A new release for the JTMOS. The changes are, according to Jari's changes description to Freshmeat, "A TCP/IP stack (uIP) has been added. JTMOS now answers to ICMP pings. Major fixes were made in the SLIP driver. A working and usable WWW server was added and tested. A telnet server has been introduced. Many interrupt related problems have been fixed. A snake game called 'Greedy Snake' has been ported to JTMOS. Split partitioning support for the first floppy disk drive was added, which allows a file system to be placed on the same disk as the system loader and system image."

"This is a critical review of Debian 3.0, but I want to say right from the start that I'm not trying to bait anyone. However I feel that reviewers often root for Debian as the open-source underdog, and give it marks which it doesn't deserve. If RedHat 8.0 came out with installation software like Debian 3.0 it would be savaged. I think it's time for an honest review, to spur the Debian developers into making the best possible distribution. I really want Debian to succeed. I want to use it daily, and recommend it to my friends. But I can't do that right now and I think it's important people understand why." Read the review and its (already long) discussion at DebianPlanet.

X Resize and Rotate is an extension to X which allows resizing, rotating, reflecting, and changing the refresh rate of each screen of an X display on the fly. The extension has recently been committed to XFree86; the next version, 4.3 is planned for release this year. Hamish Rodda commited a user interface for this extension to kdenonbeta/kcmrandr. Screenshots here, discussion here.

"There is an idea going around that Linux is not just for geeks ... some say that a good distro, like Mandrake, is easy enough for most ordinary PC users to adopt. I want to tell you my experience..." The editorial is published at NewsForge.

Mozilla 1.2-Beta and Phoenix 0.3 browsers were recently released. Additionally, Opera Software released beta versions of 6.1 for Linux, Linux PPC and FreeBSD. Also, the Dillo web browser's CVS seems to not have any check-ins for 3 months now, so if you want to code for a small and fast browser for Unix, here's your chance.

In this article, SAMag will explore OpenPKG, a software development and packaging project initiated by Cable & Wireless, an international ISP. The OpenPKG project began in November 2000 and has grown into a collaborative software development effort managed and maintained by many. The project aims to create a modular and flexible UNIX subsystem for cross-platform software packaging and installation.

Is open source software more secure? To most Linux enthusiasts, the answer is obvious: open source means more people can look for bugs and a faster dissemination of bug fixes. Obviously, yes. But noted security expert Gene Spafford says that this may not necessarily be true. According to the Purdue professor of computer science and co-author of Practical Unix & Internet Security, good security begins with good design and neither Windows nor Linux have much to brag about in that category.

Conversing with a computer has long been a staple of science fiction. Such conversations are still largely in the realm of fiction, but voice recognition technology has improved significantly over the last decade. A number of voice recognition and control products are available on various platforms. Many people don't realize, however, that it is possible to control the Linux desktop by voice, and it has been possible for some time. Read the article at LinuxJournal.

MandrakeSoft released Linux Mandrake 9.0 about three weeks ago. How does this version compares to the also recent SuSE and Red Hat releases? MandrakeSoft sent us the Download Edition over for a review and here is what we think about it.

Microsoft has struck a deal with Ready-to-Run Software to port their Passport server to Linux and UNIX. This would allow websites running Apache to utilize the single-sign-on feature that Passport offers.

As Microsoft awaits court approval of its landmark antitrust settlement with the government, the company has angered some competitors by tightly limiting the technical data it promised to release. Microsoft says the restrictions are normal for the software industry and do not violate the terms of the settlement. But competitors contend that Microsoft's actions are reminiscent of the behavior that led to the antitrust case and reinforce their claim that the entire settlement is inadequate.

"A new SuSE is always interesting in the way that life-threatening sports are interesting. It might seem to be going along just fine, but in an instant disaster can strike. So it was with the usual wariness that I put Suse 8.1 on a machine here. Nor was it just any old machine -- it was the one my wife uses. " Read the review at LinuxAndMain. OSNews published recently a review of SuSE 8.1 PRO. In the meantime, SuSE posted a "live CD" version of SuSE 8.1 ready to be downloaded, burned and run by everyone.

"A Brief Look at the PowerPC 970" explains what the new IBM CPU is all about and how does it stand against the x86 competition today, and in a year from now (release time). Another article is titled "When is PowerPC Not PowerPC?". On ExtremeTech you will find "AMD Tips Opteron Benchmarks". Two articles at EETimes, "Intel describes billion-transistor four-core Itanium processor" and "Intel to debut 90-nm 'Banias' processor in 2H '03". Of embedded interest: "MemoryLogix to disclose '586 core' for SoC applications", a CPU to compete with ARM.

Running open source software on a Mac is a different animal — almost like an x86, but not quite. Configuring new hardware has always been a problem in Linux; it is now compounded for the Mac user. Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) has built this port of Linux with the hardware of current Macs in mind, such as the iMac and the G4. YDL 2.3 is a treat to install and use on these machines. Read the rest of the review at UnixReview.