See also: last week's Distributions page.

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

Distributions

News and Editorials

Distribution List Update - Deleting distributions. Work on an updated LWN Distributions Page continues. We have always been very conservative about deleting distributions from this list. However links that cannot be found, or that go to sites that are clearly not Linux distributions anymore, aren't helping anyone. But before we nuke these distributions from our list permanently, we would like to ask our readers to let us know if they have any updated information.

The Definite Linux site is still very much Linux oriented, but it didn't look like there was a Definite Linux distribution available. Also the Timpanogas Research site, former home of Ute-Linux, is there, but Ute-Linux is not. Same with CoolLogic's Coollinux.

Then there were the distributions whose websites clearly went elsewhere than to a Linux distribution. Accordingly we bid adieu to cLIeNUX, eXecutive Linux, ix86 Linux, Linux Pro Plus, Project Ballantain, and spyLinux.

Other distributions with unaccessible web sites include Alzza Linux, aXon Linux, Cafe Linux, easyLinux, FTOSX, Jurix, LinuxEspresso, LinuxPPP, LoopLinux, OpenClassroom, Stataboware, Trinux, Turkuaz, and WholeLinux. These too are slated for deletion unless someone can tell us of a valid website for them.

Distribution News

Debian News. Debian GNU/Linux 2.2r5 has been announced. This is a minor, bugfix release consisting mostly of security fixes, but there are a few other updates rolled in as well.

Here's the Debian Weekly News for January 9. Covered topics include a new set of "Debian on CD" pages, the Debian development process, unfixable bugs, the 2.2r5 release process, and more.

Debian fans going to Linux.conf.au will want to arrive a couple days early. There will be a Debian mini-conference during the two days preceding Linux.conf.au in Brisbane, Australia.

FreeBSD development moves to FreeBSD Mall. Wind River, which acquired the FreeBSD team when it picked up BSDi, has announced that the sponsorship of that team has been transferred to the FreeBSD Mall.

In preparation for the upcoming FreeBSD 4.5 release a testing guide has been released identifying areas in need of additional testing.

Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter. The January 15 Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter is out. Therein you'll find tips for trading MandrakeSoft on the OTC market, goodies for MandrakeClub members to download, the business case of the week, and more.

Red Hat News. Werner Puschitz has contributed this HOW-TO on Oracle 9i EE Installation on Red Hat Linux 7.1 and on Red Hat Linux 7.2.

Slackware News. There have been changes to some packages in Slackware on Intel. See the ChangeLog for details. There are security issues with some of these, (see this week's Security page for details). Users of Slackware's stable branch should check out that ChangeLog as well.

Yellow Dog Linux Bug Fix Updates. Yellow Dog has updates available for pmud and yup.

Minor Distribution updates

2-Disk Xwindow Linux System. The 2-Disk Xwindow Linux System released version 1.2rc05 beta.

Embedded Coyote Project 'Wolverine' Alpha 1. The first product based on the Embedded Coyote Linux distribution has been released for alpha testing. Wolverine is a firewall and VPN server that is designed to be run on minimal hardware while still providing enterprise class security, reliability, and performance.

Mindi-Linux. Mindi-Linux released version 0.52 on January 9, 2002. Mindi builds boot/root disk images using your existing kernel, modules, tools and libraries.

Trinity Rescue Kit. Last week we introduced the Trinity Rescue Kit, and the response from LWN readers encouraged some further development. So here is an announcement for TRK 0.4, the next version of this bootable CDROM distribution.

Distribution Reviews

SuSE 7.3 offers solid server reach and desktop usability (ZDNet). ZDNet reviews SuSE Linux 7.3. "Companies seeking a desktop alternative will find SuSE 7.3 well prepared. Desktop setup is highly automated and can be performed across a network, if desired."

Distribution Watch: A Month Later with Linux-Mandrake 8.1 (LinuxPlanet). Here's a review of Mandrake Linux 8.1 Gaming Edition on LinuxPlanet. "In my first review of Mandrake Linux 8.1, I did not get much farther than the initial setup and playing around with all the fancy new toys. Once that first look was finished, however, I had to get my machine up to my home office standards. For me, that means talking to the Internet, talking to my printers, and talking to the other machines on my network, including Windows and Mac machines."

Section Editor: Rebecca Sobol

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

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