month, to the dismay of everyone interested in
open file formats and free software, that the JPEG image compression scheme
may be subject to patent royalties. As
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26272.html">
reported</a>
by The Register,
<a href="http://www.forgent.com/">
Forgent Networks</a> have recently come into possession of a
<a href="http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1='4,698,672'.WKU.&OS=PN/4,698,672&RS=PN/4,698,672">
patent</a> which they claim covers the transmission of JPEG images, and
have even managed to claim royalties from two companies. If this patent
proves to be enforceable, the ISO have said that they will
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26339.html">
withdraw JPEG as a standard</a> (the licencing terms being enforced by
Forgent are not compatible with ISO regulations for standards).
Hopefully the patent will not stand up. To make sure of this, the JPEG
committee is
<a href="http://www.jpeg.org/newsrel1.html">
seeking examples of prior art</a> which would render the patent null
and void.
If the worst comes to the worst, it appears that the patent will
expire in 2004 in any case.
<P>
The
<a href="http://swpat.ffii.org/group/index.en.html">
Software Patent Working Group of the FFII</a>,
has pointed out that there are also
<a href="http://swpat.ffii.org/patente/wirkungen/jpeg/index.en.html">
European Patents in existence</a>
which could be used to put a lean on JPEG compression.
A small step can be taken against EU software patents by signing
the <a href="http://www.noepatents.org/index_html?LANG=en">
Petition for a Software Patent Free Europe</a>.
<P>
A webpage bringing together many links on this story is the new
<a href="http://burnalljpegs.org/">
Burn All .JPEGs!</a> website.
Forgent's website also has a
<a href="http://www.forgent.com/company/press_room/in_the_news.shtml">
list</a> of recent appearances of the company in the news, which has a
couple of links to stories regarding the JPEG patent.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Perens and DMCA
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://perens.com/">
Bruce Perens</a>
generated some publicity this month by
<a href="http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/07/23/020723hnperens.xml">
threatening</a>
to violate the DMCA
<a href="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/os2002/view/e_sess/3111">
live on stage</a> at the
<a href="http://conferences.oreillynet.com/os2002/">
O'Reilly Open Source Convention</a>.
<a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=36633&cid=3946881">
The plan</a>
was to demonstrate how to remove the region-code control built into a DVD
player. However
<a href="http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/columnists/dan_gillmor/ejournal/3735855.htm">
as reported by Dan Gilmore</a> and
<a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/26/1739207&mode=nested&tid=153">
by Slashdot</a>,
Bruce backed down from openly breaking the law
following a request from his employers,
<a href="http://www.hp.com/">HP</a>.
<P>
There are several good links regarding this story on the
<a href="http://www.oreillynet.com/oscon2002/">
O'Reilly Open Source Convention Conference Coverage page</a>.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">More DRM (sigh)
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
A bill proposed by US Senator Biden would make certain kinds of Digital
Rights Management circumvention a
<A HREF="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:s.02395:">felony</A>
(capital crime).
<A HREF="http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-946890.html">ZDNet coverage</A> states
that the bill was originally intended to combat large-scale piracy (e.g., fake
Windows holograms), but was quietly rewritten to include DRM. (Courtesy
Slashdot)
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Open source: EU, US, Peru and Pakistan
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
It was reported in various locations
(<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26102.html">in The Register</a>,
<a href="http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/09/1739246&mode=nested&tid=99">
on Slashdot</a> and
<a href="http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2118707,00.html">
in ZDNet</a>), that a recent EU report has called for
wider open-source adoption, in order to have greater exchange of software
between different administrative branches, and also between countries.
The
<a href="http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/09/1739246&mode=nested&tid=99">
Slashdot story</a> has links to the original EU report in various formats.
<P>
On a not unrelated theme,
Sam Williams at O'Reilly.net
<a href="http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2002/07/16/linux_in_govt.html">
has taken a look</a>
at the impact of open source software in government--both inside and
outside the U.S.
<P>
Wired <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,54141,00.html">reports</A>
that the US Ambassador to Peru has come out against Peruvian Congressman
Villanueva's bill advocating usage of open-source software in
gonvernment computers. Also, Bill Gates personally delivered
Peru's president Alejandro Tolero a donation estimated at $550,000
for the national school system. Not surprisingly, the money is
to go to the same schools Villanueva's bill targets.
