Sections:
Main page
Security
Kernel
Distributions
On the Desktop
Development
Commerce
Linux in the news
Announcements
Linux History
Letters
All in one big page

Note: The list of Linux distributions has moved to its own page.

Distributions

News and Editorials

The distributions list moves. LWN readers have been accustomed to seeing the lengthy lists of distributions along both sides of this page. In an attempt to clean things up, and to avoid that embarrassing empty space which appears at the bottom when there is not enough distributions news, the distributions list has moved its own page. For now, the page contains the same list that used to appear here; with luck, we'll turn it into something more informative and interesting in the near future.

New Distributions

Effort Linux. The Effort Linux distribution was announced to LWN.net late last week. The distribution targets security for servers and High-Availability systems. The Web site is written in Portuguese.

Effort Linux includes a number of security-related packages, including IPSec, LIDS, and qmail. It features a configuration file structure derived from BSD systems. At the moment, this distribution is supported by a single developer; he is interested in getting some help. The current version is 1.3.3.

Distribution News

Debian at upcoming German events. Debian users in Germany will have several opportunities to meet with the developers at events this coming week. Debian will have a presence at the Wizards of OS in Berlin, the Kassel Linux Weekend, and at Systems 2001 in Munich; see the announcement for details.

Debian Weekly News. The Debian Weekly News for October 9 has been posted. It looks at the Debian Documentation Project, the new debian-books list, the use of "open source," and more. This edition of the Debian Weekly News is also available in German.

Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter. The sixteenth Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter is out. It looks at some of the features of Mandrake Linux 8.1, and highlights DeadlyServers.com as the "business case of the week."

Mandrake 8.1b3 for Itanium. Itanium-based Mandrake Linux users may want to check out the third beta release of Mandrake Linux 8.1 for that architecture.

Distribution Reviews

Red Hat 7.2: Pain-free Linux (ZDNet). ZDNet reviews Red Hat Linux 7.2. "Red Hat 7.2 isn't quite a knife in the heart of Windows yet. However, we can't help but feel that it will certainly nick a major artery. The simplified user interface, unified procedures, and product support go a long way to elevate Linux from the toolbox to the workplace. It's an upwardly mobile kick in the pants for Linux and we're happy to see Red Hat do it."

Review: SuSE Linux 7.2 Professional (Duke of URL). The Duke of URL reviews SuSE Linux 7.2 Professional "SuSE was one of the first distributions to implement a personal firewall, which really was an extension of their overall security model. This daemon is notorious for loading such services as FTP and telnet which are renown for their security holes. In fact, it would appear that the days of inetd, as we know it, are numbered as new technologies appear that are more secure. That being said, SuSE has done an excellent job by disabling this daemon by default. Users who have no idea what it is are not likely to activate it."

Open-source messaging from SuSE (ZDNet). ZDNet reviews the SuSE eMail Server II product. "SuSE eMail Server II uses the Postfix MTA instead of the more complex Sendmail MTA. Postfix is very straightforward and relatively simple to configure, but it's still functionally equivalent to Sendmail. With SuSE eMail Server II, you can configure Postfix via browser--in Expert Mode, all Postfix parameters can be modified on an HTML form."

Section Editor: Rebecca Sobol

October 11, 2001

Please note that not every distribution will show up every week. Only distributions with recent news to report will be listed.

Next: On the Desktop