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 Sections: Main page Security Kernel Distributions On the Desktop Development Commerce Linux in the news Announcements Linux History Letters All in one big page See also: last week's Distributions page.
Lists of Distributions |
DistributionsPlease note that security updates from the various distributions are covered in the security section. News and EditorialsThe DMA Issue in Red Hat Linux 7.1 (Exocore). The Exocore Linux FAQ has added a section addressing the DMA Issue in Red Hat Linux 7.1. Red Hat Linux 7.1 enables DMA by default to improve performance, but this may cause problems with some equipment. If you are having problems such as slow and unreliable installs, CRC errors, file corruptions or even random system lockups, DMA could be the culprit. The Exocore article will step you through the process of identifying and fixing DMA problems. If you do need to turn off DMA to install Red Hat 7.1, Red Hat wants to know about it. Many models of incompatible hardware have been identified by Red Hat, and DMA is turned off automatically when known incompatibilities are found. Reporting your incompatible hardware to Red Hat can save you and others future headaches. New OS options galore (ZDNet). Here's a story about getting Unix for a PowerPC. The article begins with the old A/UX for Apple OS and moves on to Linux, NetBSD, OpenBSD and OS X offerings for the PowerPC. "But Apple never brought A/UX to the PowerPC. Fortunately, that didn't deter either the MkLinux or LinuxPPC projects from bringing the then fledgling GNU-licensed OS to Power Macs, but it was a struggle. Externally available hardware specs for Apple hardware are notoriously nonexistent, so the sheer tenacity of these early pioneers provided the underpinnings for all the Unix-y goodness to come." Comparison of Linux Distributions. A Comparison of Linux Distributions page was found through the Mandrakeforum. Twelve distributions are compared in a table format. New DistributionsThe FullPliant operating system. The FullPliant operating system is very different from other Linux distributions. It doesn't use System V or BSD init scripts or even a shell. Basically, it is not Unix like. Instead all the basic services are provided through a set of highly integrated Pliant applications and scripts, and all the configuration details are stored in a database. The OS has three layers; a Linux kernel, the FullPliant server, and a Debian based embedded computer. More details are available at the Pliant web site. Distribution NewsDebian news. Several new architectures are planned for woody -- hppa, ia64, mips and mipsel. So a bugsquash party is in the works from Friday, July 13th to Sunday, the 15th to fix the problems they're having across a wide range of packages. The July 7th edition of the Kernel Cousin Debian Hurd discusses its expansion to 3 CDs, emacs20 problems, debconf's dependencies, a repackaging of util-linux, ssh, Jeff Bailey's Autobuilder results, and lilo. Mondo 1.0 and Mindi 0.27. Mondo 1.0 has been released. Mondo was the first program to offer 'free' CD-based full disaster recovery facilities to Linux and Lin/Win boxes. The latest version works with ext2, ext3, ReiserFS, JFS, XFS and VFAT. While Mindi 0.27 is mentioned in the previous announcement, there is actually a Mindi 0.28 available on Freshmeat. Mindi-Linux uses a skeleton ramdisk and your kernel, modules, and tools to build a boot/root disk set. Red Hat News. Red Hat announced the availability of Red Hat Linux 7.1 for Itanium. The release is available from: ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/7.1/en/os/ia64 and mirror sites. Redmond Linux announces no per-seat licenses or pay-per-download. Redmond Linux, Corp. is taking a firm stand on the issue of pay-per-download and per-seat licensing - they are against it. They vow, "You will always be able to download the ISO images of Redmond Linux; you will always be able to get support from the mailing lists." Minor Distribution updatesinnominate Bootable CD. The link to innominate Bootable CD was recently changed. The correct link is now www.innominate.de/enterprise/products/rescuecd/. (Thanks to Heike Scharfe) Owl 0.1-stable. The OpenWall Linux Distribution (Owl) has a new stable branch, which is intended to be production-ready, even if it's not yet up to a 1.0 release. Also, Owl has a new changelog policy where security fixes are clearly marked, but minor fixes are not called out in separate advisories or Bugtraq postings. See Solar Designer's announcement for details. Distribution ReviewsSuSE Linux 7.2 Professional Review (LinuxLookup). LinuxLookup.com reviews SuSE Linux 7.2 Professional. "... what has always bothered me, and other novice users, was the learning curve necessary to get a fully operational GNU/Linux system up and running with minimal effort. That complication has been overcome with the release of the 7.2 version SuSE's popular distribution. I received a copy of the boxed version of the Professional distribution and can state quite categorically that this is the easiest install I've run to date." Mandrake Single Network Firewall Reviewed. A security consultant reviews the Mandrake Single Network Firewall. Found on Mandrakeforum. Section Editor: Rebecca Sobol |
July 12, 2001
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