Villanueva said he believes Microsoft isn't worried so much about
losing the small Peruvian market as the cascading effect that might
happen if other Latin American countries follow suit. Similar bills
are pending in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil, and Spain's Extremadura
region has
<A HREF=http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,51994,00.html"">
already adoped Linux</A> as the official operating system of
its public schools and offices.
<P>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6204">Pakistan</A> is
getting into the Open Source game too. 50,000 Pentium IIs running GNU/Linux
are being installed in schools and colleges all over Pakistan, at a cost of
less than US$100 each. "Proprietary software for these PCs would cost a
small fortune. Surely more than what the computers cost!"
<a name="links"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Linux Links</font></H3></center>
<P>
The Register have an
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26275.html">
excellent report</a> (originally from NewsForge) by Grant Gross on a
public workshop on digital rights management. It would appear that "fair
use" advocates got less than a warm reception from Hollywood and Dept. of
Commerce representatives.
<P>
Marcelo Tosatti, maintainer of the stable kernel branch
<a href="http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2118919,00.html">
in an interview</a> with ZDNet.
<P>
From <a href="http://www.lwn.net/">LWN</a>, come links to reports
<a href="http://news.com.com/2100-1023-944715.html">
in CNET</a> and
<a href="http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2874933,00.html">
in ZDNet</a> of
the Netherlands' NAH6 plans to release a Secure
Notebook incorporating a program that encrypts files transparently.
The user runs applications on Windows, which is installed in a VMWare
virtual machine. VMWare is run on Debian GNU/Linux, which keeps files
encrypted in case the laptop is stolen or mislaid.
<P>
A few links from
<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"><em>Linux Journal</em></a>
which might be of interest:
<ul>
<li>
An account of
<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=5837">
setting up an old 386</a> on a home network.
</li>
<li>
A Dutch court says
<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6235">
opt-out is a good enough policy for spam</a>.
(meaning you get the messages unless you specifically request to be removed
from the list), and that if the level of spam gets objectionable, you can
always get a new e-mail address.
</li>
<li>
Doc Searls
<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6218">
writes</a>
about CARP and suggests that RIAA et al's motive isn't to extract money
from Internet radio stations but rather to shut them down through
royalty rates no station can afford, to protect their CD market.
</li>
<li>
Linux Journal's
<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=NS-lj-issues/issue100&file=index">
100th issue</a>.
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6000">
Linux timeline</a>.
By
<a href="http://www.lwn.net">LWN</a> and
<a href="http://www.linuxjournal.com">LJ</a> staff.
</li>
</ul>
<P>
Some interesting links from
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk">The Register</a>
over the past month:
<ul>
<li>
A
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/25993.html">
$200k prize has been offered</a>
for getting Linux to run legally on Xbox. The first program
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26078.html">
isn't much to look at though</a>.
</li>
<li>
European antitrust investigation
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/25988.html">
considers Palladium</a>, while Microsoft tells us it's
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26231.html">
not so bad as it looks</a>, but
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/26085.html">
not everyone is convinced</a>.
</li>
<li>
2600
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26038.html">
withdraws Supreme Court appeal</a> in DeCSS case.
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26289.html">
Forbes reports on Linux</a>.
</li>
<li>
UK government
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26335.html">
cautiously accepts</a>
Open Source.
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26357.html">
Cracking legal</a> for copyright enforcement?
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26382.html">
Danger</a>
of the UCITA.
</li>
<li>
NVidia edges towards open source, and opens parts of its compiler
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26351.html">
technology to the public</a>.
</li>
</ul>
<P>
DesktopLinux.com are
<a href="http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS6907557337.html">
publishing the winning essays</a> from their wIndependence Day contest.
<P>
<a href="http://www.privacyinternational.org">
Privacy International</a> have
<a href="http://www.privacyinternational.org/issues/idcard/uk/">
an FAQ and other information</a>
on proposals to introduce ID cards to
the UK. Probably of quite wide interest.
