Linux Archive

"The Linux kernel project is growing up. New contributors, job delegation, and a source code control system have changed the way the kernel gets hacked. The guy at the center of it all -- Linus Torvalds -- has changed, too. Gone are his days as poster boy for Open Source. He doesn't do Comdex keynotes anymore; he's not on the covers of business magazines; and he rarely gives interviews. No, these days, Linus is all about what he does best: hacking the kernel and keeping a sure and steady hand on the rudder of everyone's favorite project." Read the interview at Linux-Mag.com.

In this guest column at DesktopLinux.com, former SCO evangelist and Samba.org team leader John H. Terpstra weighs in on market perceptions about Linux and its suitability for the desktop. Interviewing a sample group –- that included 30 people evenly split in the Linux and MS camps -- Terpstra discovered each group cited the very same arguments in defending their OS of choice! The author sought definitive answers about the state of Desktop Linux and reasons for and against a switch to Linux. The results, and key factors, were not as expected.

It's more likely to keep making greater strides in single-use areas, such as cash registers, than in consumers' PCs says BusinessWeek. However, the future of Linux probably rests with corporate IT departments says Will Harvie in his talks to Kiwi organisations about using open-source operating systems and software.

"Linux, the cash-saving open source option to costly proprietary operating system (OS) such as Microsoft’s Windows operating system, is now seen to be gaining ground in the desktop market in India. Thus far, Linux has been a dominant force only in the worldwide server market and has grabbed impressive market share from Microsoft and Sun Microsystems." Read more at Business Standard.

The first beta version of Vector Linux SOHO 3.0 is now available for download. Some quick features: vlautosetup tool has been integrated to the install routine so all hardware can be configured, namely the mouse, the network card, XFree86 4.2.1, cdroms, and sound are automatically setup and ready to be used upon first boot. KDE 3.1, IceWM, and XFCE are the available window managers/Desktops and OpenOffice.org 1.0.2 Koffice 1.2.1 are included. Screenshots here.

"When someone mentions "Microsoft Windows", most experienced computer users have an idea of what the operating system does. Whether it's Windows 95/98, ME, 2000 or XP, Microsoft has managed to maintain an identity for their OS that has translated into a monopoly-sized chunk of the desktop business and home market. Maintaining the look and feel of their desktop OS over several revisions and upgrades, Microsoft has established a standard for most desktop computer users." Read the editorial at LinuxOrbit.

Yoper limited announced the fourth public release candidate of Ydesktop. This is the first part of Your Operating System that Yoper Limited ("Yoper") is developing. The distro contains the latest software, which includes Linux-2.4.20, KDE-3.1, Mozilla 1.2.1 and OpenOffice-1.0.2. The CD is optimized for i686 and higher X86 CPU's.

When I first got in touch with the Linux world - it was back in 1998 -, I started with an old Slackware distribution. Of course I cannot say it was a wise choice for a beginner, and I soon moved to Red Hat, and then tried various SuSE, Mandrake and Debian flavours; now I am using this good Slackware 8.1. Everyone can see the Linux world has been making giant steps towards usability during the last five years. Applications have dramatically improved, too, both in quality and quantity: OpenOffice, AbiWord, Mozilla, Evolution, Gimp are examples of packages allowing Linux to be used for everyday work. So, is Linus Torvalds' creature now ready to conquer the desktop?

"The developers at Vector have allowed MadPenguin.org a shot at their newest 3.2 Deluxe release. I for one was pretty stoked about the whole thing, as I grew fond of this distribution very quickly." Read the review at MadPenguin.

Antrix Angler has written an editorial for tuxreports.com in which he takes a look at some of Linux' shortcomings for desktop usage: "What I intend to highlight in this piece are some of the major shortfalls (in my opinion) in the current state of Desktop Linux. The intent is not to belittle or ridicule the efforts that have been made to get Linux on the desktop. Rather, it is in the hope that it will spur development to overcome these shortcomings; because this is the way Linux has developed."

According to Brian Stevens, Red Hat's director of engineering, version 2.4 is limited to 2 terabytes of storage, but the 2.6 Linux kernel will push the envelope much farther. Read the article at NewsFactor.

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

Vector Linux announced the release of version 3.2. The disto is now fully Slackware compatible and LSB compliant. It is based on the linux kernel 2.4.20 and Glibc-2.2.5. Several new additions to the software mix have been added such as CDRW support to burn cd's, faster web browsing via Dillo and the latest Opera , autopkg to keep things up to date, checkinstall for easy source installation, and additional security updates. Antialias font support is in both the available window managers. New in version 3.2 are new and enhanced configuration tools to make installation and hardware detection even easier.

Responding to the overwhelming interest in Desktop Linux, representatives from key firms and organizations today announced the formation of the Desktop Linux Consortium, or DLC. The vendor-neutral association will promote interests and raise awareness of the emerging role and benefits offered by GNU/Linux on the desktop. Consortium members comprise both commercial companies and open source organizations that are developing and shaping the technology that will speed the adoption rate of Linux to the desktop.