The Debian project is pleased to announce the second update of its stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (codename etch). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustment to serious problems.

Please note that this update does not constitute a new version of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 but only updates some of the packages included. There is no need to throw away 4.0 CDs or DVDs but only to update against ftp.debian.org after an installation, in order to incorporate those late changes.

Those who frequently install updates from security.debian.org won’t have to update many packages and most updates from security.debian.org are included in this update.

New CD and DVD images containing updated packages and the regular installation media accompanied with the package archive respectively will be available soon at the regular locations.

Upgrading to this revision online is usually done by pointing the aptitude (or apt) package tool (see the sources.list(5) manual page) to one of Debian’s many FTP or HTTP mirrors. A comprehensive list of mirrors is available at:

www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist

Debian-Installer Update

The installer has been updated to use and support the updated kernels included in this release. This change causes old netboot and floppy images to stop working; updated versions are available from the regular locations.

Other changes include stability improvements in specific situations, improved serial console support when configuring grub, and added support for SGI O2 machines with 300MHz RM5200SC (Nevada) CPUs (mips).

Technorati Tags: linux, opensource, debian, etch

The recent 10.3 version of openSUSE has a great 1-click installer. But getting those 1-click installer packages can be very hard. Fear not, Dr. Neville from our Mangalore Linux Users Group found something very useful: A search engine for openSUSE 1-click Installer search packages!  This will be very useful. All Credits to Dr. Neville

Due to the licensing restrictions, like most distros, openSUSE don’t have the codecs bundled along with the installation DVD. But thanks to their 1-click installer, it isn’t hard to get the Green Chameleon to start playing all those mp3′s/videos of yours.

It involves just 2 steps!

First, get the Restricted Format 1-click installer. Here’s the links:

[...]

In a surprise move, Red Hat said Thursday that Matthew Szulik is as president and chief executive on January 1, to be replaced by James Whitehurst, 40, Delta Air Lines’ former chief operating officer.

Szulik, who took over as CEO from Bob Young in 1999 just a few months after its initial public offering, said he’s stepping down because of family health issues.

“For the last nine months, I’ve struggled with health issues in my family,” and that priority couldn’t be balanced with work, Szulik said in an interview. “This job requires a 7×24, 110 percent commitment.”

Szulik, who remains chairman of the board, praised Whitehurst in a statement, saying he’s a “hands-on guy who will be a strong cultural fit at Red Hat” and “a talented executive who has successfully led a global technology-focused organization at Delta.”

On a conference call, Szulik said Whitehurst stood “head and shoulders” above other candidates interviewed in a recruiting process. He was a programmer earlier in his career and runs four versions of Linux at home, he said.

Source: CNET News

The Ubuntu developers are moving very quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. Hardy Heron Alpha 2 is the second alpha release of Ubuntu 8.04, and with this new alpha release comes a whole host of excellent new features.

Note: This is still an alpha release. Do not install it on production machines. The final stable version will be released in April 2008.

In General

These features are showcased for your attention. Please test them and report any bugs you find. If you want to see what the developers have cooking for the next alpha release take a look through the hardy blueprint page https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/hardy

Upgrading from Ubuntu 7.10

To upgrade from Ubuntu 7.10, run “update-manager -d” using the update-manager package from gutsy.

Xorg 7.3

The latest Xorg is available in Hardy, Xorg 7.3, with an emphasis on better autoconfiguration without config files.

Linux kernel 2.6.24

Alpha 2 includes the 2.6.24-2.4 (2.6.24-rc5-based) kernel. This brings in significant enhancements and fixes that have been merged in the last few months into the mainline kernel. Among these is the introduction of dynticks support for amd64, bringing the same power savings already available on 32-bit systems to 64-bit laptops and desktops.