<P>
A couple of links from
<a href="http://slashdot.org/">
Slashdot</a> which might interest you:
<ul>
<LI>
<A HREF="http://www.msnbc.com/news/785970.asp">USB 2.0</A> is being
backported to Linux kernel 2.4.19. This means the stable Linux kernel
will have access to the upcoming generation of USB devices running 40
times faster than currently. The speedup makes USB CR-RW drives and
network cards practical, and gives performance comparable to FireWire
(but cheaper). This is only the first step: the specific device drivers
still need to be written. Linux users can rejoice that the delay in
getting USB 2.0 support is much less than was the case with USB 1.0, and
that the rate of progress is quite competitive with that of proprietary OSes.
(Another interesting point is that the article was published on MSNBC,
which is half owned by Microsoft but continues to publish pro-Linux articles.)
<LI>
Summary of articles about Secure Computing's SELinux and its
<A HREF="http://slashdot.org/articles/02/07/27/0224224.shtml?tid=155">
patented content</A>.
<li>
A
<a href="http://linuxdailynews.net/">
new portal:
<em>LinuxDailyNews</em></a> has
<a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/02/07/02/1158217.shtml?tid6">
been launched</a>, founded by several existing
Linux portal sites.
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://slashdot.org/articles/02/07/25/0237238.shtml?tid2">
Linux Beer Hike Goes to Ireland</a>.
</li>
</ul>
How Marty Roesch
<a href="http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/06/29/2127239&mode=thread&tid=3">
made the journey</a> from obsessive gamer to successful open source
developer and entrepreneur.
<P>
<a href="http://www.advogato.org/article/512.html">
The binary nature of freedom</a>, at Advogato (with
<a href="http://newsvac.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/07/05/134242&mode=thread&tid=19">
talkbacks at NewsForge</a>).
<P>
NewsForge have
<a href="http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/07/12/0137212&mode=thread&tid=23">
a report</a> on the various instant messaging options available to Linux
users.
<P>
Howard Wen at O'Reilly
<a href="http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2002/03/21/linuxps2.html">
takes a look</a>
at Sony's upcoming Linux distribution kit
for the PlayStation 2.
<P>
Some interesting links from
<a href="http://www.linuxtoday.com/">Linux Today</a>
<ul>
<li>
A detailed
<a href="http://www.nsa.gov/selinux/doc/freenix01/freenix01.html">
white paper</a> from the NSA, on Security-Enhanced Linux.
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-clutil/?t=gr,lnxw02=CLUtil">
Developing a Linux command-line utility</a> (at IBM developerWorks).
</li>
<li>
CrossNodes have
<a href="http://networking.earthweb.com/netsecur/article/0,,12084_1429131,00.html">
an introduction</a>
to auditing your LAN using nmap.
</li>
</ul>
<P> NewsForge article on
<a href="http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/07/19/1957242&mode=thread&tid=11">
the game theory of open code</a>.
<P>
Timo Hannay of Nature
<a href="http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2002/07/17/timo.html">
compares</a> [O'Reilly]
the scientific method
to the mechanics of open source development.
<a name="conferences"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Upcoming conferences and events</font></H3></center>
<P> Listings courtesy <EM>Linux Journal</EM>. See <EM>LJ</EM>'s
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/events.php">Events</A> page for the
latest goings-on.
