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News Bytes

Contents:


News in General


 January 1999 Linux Journal

The January issue of Linux Journal will be hitting the newsstands December 10. This issue focuses on our Reader's and Editor's Choice awards. Included with the magazine this month is a 24-page supplement on Enterprise Solutions in which we interview Netscape's Jim Barksdale, Corel's Michael Cowpland and IBM's Paraic Sweeney. Check out the Table of Contents at http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue57/index.html. To subscribe to Linux Journal, go to http://www.linuxjournal.com/ljsubsorder.html.


 LinuxWorld Conference & Expo

Boston, MA (September 30, 1998) -- International Data Group (IDG), the IT media and information company, today unveiled plans to launch a global product line of events and publications to address the needs of the rapidly growing Linux market. IDG World Expo, the world's leading producer of IT-focused conferences and expositions, will produce LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, the first international exposition addressing the business and technology issues of the Linux operating environment. IDG's Web Publishing unit, one of the first online-only IT publishers, will launch LinuxWorld, an online-only magazine for the more than seven million technologists requiring in-depth information on implementing Linux and related technologies in diverse environments.

The first LinuxWorld Conference and Expo will be held March 1-4, 1999 at the San Jose Convention Center.

For more information:
http://www.idg.com/


 Sun loans Ultra30 Systems to Debian

Date: Fri, 06 Nov 1998 14:29:56 -0500
Sun Microsystems (http://sun.com/) has loaned three UltraSPARC systems to Debian project. They are 64-bit Ultra30 workstations, each with with an UltraSPARC-II/250MHz CPU (1M-ECache), 128MB RAM, 4.3GB Seagate SCSI drive and a Creator graphics card. One system is installed at Kachina Technologies, Inc. and will be publicly available to Debian developers. The other two systems are used by developers to develop boot related packages and other low level tools.

There is a port specific web page that contains information on the work in progress at http://www.debian.org/ports/sparc64/. People interested in helping with the Debian UltraLinux effort should check there for the current port status.

For more information:
Debian GNU/Linux, http://www.debian.org/, press@debian.org


 Dallas/Ft. Worth area Linux show

Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 05:16:53 -0600
There is an online survey at http://linux.uhw.com/ to get the needs and wants of a DFW area Linux show. We want to find out what people who want to attend want in the show before we do the hardcore planning.

Pass the word please to those who may want to go.

For more information:
Dave Stokes, david@uhw.com


 O'Reilly Announces Open Source Conferences

SEBASTOPOL, CA--O'Reilly & Associates announced today that it is expanding its support of Open Source software by presenting the O'Reilly Open Source Conferences--Perl Conference 3.0 plus several new technical Conferences on mission-critical Open Source software--on August 21-24, 1999 at the Monterey Convention Center in Monterey, CA.

For the first time, programmers, webmasters, and system administrators can find--under one roof--a spectrum of high-end technical sessions, presented by the key developers in each technology. In real-world applications, users draw on several Open Source technologies to get the job done. At the O'Reilly Conferences on Perl, Linux, FreeBSD, Apache, Sendmail and other Open Source technologies, attendees can move freely between Conferences, choosing from a rich panoply of sessions on these interrelated technologies. In addition, each Conference is preceded by in-depth tutorials.

Linux Journal is a major sponsor of O'Reilly's Linux Conference. Publisher Phil Hughes said, "Since the early days, O'Reilly has been documenting Linux and the Open Source utilities that Linux users depend on. They're very close to the technical community, and they'll bring that inside perspective to their Linux Conference. We're looking forward to working with them."

For more information:
http://conferences.oreilly.com


 New Mailing List for Linux in Education

Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 10:17:01 -0500
The SEUL Project (http://www.seul.org/) has started a mailing list, seul-edu, to cover all aspects of educational uses of Linux. In addition to the discussion, resources are available that should enable the development (with the help of interested volunteers) of various open source software that can make Linux more desirable to educators and parents interested in using Linux for their children's education. Currently the list is made up of educators, writers, and some developers.

You can see the archives of the mailing list, as well as current plans and contacts for the project, at http://www.seul.org/archives/seul/edu/. Before the creation of seul-edu, the discussion took place on the seul-pub mailing list; you can see those discussions in the October and November archives of that list at http://www.seul.org/archives/seul/pub/.

To subscribe to seul-edu, just send a message to majordomo@seul.org with no subject and with "subscribe seul-edu" in the message body.


 Linux Boot Camp Announcement

Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1998 10:08:19 -0800
Four days of intensive hands-on technical training. Certification is provided for the full boot camp.

