Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2000 06:47:38 -0600 (EST) From: Jason Haas <jhaas@linuxppc.com> To: news@macgeeks.com, pr@macintouch.com, news@maccentral.com, pr@ogrady.com, LinuxPPC Inc. announces public beta test version of its newest release. Beta can be installed over any existing RPM-based Linux/PowerPC distribution. November 14, 2000 -- WAUKESHA, Wisconsina -- Users of almost any Linux on PowerPC distribution can now upgrade to the public beta test version of LinuxPPC. The new beta includes the latest versions of Helix Code's GNOME, KDE 2.0, XFree 4.0, Mozilla 5.0, and glibc, among other packages. Beta can be installed over the Internet with new updater utility. The installation process is astonishngly simple. It is run by a new updater utility. A user simply downloads the updater utility onto a computer with an existing Linux/PowerPC distribution, and runs it. The user then selects an FTP site to download the beta from, and the updater handles the rest. The public beta is available on more than two dozen FTP servers, including servers located in Austrailia, Europe and Japan. The beta will be available as an ISO image in the near future. While the whole beta is approxmately 1.5 gigabytes, the base installation is 500 megabytes. This includes the basic operating system, networking software, X Windows (graphical interface software), the Mozilla and Netscape web browsers, and the KDE and Gnome desktop environments. Due to the size of the installation, you will need to be on a fast least Internet connection such as DSL to have a reasonable download time. Beta can be installed over existing RPM-based Linux/PowerPC distributions. Installation has been successfully tested on several Linux/PPC distributions, including LinuxPPC February 1998, LinuxPPC Release 4, LinuxPPC 1999 and 2000, as well as SuSE 6.0. The only distribution which cannot be upgraded is Debian, which does not use the RPM system. Debian users must use a true installer program if they wish to install the beta. RPM, the Red Hat Package Manager system, is used for both installing software on some Linux systems. LinuxPPC has long been based on the RPM system. "As long as your system uses RPM," developer Jeff Carr explained, "you can upgrade to the public beta." Installation notes Before to installing, the user should read the pre and post-installation notes. After installing, the user will need to configure the system. Keyboard emulation of the middle and right mouse buttons is now radically different than in previous distributions, and users must boot from a new kernel that ships with the beta. Also, some files must be deleted to implement all of the software. Full docmumentation on this will be available in the near future. Download locations The public beta is stored on more than two dozen FTP servers, including locations in Austrailia, Japan and Europe. In the near future, the beta will be available as an ISO image that can be burned to a CD-ROM disc. The updater utility can be download from ftp://ftp.linuxppc.com/linuxppc-halloween/install/updates/upgrade. After downloading the updater utility, the user will need to use the chmod command to make the installer an executable program. About LinuxPPC Inc. LinuxPPC Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The company's most recent most recent release features a bootable CD-ROM and Linux's first graphical installer. The company is preparing to enter a major new phase in its evolution. The final version of the software being tested will be the the last release from LinuxPPC Inc. prior to this change. More information about this restructuring will be available in the near future on the company web site. The company sponsors development of Linux on PowerPC through sponsorship and major hardware donations to Linux developers and development groups. It is also a member of Linux International and the Motorola Computer Group Partner Program.