<!-- *** BEGIN events table [this line needed by Linux Gazette events.py *** -->
<table cellpadding=5 border=0 width=100%>
<tr><td colspan=2><HR size=5 width=100% noshade align=center></td></tr>
<tr><td valign=top>
<b>USENIX Securty Symposium (USENIX)</b><BR>
<td valign=top>August 5-9, 2002<BR>San Francisco, CA<BR>
<a href="http://www.usenix.org/events/sec02/" target="_blank">
http://www.usenix.org/events/sec02/</A><BR>
<tr><td colspan=2><HR size=5 width=100% noshade align=center></td></tr>
<tr><td valign=top>
<b>LinuxWorld Conference & Expo (IDG)</b><BR>
<td valign=top>August 12-15, 2002<BR>San Francisco, CA<BR>
<a href="http://www.linuxworldexpo.com" target="_blank">
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com</A><BR>
<tr><td colspan=2><HR size=5 width=100% noshade align=center></td></tr>
<tr><td valign=top>
<b>LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Australia (IDG)</b><BR>
<td valign=top>August 14 - 16, 2002<BR>Australia<BR>
<a href="http://www.idgexpoasia.com/" target="_blank">
http://www.idgexpoasia.com/</A><BR>
<tr><td colspan=2><HR size=5 width=100% noshade align=center></td></tr>
<tr><td valign=top>
<b>Communications Design Conference (CMP)</b><BR>
<td valign=top>September 23-26, 2002<BR>San Jose, California<BR>
<a href="http://www.commdesignconference.com/" target="_blank">
http://www.commdesignconference.com/</A><BR>
<tr><td colspan=2><HR size=5 width=100% noshade align=center></td></tr>
<tr><td valign=top>
<b>IBM eServer pSeries (RS/6000) and Linux Technical University</b><BR>
<td valign=top>October 14-18, 2002<BR>Dallas, TX<BR>
<a href="http://www-3.ibm.com/services/learning/conf/us/pseries/" target="_blank">
http://www-3.ibm.com/services/learning/conf/us/pseries/</A><BR>
<tr><td colspan=2><HR size=5 width=100% noshade align=center></td></tr>
<tr><td valign=top>
<b>Software Development Conference & Expo, East (CMP)</b><BR>
<td valign=top>November 18-22, 2002<BR>Boston, MA<BR>
<a href="http://www.sdexpo.com/" target="_blank">
http://www.sdexpo.com/</A><BR>
<tr><td colspan=2><HR size=5 width=100% noshade align=center></td></tr>
</table>
<!-- *** END events table [this line needed by Linux Gazette events.py *** -->
<a name="general"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">News in General</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green"><EM>Linux Journal</EM> articles available for documentation
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<P> <EM>Linux Journal</EM>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6240">has changed its
author contract</A> to clarify that any author may include his/her articles as
freely-redistributable documentation in a free software project or free
documentation project after the article has been published. Authors have
always had this right since the founding of <EM>LJ</EM>, but some did not
realize they had it. Motivations for doing so are to make the information
available to all users of a program, in a convenient location, and so that the
project can use the article as primary documentation if desired, updating it as
the program evolves.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Linux Weekly News
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
It looked like the end of the road for
<a href="http://www.lwn.net/">
Linux Weekly News</a>
earlier this month, when they
<a href="http://lwn.net/Articles/5052/">
announced</a>
that the August 1st edition would be the last ever. The basic cause for
this decision was lack of money, and the absence of any plan which could
generate money.
Following the announcement, many disappointed readers put their money on
the table and contributed to LWN's donation scheme. This quickly raised
$12000, leading to a
<a href="http://lwn.net/Articles/5838/">rethink of LWN's future</a>.
A final decision on the magazine's fate has not been made.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Mandrake at Walmart
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
Following last month's
<a href="http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/06/14/1316203&mode=thread&tid=23">
launch</a> [NewsForge]
by
<a href="http://www.walmart.com/">
Wal-Mart</a> of PC's with
<a href="http://www.lindows.com">
Lindows</a>
pre-installed, comes a
<a href="http://www.mandrakesoft.com/company/press/pr?n=/pr/products/2315&lg=en">
new announcement of</a>
the availability of
<a href="http://www.linux-mandrake.com/">Mandrake</a>-equipped versions.
The Wal-Mart catalogue contains full details and prices of both the
<a href="http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product_listing.gsp?cat=96356&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3951%3A41937%3A86796%3A96356">
Lindows</a> and
<a href="http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product_listing.gsp?cat=102252&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3951%3A41937%3A86796%3A102252">
Mandrake</a> PC product lines.
<P>
NewsForge have
<a href="http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/07/15/0147230&mode=thread&tid=23">
reported on this story</a>, as
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26192.html">has The
Register</a>.
Hopefully the Mandrake version of this product will prove more satisfactory
than the earlier Lindows offering, which received
<a href="http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/07/02/1247234&mode=thread&tid=23">
a very lukewarm review</a>
from NewsForge.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Ogg and Real
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
Congratulations to the folk behind the
<a href="http://www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis/">
Ogg Vorbis</a>
project, who have
<a href="http://www.ogg.org/ogg/vorbis/index.html">
released a version 1.0</a>.