Schedule:
*Understanding & Administering Linux*
January 12-13, 1999 San Jose, CA
January 26-27, 1999 Carlsbad, CA
February 1-2, 1999 Raleigh, NC
February 22-23, 1999 Chicago, IL
March 29-30, 1999 Dallas, TX
April 20-21, 1999 Phoenix, AZ
May 18-19, 1999 Atlanta, GA
June 15-16, 1999 Washington, DC
June 22-23, 1999 Carlsbad, CA

*Integrating Linux with Windows 95/98/NT*
January 14, 1999 San Jose, CA
January 28, 1999 Carlsbad, CA
February 3, 1999 Raleigh, NC
February 24, 1999 Chicago, IL
March 31, 1999 Dallas, TX
April 22, 1999 Phoenix, AZ
May 20, 1999 Atlanta, GA
June 17, 1999 Washington DC
June 24, 1999 Carlsbad, CA

*Securing your Box in One Day*
January 15, 1999 San Jose, CA
January 29, 1999 Carlsbad, CA
February 4, 1999 Raleigh, NC
February 25, 1999 Chicago, IL
April 1, 1999 Dallas, TX
April 23, 1999 Phoenix, AZ
May 21, 1999 Atlanta, GA
June 18, 1999 Washington DC
June 25, 1999 Carlsbad, CA

For more information:
Deb Murray, dmurray@surfnetusa.com
http://www.uniforum.org/web/education/bootcamp.html


 Linux wins PC World Denmark award for "Innovation of the Year - Software"

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 08:59:20 GMT
Linux wins PC World Denmark award for "Innovation of the Year - Software" Copenhagen, 1998-11-12

On behalf of the entire Linux community, the Skåne Sjælland Linux User Group (SSLUG) today received the PC World Denmark 'Product of the Year' award in the category "Innovation of the Year - Software". The award was accepted by Peter Toft and Henrik Størner from SSLUG.

The "Innovation of the Year" award is given to products or technologies which have shown significant innovativeness and impact through out the year. PC World editors motivated their choice thus:

"Linux. The 'Ugly Duckling' that turned into a beautiful swan and became - to put it briefly - the most widely used operating system for Internet servers world wide, despite the marketing muscle of the larger companies. NT has a tremendous hold on the market, but Linux is gaining new followers every day, and continues to find new uses wherever a stable, economical and versatile operating system is needed."

The other two nominees in the "Innovation of the Year - Software" category were
* Microsoft Windows 98
* Mirabilis ICQ

For more information: Peter Toft, ptoft@sslug.dk
Henrik Størner, storner@sslug.dk


 ISVs -- please join the LSB effort

With the Linux standardization well on its way with the Linux Standard Base (LSB) effort headed by Daniel Quinlan, various vendors brought up the issue that there needed to be a way for independent software vendors to get their input into the standards effort. After some discussion, it was decided to add a mailing list to the LSB effort that was specifically for ISVs.

This list will make it possible for ISVs to hash out what they see needed in the Linux standard and then present their joint effort to the LSB group for consideration. This approach will make it easier for LSB to meet the needs of all the vendors.

If you are an ISV and want to join the list, send your e-mail address to Clarica Grove (clarica@ssc.com) with ISV in the subject line of your message. She will add you to the list and we can get our part of the effort underway. If it is unlikely we are familiar with the product you have developed, please include a brief description.

For more information:
Phil Hughes, phil@ssc.com


 Linux Game Development Center

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:39:14 GMT
Linux has games. Linux has good games. But that other operating system has several orders of magnitude more good games than Linux. That's bad. And difficult to overcome, as it's not only because of technical reasons. But we, the free software community, have have a long history of solving problems and shipping around obstacles. There is no reason why we should not be able to solve this issue, too.

In essence we are suggesting that this new Linux Game Development Center be a kind of meta-project. It would be dedicated to advocating Linux as gaming platform, collecting knowledge about Linux game development and using it to help all interested people, providing facilities for discussion to Linux game developers and, last but not least, encouraging and helping existing free (Open Source) game SDK projects coordinate with one another.

This is also a call for developers, users and game SDK projects to join our efforts.

While game development for Linux would be an important goal of the web site, the most important goal would be the development of quality cross-platform game libraries. For that reason, developers of games and game SDKs for platforms other than Linux would be more than welcome to join us. Especially if they are interested in porting software to or from Linux.

