A short review of the newly released Vector Linux 3.2 was posted at MadPenguin.

File systems need to change. Current file systems are horribly out-of-touch with the realities of what users need to effectively find, organize, and modify their vast quantities of files. Unfortunately, no major consumer OS vendor (Microsoft, Apple, various Linux distos, etc.) has had the foresight, the will, and most of all, the cajones to implement anything more elaborate than a small departure from the standard hierarchical name-space which we all grew up on and should rightfully deplore. Worst of all, the best suggestions for changing the current entrenched standard are incredibly toothless, incredibly feeble.

This article describes the efforts at "FreeBSD From Scratch": a fully automated installation of a customized FreeBSD system compiled from source, including compilation of all your favorite ports and configured to match your idea of the perfect system. If you think make world is a wonderful concept, "FreeBSD From Scratch" extends it to make universe. This article, describes the visions in BSD security features and how to build a secure OS.

The eighth issue of the Lycoris Community Newsletter is now available. Included in this issue is an extended look at the all-new Lycoris GamePak and an interview with Brian Masinick, one of Lycoris' Product Support Services personnel, as well as all the latest Lycoris press articles and news.

This is a little different OpenBeOS newsletter than normal. All three of the articles are opinion pieces and they are all on very related topics. "What about the OpenBeOS community?" "Yet Another Rallying Cry (maybe?)", "Press, PR, Progress and Purse". Additionally, Xentronix announced that they stopped work on their audio editing application, SampleStudio. They collect donations via Paypal, and after they reach the amount of $250 USD, they will open source the application (one of the top-25 apps ever written for BeOS). Check a screenshot here, taken from my BeOS installation.

"The launch of the latest edition of the Gnome desktop software for Linux and Unix operating systems marks a new attitude among its developers: Integration is key." BusinessWeek carries the story.

Sun Microsystems, Inc. today delivered on its redoubled commitment to the UNIX platform, extending the full benefits of the Solaris Operating System, to x86-based servers with the Solaris 9 x86 Platform Edition. Non-commercial usage is available at no charge, while commercial pricing starts at US $99; attractive OEM pricing is also available. Source code for Solaris will now be available.

The Free and Open Source Software Developers' Meeting is this weekend in Brussels, and they're published several more interviews with event contributors: Harald Welte about netfilter/iptables, Solar Designer about Openwall GNU/*/Linux, Yoann Vandoorselaere about Prelude IDS, Thomas Vander Stichele about GStreamer, and Damien Sandras about GnomeMeeting.

Microsoft Corp., trying to make up for the disappointing uptake of Windows Server 2000 and that software's headache-inducing Active Directory installation process, is expected to announce today tweaks to technology, programs and services for Windows Server 2003.

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group has released PostgreSQL 7.3.2. This release addresses several overrun and memory leak issues that were found in recent weeks, so it is highly recommended that those running the 7.3.1 branch upgrade at their earliest convience.

Microsoft has issued two security advisories for widespread products: the Internet Explorer browser and Windows XP. The patch posted Wednesday points to a "critical" flaw in several versions of IE, regardless of the version of the Windows operating system it runs under. Microsoft also issued an alert regarding a less severe problem with Windows XP.

Leading Linux seller Red Hat is becoming more aggressive in pushing its premium operating system products, using support contracts, pricing changes and certification restrictions to drive customers and partners to its more expensive "advanced" line. Also, Sam's Club, the members-only branch of retail giant Wal-Mart, has entered the budget PC race with a $299 system running Red Hat Linux.

Announcement is here and the sources of Gnome 2.2 are available for downloading. Get more info about this version, and many screenshots here.

WSJ has an article on OpenBeOS featuring Michael Phipps, Timothy Lord from Slashdot and Eric Raymond. "As far as I can see, OpenBeOS is more an admirable aesthetic experiment," says Timothy Lord. "As it is," he adds, "they're esoteric among esoterica."