As linked
<a href="http://lwn.net/Articles/5057/">from LWN</a>,
there are currently various news items related to the 1.0 release on
<a href="http://www.vorbis.com/news.psp">
Ogg Vorbis News</a>.
This story was also reported
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26176.html">
by The Register</a> and
<a href="http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945228.html">
by CNET</a>,
<P>
<a href="http://www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis/">Ogg Vorbis</a> and
<a href="http://www.xiph.org/">Xiph.org</a> have also been in the news this
month due to the links being forged between the open source format and the
new
<a href="http://www.realnetworks.com/info/helix/index.html">
Helix</a>
software of
<a href="http://www.realnetworks.com/">RealNetworks</a>. This development
should see some parts of RealNetworks' software
<a href="http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2002-07-24-016-26-NW-DT-SW">
being released</a>
under "a community and open source licence". Inclusion of the Ogg Vorbis
codec into RealNetworks products should follow.
<P>
Bruce Perens has written an
<a href="http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/07/23/0032247&mode=thread&tid=11">
in-depth account</a>
of the issues surrounding the RealNetworks-Xiph link-up, and has criticised
many features of the deal, such as the fact that Real's codecs will remain
proprietary, and the use of community licencing (rather than opensource)
for parts of their software.
Rob Lanphier of RealNetworks has
<a href="http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=3933287&sid=36511&tid=126">
replied to Bruce</a> on Slashdot, and asked for good will to be shown to
the company's open source contribution.
The Register has also
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26314.html">
reported on</a>
Real's open source experiment,
<a href="http://news.com.com/2100-1023-945406.html">
as has CNET</a>.
The
<a href="http://www.helixcommunity.org/">
Helix Community website</a> should report future developments in the open
source development of the RealNetworks Helix project, and also contains
copies of the
<a href="http://www.helixcommunity.org/content/licenses.html">
licences</a> the software will be released under (comments are invited).
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">GNU Scientific Library (GSL) 1.2 is Released
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
Version 1.2 of the GNU Scientific Library is now available.
The GNU Scientific Library is a collection of routines for numerical
computing in C.
This release is backwards compatible with previous 1.x releases.
The project home page is at
<a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/gsl/">
http://www.gnu.org/software/gsl/</a>.
Information for developers is at
<a href="http://sources.redhat.com/gsl/">
http://sources.redhat.com/gsl/</a>.
<a name="distro"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Distro News</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Debian
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
Big news in the Debian world this month,
Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 (Woody) has
<a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2002/20020719">
been released</a>!
Debian GNU/Linux now supports a total of eleven processor architectures,
includes KDE and GNOME desktop environments, features cryptographic
software, is compatible with the FHS v2.2 and supports software developed
for the LSB. This was also
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26323.html">
reported by The Register</a>. As
<a href="http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2002/28/">
reported by Debian Weekly News</a>,
the new testing distribution
<a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce-0207/msg00011.html">
will be called "sarge"</a>.
<P>
<hr noshade width="20%">
<P>
A new revision of Potato, 2.2r7, was also
<a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2002/20020713">
released</a>. Main changes were security updates, and a couple of
corrections.
<P>
<hr noshade width="20%">
<P>
<a href="http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2002/28/">
Debian Weekly News reported</a> that the patent claims being made against
the jpeg image compression scheme could require the movement of
libjpeg62 and everything compiled against it into non-free.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Gentoo
</FONT>
</H3>
<a href="http:/www.tinyminds.org">tinyminds.org</a>
have published an
<a href="http://www.tinyminds.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=429&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0">
interview</a> with Daniel Robbins of
<a href="http://www.gentoo.org/">
Gentoo Linux</a>.
There are a
<a href="http://newsvac.newsforge.com/newsvac/02/07/27/152253.shtml?tid=23">
few talkbacks</a> on NewsForge.
<P>
<hr width="20%" noshade>
<P>
LinuxPlanet have a
<a href="http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/reviews/4302/1/">
recent review</a>
of Gentoo Linux 1.2.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">RedFlag
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.redflag-linux.com">
Redflag Software Technologies Co., Ltd</a>
and
<a href="http://www.opera.com">
Opera Software</a>
have made a strategic announcement, and are looking forward to working
together on embedded browser solutions for the Chinese market.