The biggest problem with having multiple, competing projects is the resultant (developer and user) confusion. What we are proposing is a Linux Game Development Center that is aimed simply at reducing that confusion by helping people to find, evaluate, combine and use the available tools, or to develop new, missing ones.

http://www.linuxgames.org

For more information:
Christian Reiniger, warewolf@mayn.de
PenguinPlay, http://sunsite.auc.dk/penguinplay/


 New benefit for LJ's GLUE LUGs--Tcl Blast!

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 21:32:13 GMT
GLUE---Groups of Linux Users Everywhere announces the newest benefit for groups who join.

By popular demand and in conjunction with the Tcl/Tk Consortium, SSC and Linux Journal's GLUE program is making available the TCL Blast! CD-ROM.

This is the latest addition to the membership package GLUE sends out to our new LUGs members. Some of the other benefits include: the BRU 2000 backup and restore utility, and Caldera OpenLinux Lite!

We provide free listings for all LUGs at our web site, where you can also: see the complete list of the GLUE benefits; find information and resources for Linux User Groups; check to see if there is a LUG in your area; post to the Users Seeking Groups part of the listings pages; or check to see that there is an accurate listing for your LUG.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

For more information:
Clarica Grove, Groups of Linux Users Everywhere, glue@ssc.com,
http://www.ssc.com/glue/


 Linux Promoted in Albanian Fair

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 14:13:20 GMT
Yesterday the KlikExpo international fair was opened in Tirana Albania. With the help of Fastech Ltd, Linux.org Albania could promote Linux for the first time in Albania. Our section was also visited by the Albanian Prime Minister. I had a brief chat with him, and described shortly the power and efficiency of Linux. Our section will be open for the next 4 days at the Tirana international fair center.

Special thanks to Fastech Ltd. who made available for us an ACER PII 300MHz machine and hosted us in their section.

To read more and see the pictures, please check:
http://lowrent.org/lnxorgal/klikexpo98

For more information:
Kledi Andoni, kledi@linux.org.al


 Open Source Trademark?

I, for one, am confused. See if you can figure what's going on with these two announcements:
Future of the Open Source Trademark
Launch Announcement of the Open Source Initiative


 Linux Links

StarOffice 5.0 Personal Edition Free: http://www.stardivision.com

"An Open Letter to AOL" from Eric Raymond: http://www.opensource.org/aol-letter.html

UNIX help: http://www.allexperts.com/software/unix.shtml

Linux Ace: http://tarp.linuxos.org/linux/

Informix+Linux article: http://news.freshmeat.net/readmore?f=informix-jj

"Liberty and Linux for All": http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/citation/wc981021.htm

Tim O'Reilly, "Open Letter to Microsoft": http://oreilly.com/oreilly/press/tim_msletter.html

Eiffel Liberty: http://www.elj.com/

Linux Tips & Tricks: http://www.patoche.org/LTT/

Gary's Place Linux Guide: http://gary.singleton.net/

Official GNUstep Web Site: http://home.sprintmail.com/~mhanni/gnustep/

Blender Site: http://www.BeLUG.org/user/cw/blender_e.html

Eric Kahler's FVWM Web Page: http://mars.superlink.net/eric/fvwm.html

The Linux Game Tome: http://gametome.linuxquake.com/

OBSIDIAN, an open source 3D virtual world for Linux and OpenGL: http://www.zog.net.au/computers/obsidian/

Linux Today: http://www.linuxtoday.com/

NewsNow: http://www.newsnow.co.uk

Linux Help Page: http://www.ont.com/users/d4588/

Linux Sound and MIDI Applications Page: http://sound.condorow.net/
http://sound.lovebead.com/
http://www.bright.net/~dlphilp/linux_soundapps.html

MICO Home Page: http://www.mico.org/

Management Guide to Shifting Standards Tactics: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/9267/sstactics.html

Red Hat Press Release


Software Announcements


 KDE on Corel's Netwinder

Ottawa, Canada--November 25, 1998
Corel Computer and the KDE project today announced a technology relationship that will bring the K Desktop Environment (KDE), a sophisticated graphical user environment for Linux and UNIX, to future desktop versions of the NetWinder family of Linux-based thin-clients and thin-servers. A graphical user interface is a necessary element for Corel Computer to create a family of highly reliable, easy-to-use, easy-to-manage desktop computers. The alliance between Corel Computer and KDE, a non-commercial association of Open Source programmers, provides NetWinder users a sophisticated front-end to Linux, a stable and robust Unix-like operating system.