PulseAudio

Alpha 2 includes PulseAudio enabled by default. Some non-GNOME applications still need to be changed to output to pulse/esd by default and the volume control tools are still not integrated. https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/cleanup-audio-jumble

Download Alpha 2

Get it while it’s hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

• http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/hardy/alpha-2/ (Ubuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/hardy/alpha-2/ (Kubuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/hardy/alpha-2/ (Edubuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/jeos/releases/hardy/alpha-2/ (Ubuntu JeOS)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/hardy/alpha-2/ (Xubuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/gobuntu/releases/hardy/alpha-2/ (Gobuntu)
  http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/hardy/alpha-2/ (UbuntuStudio)

Caveats

As expected during early development snapshots, there are several known bugs that users are likely to run into with Hardy Alpha 2. We have documented them here for your convenience along with any known workarounds, so that you don’t need to spend time reporting these bugs again:

• Due to the X server failing to provide a configuration file, the keyboard selection made during install will not be carried over to the installed system. https://launchpad.net/bugs/173008
• Video problems have been reported with the 64-bit (amd64) version of Edubuntu desktop. As a workaround, users can manually specify a video resolution at the boot menu. https://launchpad.net/bugs/173130

Technorati Tags: linux, opensource, Ubuntu, Hardy Heron

Couple of days ago, Mozilla released the second Beta for the third version of their immensely popular browser, Firefox. Now generally I stay away from beta versions of software, but when Subbu told me it’simproved a lot over the first beta, I just rushed to download it & try it out.

Let’s have a look at the new features of the Second Beta:

[...]

NVIDIA has released a new Linux display driver, which is a stable version of their previous 169.04 beta last month. In addition, the new NVIDIA 169.07 Linux driver has a few changes, while most of the release highlights were already found in the 169.04 release. We are preparing additional Linux tests with this new driver, but for right now we have the details on this proprietary display driver.

The NVIDIA 169.04 beta driver had introduced GeForce 8800GT support a month ago, while in this 169.07 driver the support is officially there as well as for the GeForce 8800GTS 512MB and GeForce 8800M. Another feature originally introduced in 169.04 was improved mode-setting support on Quadro and GeForce 8 graphics cards and addressing some stability concerns (including for SMP users). This driver also has some performance improvements for the GeForce 8 series.

The 169.07 drivers fixes some XRender issues. Another new fix in 169.07 is fix for scrolling ARGB X drawables in Qt and improved interlaced DVI, HDMI, and HDTV mode-setting.

For those using the NVIDIA proprietary driver for workstation purposes, the CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) driver is now included with the executable file.

Aside from the mentioned changes, there doesn’t appear to be anything else new in the NVIDIA 169.07 driver. The x86 release notes and download link can be found from the NVIDIA’s website.

LDP is a loosely knit team of volunteers who provide documentation for many aspects of Linux. There are several forms of documentation: Guides, HOWTOs, man pages, and FAQs.
You can browse it at http://tldp.org/

A member of Mangalore LUG, Dr. Neville has uploaded this and was kind enough allow me to post the links here, so all credits to him.

Part 1 Size 99 MB md5sum 566ead529b4dda2a5e1c84f450670508
Part 2 Size 99 MB md5sum f02e0a56dc62a8b14515311d599ce35b

Part 3Size 99 MB md5sum 8c6952ca86e41f6a8d1dcf58b9810f89
Part 4 Size 27.8 MB md5sum 3442d552fd1b35e1e6ba17086ed6581c

Archive type: 7z, spanned, using Peazip

Contrary to what most people think, it is possible to get all those effects on their Intel based onboard graphics. Now I’ve helped a few friends to get Compiz Fusion running on their Intel cards, and I was requested by them to post this tutorial, so here it goes.

First up, download the required Compiz Fusion packages via 1-click install; Here are the links:

1-Click Installer for KDE

1-Click Installer for GNOME

1-Click Installer for Compiz Manager

We’ll have make some changes to /etc/X11/xorg.conf as well.

[...]

Wine 0.9.51 was released today, with the following main changes:

• A bunch of WinHelp improvements.
• Better Japanese font support.
• A ton of rpcrt4 fixes.
• Several Alsa capture fixes.
• Improved support for screen resolution changes.
• Lots of bug fixes.

Binary packages are in the process of being built and it may take a few days for them to appear, but the source is available now. You can find out more about this release in the announcement. Check out the download page for packages for your distribution.