RedFlag will seek to join as an Opera reseller, with joint development
and market efforts to tailor Opera for the Chinese embedded market.
<P> With Opera included, RedFlag will be able to offer original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) and hardware manufacturers Web-enabled solutions
customised to fit with Red Flag's current product line.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">SuSE
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.suse.de/en">SuSE Linux</a> has
announced the availability of the
<a href="http://www.suse.de/en/products/suse_business/email_server/">
SuSE Linux eMail Server 3.1</a>
with expanded system functionalities. SuSE's
e-mail solution which assists in managing appointments, tasks, and
resources, is aimed specifically at small and medium-scale enterprises as
well as workgroups and public administrations.
<P>
<hr noshade width="20%">
<P>
<a href="http://www.suse.de/en/">
SuSE Linux</a>
has also announced its participation in
<a href="http://www.tsanet.org">
TSANet</a> - the "Technical
Support Alliance Network". TSANet is a global support platform
that hosts more than 150 hardware and software providers. Within
the scope of TSANet, various manufacturers cooperate in providing
solutions for problems their enterprise customers encounter in
connection with their applications.
<P> For detailed information on the support offer of SuSE, please
check
<a href="http://support.suse.de/en/">
http://support.suse.de/en/</a>
<a name="commercial"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Software and Product News</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Opera
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.opera.com">
Opera Software</a>
has announced the
release of Opera 6.02 for Linux. The new version includes important fixes
to the document and user interface, with special emphasis on the display of
Asian characters, making this a useful upgrade for Linux users all over
the world.
Opera 6 opened up Asian markets to Opera, because of its added ability
to display non- Western characters, and the Linux version has proved to be
especially popular in this region.
<P>
Opera 6.02 for Linux is available for free in a ad-supported version at
<a href="http://www.opera.com">
www.opera.com</a>.
Users can purchase a banner-free version for USD 39. Discounts apply.
<P>
<hr width="20%" noshade>
<P>
<a href="http://www.opera.com">
Opera Software ASA</a>
has also announced that
<a href="http://www.suse.de/en">
SuSE</a>
will distribute the popular Opera for Linux Web browser in their Linux
distribution. The deal is Opera's first major Linux distribution agreement.
Opera is available in SuSE Linux 8.0.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Random Factory
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.randomfactory.com/">
The Random Factory</a>, have a range of scientific software for Linux,
covering subjects such as astronomy, chemistry, and biotechnology. Also
available are Linux workstations, preloaded with a choice of Random Factory
products.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Magic Software
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.magicsoftware.com/edeveloper">
Magic Software Enterprises</a>, a provider of
application development technology and business solutions announced today
the introduction of
<a href="http://www.magicsoftware.com/edeveloper">
Magic eDeveloper</a>
into the Chinese market.
Magic Software
<a href="http://www.magicsoftware.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=InnerPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=tech%5El4%5EsLinux&enZone=tech&enVersion=0&enretain=branch&">
support Linux</a>
on some of their product lines.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Other software
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.varicad.com">
VariCAD</a>
has announced the release of a new VariCAD 8.2.0.2 Update for both Windows
and Linux operating systems. This mechanical 3D/2D CAD package offers tools
for 3D modelling, 2D drafting, libraries of mechanical components,
calculations, BOM's, and many others. It is priced $399.
Free trial versions for Windows 98/NT/200/XP and Linux (RedHat, Mandrake,
SuSE) are available for downloading at
<a href="http://www.varicad.com">
http://www.varicad.com</a>
<P>
Linux Game Publishing is looking for beta testers for Mindrover 1.07b. You
can register your interest at <a
href=http://betas.linuxgamepublishing.com/>betas website</a>. Successful
applicants will be notified by e-mail.
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
<P> <hr> <P>
<H5 ALIGN=center>
Copyright &copy; 2002, Michael Conry and
the Editors of <A HREF="mailto:gazette@ssc.com"><I>Linux Gazette</I></A>.<BR>
Copying license <A HREF="../copying.html">http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html</A><BR>
Published in Issue 81 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, August 2002</H5>
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