Corel Computer has shipped a number of NetWinder DM, or development machines, to KDE developers who are helping to port the desktop environment. Corel Computer plans to announce the availability of desktop versions of the NetWinder running KDE beginning in early 1999. Early demonstrations of the port, such as the one shown at the Open Systems fair in Wiesbaden, Germany, in September, have been enthusiastically received by potential customers.

As a developing partner, Corel Computer will release its work back to the KDE development community.

For more information:
http://www.kde.org/, press@kde.org
http://www.corelcomputer.com/


 KEYTEC Announces Expanded Magic Touch Screen Capabilities.

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 15:38:33 EST
Dallas, TX -- KEYTEC announced today that the Magic Touch touch screen system will soon be LINUX compatible. Screen users will be able to operate the Magic Touch touch screen in hardware configurations utilizing the LINUX operating system to gain the advantages of smaller file size, less memory requirements and faster data access.

For more information:
news@magictouch.com, http://www.magictouch.com/


 Red Hat Software releases Red Hat Linux 5.2

Research Triangle Park, NC -- November 2, 1998 -- Simplified installation, Native Software RAID support, Apache 1.3 , GIMP 1.0, and the Application CD are among the features that mark Red Hat Software's November 9 release of Red Hat Linux 5.2.

A feature of Red Hat Linux 5.2's new and improved installation is the ability to automatically partition the hard drive by selecting either a workstation or server install. All of the power of the Red Hat Linux OS is still available via "custom" install. Back buttons DHCP, boot floppy creation, enhanced rescue mode and countless other tools that made 5.1 a success are all still there.

For more information:
http://www.redhat.com/ CORBA on LINUX Gains Momentum

Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 16:24:32 -0500
Framingham, MA - Programmers and end-users can now obtain implementations of the Object Management Group's (OMG's) Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) for Linux. As the momentum has grown behind the open source Linux operating system, more and more OMG members have requested this support. The emergence of CORBA-conformant ORBs for Linux is an indicator of the commercial confidence and industry support for both CORBA and Linux.

At Washington University, the development of the TAO ORB is being sponsored by companies and organizations including Boeing, Lucent and Motorola which recognize the value of open source models and can recognize the future commercial value of such ORBs.

For more information:
info@omg.org, http://www.omg.org/ Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 'Slink' Frozen

Date: Wed, 04 Nov 1998 14:56:52 -0500
Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 'Slink' is now in a frozen state. The delay was due to the need to stabilize some key packages in the distribution. The release of Slink is scheduled for December 1998.

Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 'Potato' will be the next version of the Debian distribution. The name is taken from the character 'Mr. Potato Head' in the animated movie 'Toy Story.'

For more information:
press@debian.org, http://www.debian.org/


 Servertec Announces New Release of iScript, a Platform Independent Scripting Language Written Entirely in Java

Kearny, NJ. - November 5, 1998 - Servertec today announced the availability of a new release of iScript, a platform independent scripting language written entirely in JavaTM for creating scalable server side object oriented n-Tier enterprise solutions.

The new release includes iScriptServlet, a Java Servlet, for directly accessing iScript from any web server supporting Java Servlets. The release also includes bug fixes and updated documentation.

For more information:
Manuel J. Goyenechea, goya@servertec.com, http://www.servertec.com/


 QLM Reduces Product Development Time By 1/3

Newton, Mass., November 18, 1998 Kalman Saffran Associates, Inc. (KSA), a leading developer of state-of-the-art products for data communications, telecommunications and interactive/CATV industries, today announced the availability of their new QLM, an innovative process for companies looking to reduce product time-to-market in a highly competitive marketplace. Using QLM, KSA guarantees that companies will reduce their product development cycles by at least one-third.

Based on a scientific methodology derived from practices implemented for such industry leading companies as Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and Nortel, KSA's QLM combines a comprehensive set of processes, techniques, tools and templates together with a knowledge base to produce optimal results for companies in a broad set of industries.

The QLM offering is available starting at $20,000. For more information:
Joe Bisaccio, VP Marketing, Bisaccio@worldnet.att.net, http://www.ksa-mkt.com/


 LINUX INCLUDED IN PLANETUPLINK EXPANSION

11/11/98 PRESS RELEASE:
Planet Computer nationally unveiled their newest business solution, PlanetUplink on Oct. 30th. PlanetUplink IBN (Internet Based Network) allows businesses to gain access to and share virtually any application or database simultaneously (real time) on almost any computer from their remote and multiple offices, globally, via the Internet.

This week, Planet Computer announced the expansion of PlanetUplink to support Linux (server and client), in addition to the currently supported Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX (Solaris/Sparc, Solaris/x86, SGI, IBM, SCO, HP/UX, DEC, SunOS), Windows (Win95, NT, Windows CE, Win3.x), DOS and Java.

For more information:
Mary A. Carson, Planet Computer, mary@planetuplink.com, http://www.Planet-computer.com/


 mcl 0.42.05 - MUD Client for Linux

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 08:50:18 GMT
mcl is a small MUD client running under a Virtual Console in Linux. It uses direct VC access via the /dev/vcsa devices, spending very little CPU time (compared to tintin). This, however, allows it only to be run under Linux and only under a virtual console.

New in version 0.42.05 is a number of bug fixes (actions not saving, speedwalk acting incorrectly in some situation and more) as well as support for compression of the connection (using zlib). The latter is currently only supported by Abandoned Reality (abandoned.org 4444) but we hope to have the server-side code for any MERC-derived MUD available soon.

Source: http://www.andreasen.org/mcl/mcl-0.42.05-src.tar.gz Binary (libc5): http://www.andreasen.org/mcl/mcl-0.42.05-bin.tar.gz Binary (glibc): http://www.andreasen.org/mcl/mcl-0.42.05-glibc-bin.tar.gz

mcl is under GPL.

For more information:
Erwin Andreasen, erw@dde.dk


 New release of the ISA PnP utilities (isapnptools-1.17)

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:24:20 GMT
I've now released version 1.17 of my Plug and Play ISA configuration tools. They cover isolation, dumping resource data, and configuring ISA PnP devices.

The tools I wrote for this _will_ eventually be on ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/unix/linux/utils/isapnptools-1.17.tgz (81768 bytes), ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/pnp/utils/isapnptools-1.17.tgz and ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/hardware/isapnptools-1.17.tgz ftp://tsx-11.mit.edu/pub/Linux/sources/sbin/isapnptools-1.17.src.tar.gz (And various mirror sites shortly afterwards). isapnptools-1.17.lsm in the same directory is simply the LSM entry for isapnptools. isapnptools-1.17.bin.tgz in the same directory also includes precompiled binaries.

I've uploaded them, but they may take a day or two to reach their final home.

The latest version is available now via the link on the isapnptools home page: http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools/

The isapnptools FAQ is available via the home page above.

For more information:
Peter Fox, isapnp@roestock.demon.co.uk


 FMan 0.2 release - an X11 man page browser

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:36:09 GMT
FMan is an X Windows manual browser based on the FLTK libraries. Source and binaries are available. The program allows fast searching for man pages by keyword. Searching may include man page descriptions where available. Searching can be performed four different ways. History lists of recently viewed pages and program based configuration are included. Keyboard only usage is supported.

Changes include removal of bash dependency, pre-scanning of man pages is now an option, uninstall option, italic or underlined text, more command line options, moved resource directory.

http://fman.sacredsoulrecords.com/

For more information:
Larry Charlton, lcharlto@mail.coin.missouri.edu


 jaZip 0.30: Tools for Iomega Zip and Jaz drives

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 09:44:41 GMT
I would like to announce version 0.30 of jaZip for Linux, a program that combines:

Details and software are available at the jaZip web site:
http://www.scripps.edu/~jsmith/jazip/

For more information:
Jarrod Smith, jsmith@scripps.edu


 CMU SNMP for Linux v3.6 - SNMP agent and SNMP management tools

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 12:45:03 GMT
This is the documentation for the tenth release of the CMU SNMP port to Linux. This port supports SNMP version 1 (SNMPv1) and SNMP version 2 (SNMPv2). It includes a bilingual SNMPv1/SNMPv2 agent and several simple command-line management tools. This release is based on the CMU SNMP release with USEC support. It does not implement the historic party based administrative model of SNMPv2 and has no additional support for SNMPv3.

The source and binary distributions are named
* cmu-snmp-linux-3.6-src.tar.gz
* cmu-snmp-linux-3.6-bin.tar.gz

and are available from ftp.ibr.cs.tu-bs.de (134.169.34.15) in /pub/local/linux-cmu-snmp.

SNMP is the Simple Network Management Protocol of the Internet. The first version of this protocol (SNMPv1) is a full Internet standard and defined in RFC 1155 and RFC 1157. The second version of SNMP (SNMPv2) is defined in RFC 1901 - RFC 1908 and is currently a draft Internet standard.

For more information:
http://www.gaertner.de/snmp/, schoenfr@gaertner.de


 MaduraPage 1.0 for UNIX(Linux, Solaris) Beta version

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:03:27 GMT
MaduraPage[TM] 1.0 is a WYSWYG web authoring tool for creating a homepage based on applet which performs HTML functions plus additional features such as moving objects (text, image, etc.) and object exact positioning.

The page created by MaduraPage[TM] 1.0 can be viewed by JDK1.0 supporting browsers, such as Netscape Navigator 3.0 or above, Internet Explorer 3.0 or above.

For more information on features, demo, or to download the package, visit the MaduraSoft web site at http://www.madurasoft.com/

The release version will be available within 1 month. Please send the bug report to bug@madurasoft.com

For more information:
Budhi Purwanto, budhi_purwanto@madurasoft.com


 Dlite v0.03 -- Debian Lite distributon

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:07:25 GMT
Dlite v0.03 is small sub-set of the Debian GNU/Linux binary packages most suited to ISPs needing a small but powerful operating system. The distribution will always be less than 100 Mb so it's possible to maintain a mirror on every host ready for any situation, from emergency rebuild through to regular maintenance updates.

A singular sub-set of packages cannot be all things to all people but by having one consistent base-line reference of the most commonly used packages readily available and widely used, therefore tested, it can assist smaller startup Linux based ISP tech people to get on with managing their clients rather than just the system.

This is a fledgling project so any suggestion are most welcome.

For more information:
http://opensrc.org/dlite/, dlite@opensrc.org


 wxWindows/GTK C++ GUI library 1.96

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:40:55 GMT
a new version of the GTK port of the wxWindows cross-platform GUI library has been released.

More information from homepage at

http://wesley.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~wxxt

Currently, wxWindows is available for Windows and UNIX/GTK and both the Mac and the Motif port are progressing nicely. Python bindings are available for the Windows and the GTK port.

For more information:
Robert Roebling, roebling@sun2.ruf.uni-freiburg.de


 ClibPDF - ANSI C Source Library for Direct PDF Generation

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 14:13:44 GMT
FastIO Systems announced the availability of ClibPDF: an ANSI C Source Library for Direct PDF Generation. ClibPDF offers a competition to Thomas Merz's PDFlib, but it does much more than PDFlib, particularly for graph plotting applications.

For details and downloading of ClibPDF, visit our web site, http://www.fastio.com/

ClibPDF is a library of ANSI C functions, distributed in source form, for creating PDF (Acrobat) files directly via C language programs without relying on any Adobe Acrobat tools and related products. It is suitable for fast dynamic PDF Web page generation in response to user input and real-time data, and also for implementing publication-quality graph plotting for both on-screen viewing and printing in any custom application.

For more information:
FastIO Systems - Fast Direct PDF Generation via C, clibpdf@fastio.com, http://www.fastio.com/


 Partitionless Installation with EasyLinux

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 14:20:31 GMT
EasyLinux is a revolutionary new Linux distribution which eliminates the need to repartition hard drives. Instead, it creates a Linux filesystem inside a large file on the DOS partition. Unlike with umsdos, performance is not significantly affected so this mode of operation is suitable for production machines. It is still possible to repartition if you want to.

EasyLinux is available in two packages. The first contains only the two CDs, and is intended for experienced Linux users. This package costs £ 4.95 (approximately $8). The second contains the CDs and a 700 page book about installing and using Linux. This package also includes technical support. The price of this package is £ 29.95 (approximately $50).

For more information:
Pete Chown, Pete.Chown@skygate.co.uk, http://www.skygate.co.uk/


 tomsrtbt-1.7.0 with 2.0.36 and cetera - boot/root rescue floppy

Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 10:47:17 GMT
I've put a new 2.0.36 based tomsrtbt-1.7.0 up on http://www.toms.net/rb/. Later I'll also load it to Sunsite's Incoming to go into system/recovery.

It's a boot/root rescue/emergency floppy image with more stuff than can fit. Bzip2, 1722Mb formatting, and tight compilation options helped jam a lot on.

It is useful for "learn unix on a floppy" as it runs from ramdisk, includes the man-pages for everything, and behaves in a generally predictable way.

"The most Linux on one floppy." (distribution or panic disk). 1.72MB boot/root rescue disk with a lot of hardware and tools. Supports ide, scsi, tape, network adaptors, PCMCIA, much more. About 100 utility programs and tools for fixing and restoring. See tomsrtbt.FAQ for a list of stuff that is included. Not a script, just the diskette image packed up chock full of stuff. Easy to customize startup and scripts for complete rebuilding. Also good as learn-unix-on-a-floppy as it has mostly what you expect- vi, emacs, awk, sed, sh, manpages- loaded on ramdisks. There is one installer that runs under Linux, another for DOS.

http://www.toms.net/rb/

For more information:
Tom Oehser, tom@toms.net


 mod_ssl 2.1.0 - Apache Interface to SSLeay

Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 10:51:43 GMT
This Apache module provides strong cryptography for the Apache 1.3 webserver via the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL v2/v3) and Transport Layer Security (TLS v1) protocols by the help of the SSL/TLS implementation library SSLeay from Eric A. Young and Tim J. Hudson. The mod_ssl package was created in April 1998 by Ralf S. Engelschall and was originally derived from software developed by Ben Laurie for use in the Apache-SSL HTTP server project.

As a summary, here are its main features:

o Open-Source software (BSD-style license)
o Useable for both commercial and non-commercial use
o Available for both Unix and Win32 platforms
o 128-bit strong cryptography world-wide
o Support for SSLv2, SSLv3 and TLSv1 protocols
o Clean reviewable ANSI C source code
o Clean Apache module architecture
o Integrates seamlessly into Apache through an Extended API (EAPI)
o Full Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) support
o Support for the SSLeay+RSAref US-situation
o Advanced pass-phrase handling for private keys
o X.509 certificate based authentication for both client and server
o Additional boolean-expression based access control facility
o Backward compatibility to other Apache SSL solutions
o Inter-process SSL session cache
o Powerful dedicated SSL engine logging facility
o Simple and robust application to Apache source trees
o Fully integrated into the Apache 1.3 configuration mechanism
o Additional integration into the Apache Autoconf-style Interface (APACI)
o Assistance in X.509 v3 certificate generation

http://www.engelschall.com/sw/mod_ssl/
ftp://ftp.engelschall.com/sw/mod_ssl/

For more information:
Ralf S. Engelschall, rse@engelschall.com


 multiple - an utility for comparing files

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 20:57:11 GMT
multiple is a utility for comparing files which includes these features:

ftp://belug.in-berlin.de/pub/user/ob/Programs/Tools/multiple.tgz

For more information:
Oliver Bandel, oliver@first.in-berlin.de


 Linux Search Engine (service and download)

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 21:08:31 GMT
Just wanted to let every one know that I have just released some new search engine software. The database is PostgreSQL, the front-end is PHP 3.x, and it runs on a Red Hat 4.2 Linux box. (or any Linux box, that's just what I'm using)

As it is brand new, it is also mostly empty, feel free to put any new listings on it that you want except no porno stuff. Nothing can be seen until it is approved, I will check several times a day for stuff needing approval.

I would like a lot of Linux related stuff, would like it to sort of become a specialty search engine for Linux stuff. But most any listings are welcome.

If you want to add a series of new categories, email me and I can add them all at once.

This version is BATA and will no doubt evolve a great deal in time to come.

For any one how wants to run a search engine, lse is available for free down load at my ftp site. Find it on the lse!

http://www.terrym.com/lse/lse.php3

For more information:
Terry Mackintosh, terry@terrym.com


 SANE v1.00 - Scanner Access Now Easy

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 21:17:39 GMT
The development team for SANE ( http://www.mostang.com/sane/) is proud to announce the release of version 1.00 of the SANE API, applications, and drivers.

Here is a summary of the main features of SANE:

For more information:
http://www.mostang.com/sane/ ftp://ftp.mostang.com/pub/sane/


 Yard 1.17 -- creates custom rescue/boot disks

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 20:51:48 GMT
Yard is a suite of Perl scripts for creating rescue disks (also called bootdisks). A rescue disk is a self-contained Linux kernel and filesystem on a floppy, usually used when you can't (or don't want to) boot off your hard disk. A rescue disk usually contains utilities for diagnosing and manipulating hard disks and filesystems.

Author: fawcett@croftj.net (Tom Fawcett) Primary-site: http://www.croftj.net/~fawcett/yard/
160220 yard-1.17.tar.gz


 Siag Office 3.1 available for beta testing

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 20:56:14 GMT
Siag Office consists of the spreadsheet SIAG, the word processor Pathetic Writer and the animation program Egon Animator. Changes from 3.0 include:

Sources are available from:
ftp://siag.edu.stockholm.se/pub/siag/siag-3.1.0beta1.tar.gz

For more information:
Ulric Eriksson, ulric@edu.stockholm.se, http://www.edu.stockholm.se/siag/


 Macsyma math software for Linux

ARLINGTON, MA (November 11, 1998): Macsyma(R) math software is now available for the first time in PCs running the Linux operating system.

Macsyma includes 1,300 executable demonstrations and is easily accessible at many points in the help system. Also hypertext descriptions of 2,900 topics, a browser with 900 topics and commands, and 900 type-in command templates.

Macsyma 421 has client-server capability, which is particularly helpful on local area networks.

Recent mathematical improvements include enhanced speed in solving linear and algebraic equations, stochastic mathematics, better evaluation of special functions, and enhanced tensor analysis. It is smarter about using the algebraic signs of expressions to simplify results.

The U.S. commercial price for Macsyma 421 for Linux workstations is $249 (or $199 without paper manuals). The U.S. commercial price for Linux Macsyma with NumKit (which requires using a client running MS-Windows) is $349. Academic prices are available.

For more information:
http://www.macsyma.com/, info@macsyma.com


 Buildkernel 0.87 - automates the task of building a Linux kernel

Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 21:23:23 GMT
Buildkernel is a shell script that automates the task of building a Linux kernel. If you can type "buildkernel --NEWESTSTABLE", you can have a new Linux kernel on your system!

Building a kernel is a complicated task for the new user. The Kernel-HOWTO is an excellent summary of how it's done, but it still takes some time and understanding to do. Buildkernel takes away a lot of the learning necessary for first time builders. For experienced users that build kernels frequently, if automates the process so it is more "hands-off". It has been tested on the x86 architecture and currently knows about lilo and boot floppies (I would like to have future releases handle syslinux, milo, silo, etc. - any takers?).

http://www.pobox.com/~wstearns/buildkernel/

For more information:
William Stearns, wstearns@pobox.com


 groovit - making groovy and accurate sound/noise.

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 11:48:28 GMT
This application needs testers :
A linux all-in-a-box drum-machine.

Groovit is essentially a drum matrix which can handle any samples, combined with, at least and depending on the CPU strength, two analog synths voices.

Any voice can go through several effects, (for instance a dynamic filter, and an echo/reverb). It is intended to be as "real-time" as possible, depending on CPU strength mostly.

It computes sounds internally with 32bit range, and outputs at 16. It also has several resonant filters that quickly bring you handsome noise.

complete info at : http://www.univ-lyon1.fr/~jd/groovit/

For more information:
Jean-Daniel Pauget, jd@cismserveur.univ-lyon1.fr


 Remote Microscope software 1.0a1 - remote access to optical microscopes

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 12:10:57 GMT
Version 1.0alpha1 of CNRI's Remote Microscope software is now available. The Remote Microscope system allows users to access and control an optical microscope over the Internet using a Java applet, as demonstrated at the recent Python conference.

As part of the MEMS Exchange project, CNRI is working on fully automated and remotely controllable semiconductor inspection microscopes to let chip designers view their wafers from any location having an Internet connection. However, Internet microscope access can be useful in other fields, such as biology or material science. We're releasing the code for our microscope software in the hope that other people will find it useful and will contribute suggestions, improvements, ports to new systems, etc.

Remote Microscope home page:
http://www.mems-exchange.org/software/microscope/

For more information:
A.M. Kuchling, akuchlin@cnri.reston.va.us


 XFree86-3.3.3 has been released

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 12:41:44 GMT
The XFree86 Project, Inc., is proud to announce its latest release, XFree86-3.3.3. This is the latest in our series of "final XFree86-3.3.x release" Most of our work is focused on XFree86-4.0 these days, but the amazing shelftime of graphics hardware makes another "old design" release necessary.

For more information:
Dirk H. Hohndel, hohndel@suse.de


 MasterPlan 0.1.0 - Planning/Calendar software

Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 14:17:13 GMT
Calendar/planner with tasks, appointments and meetings, Reminder and scheduler functions. Planned vCalendar support and shared calendar/billborad function, etc.

MasterPlan for Linux represents a new step forward for time management software. Sporting many unique and useful features, MasterPlan's ease of use makes planning your life easier than ever.

MasterPlan is partly an Open Source project, and is constantly evolving in coevolution with its users. This means that your feedback is essential in determining whether the program will fit your needs in the future!

MasterPlan is also commercial software - this is what we do for a living! So if you want to use it, you must pay a (reasonable) fee. But of course you get to try it first!

http://www.bgif.no/neureka/MasterPlan/index.html
http://www.bgif.no/neureka/MasterPlan/master_download.html

For more information:
Arne O. Morken, arne.morken@ii.uib.no


Published in Linux Gazette Issue 35, December 1998


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