An Anonymous Coward asks: "I'll start off by saying that I'm a Windows 2000 MCSE, but in our mostly-Windows business, I've managed to sneak a few Linux servers in here and there. For example, our primary DNS server runs Linux, but the secondary is a Windows box, to keep the boss happy. He's scared of Linux due to the massive configuration needed, not to mention the lack of checkboxes and 'Are you sure?' dialog boxes. I think something that would help him (and probably others) accept Linux more in a server role would be a custom-made distribution dependent on the role of the server. Does such an animal exist (something like 'Linux -- DNS Server edition') where all services except BIND are disabled, and BIND is already setup securely with just a few site-specific things left to configure (like the specific hostnames and zones)? How about something like this for web, email, and news too?" While we all know that any Linux distribution can be tweaked for a wide variety of services, might this make some kind of sense in an odd, PHB kinda way?

Eric Gibson writes: "Thought everybody might want to know, today is the three-year anniversary of kernel traffic. The site for those of us that want to like to keep up with the goings-on of the kernel mailing list, but can't afford to read 1500+ emails a day. ;-) Congratulations to the maintainer who has kept this site alive, through trial and tribulation."

mpawlo writes: "I think you would be interested in a story on Advogato submitted today, discussing the digital divide and the role of Linux: "With respect to locating parts with lowered cost on software. There is one candidate the would evenly fit the requirement. As of this writing, there are several OS out there having those properties, but there is only one having a large developer base and community scattered around the globe that can act as support contacts. The name is called GNU/Linux. ... Bridging the Digital Divide requires an enormous amount of work for the techonology sector. A huge responsibility is placed on those who wish to take up the challenge. Current technologies in software, specifically, the Linux OS is a good candidate to play the role." Read the entire story."

The Korean government has just signed a contract with Hancom to purchase 120,000 copies of HancomLinux Deluxe 2.0 (which is basically Red Hat OS + tweaks + korean language support + KDE localized) and HancomOffice 2.0. Thats quite a big achievement. Here is Hancom's Press Release about it.

DJFelix writes: "I'm probably the billionth person to submit this story, but T.J. Duchene has posted a horrifying review of Borland's license for Kylix and JBuilder 5. The license requires giving Borland the right to enter your property, search your systems and records for license compliance. The license also requires the waiving of a jury trial by all parties for all suits including class action suits. This type of gestapo licensing will not be accepted by even the most hardcore anti open-source companies. Send an e-mail to pr@borland.com to voice your concern."

Paul Coe Clark III writes: "I caught Michael Tiemann, CTO of Red Hat, in Washington yesterday and grilled him about the DMCA, the SSSCA, the Sklyarov case and the future of Linux."

Debian potato has been updated to 2.2r5. See the press release for info on what has changed - mostly bugfixes, of course, since this is the stable distribution.

sgtrock asks: "I was approached this week by a manager of the server support group at my company. He says he and his boss are trying to figure out what should host our file and print services for the company (read, replace Netware). He asked me if I thought if it would be feasible to do on Linux servers. Now, I was more than pleasantly surprised by the question, because as late as last fall I couldn't get this guy to take Linux seriously for companies our size. However, recent stories about Microsoft plus some of their actions here have really soured him on the idea of moving to Win2k services where he doesn't have to. I told him that in theory we could do it: LDAP authentication to our existing NDS on the back end, Samba file service and either LPR/LPD or CUPS based printing. The big open question mark for me is archiving. He then asked me if I knew of anyone already doing it." I'm sure there are shops out there that are using Linux as such. If you are, please raise your hand! Numbers on the size of the network and how well the system has been holding up would be appreciated.

Bob the Blob writes "LinuxHardware has put together a wonderful article that gathers up all of the top hardware into the ultimate Linux system from 2001. In the article, there is a review of the hardware from 2001 that discusses what we've seen and why the parts were chosen. To make you drool, think Athlon XP with GeForce 3 Ti500 with the stability of Linux." Worth noting that this machine is of course now at least 10 days obsolete ;)

MobyTurbo writes "According to a press release SuSE is no longer barred from selling Linux as reported and discussed in a thread on slashdot. SuSE is settling out of court with a German company called "Crayon" that claims that the KDE app Krayon violates their trademark. Incidentally, this vulnerability probably applies to several other distributions."

unclegus writes "I ran across this article talking about Michael Roberston and Lindows. Says a "Sneak Preview" will be available in a few weeks. Release 1.0 will be $100 for single user ..." Dan Gillmor, the author of it, has said that it appears to be the real thing - I'll be interested in getting my hands on it.

JayBonci writes: "In case you all missed it, everyone's favorite database engine, mysql is having the name the mySql dolphin contest, and everyone is invited. Nothing like a million suggestions to choose from to help them out. Not only that, but it might be a good time to help them choose a better name than some other attempts at open marketing submissions." Bill! Thom! Nguyen! Samwise! Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate!

fixe asks: "I have spent the last few months up to my eyeballs in LDAP. While I am still hopeful of what LDAP can bring to the table I am admittedly disappointed in the tools, support and documentation surrounding the standard. I have been successful at creating and populating an LDAP directory and even authenticating against it, however I cannot find decent replacements for useradd, userdel, usermod, passwd, etc. Nor have I found any decent LDAP editors or browsers (preferably console or web-based). I am hoping that the Slashdot crowd might be able to shed some light on the subject. Are there any LDAP veterans out there who can reccommend any tools? What is the best way to maintain system account synchronization with an LDAP directory? Or perhaps, is there a more attractive alternative to LDAP?"

Random Walk writes "The German news site Heise Online reports that on behalf of an anonymous client, a lawyer has won a preliminary injunction (German only) against the Linux distributor SuSE. The injunction forbids the delivery of SuSE CDs as long as they contain some program name that apparently violates a registered trademark. No more details available, but SuSE seems to be in negotiations with the other party." Head over to the fish for translation.

Davathar asks: "My friend and I have been toying with the idea of building a cluster server. And in my research I've come up with a few questions I haven't found answers to yet. Right now this is just an idea we haven't put any money into. But if it seems feasible and fun, we may organize a LUG and build it. With dozens of individual machines standing alone and drawing power, the bill can add up quickly. So I've been trying to find ways to reduce power consumption and parts cost."

Craig Maloney writes with this review of The Linux Cookbook, a hope-inspiring entrant in the still too-small category of generalized, readable references for non-programmers, as well as the even-smaller category of books with a complete free version online. Craig's found some flaws as well as bright spots, but it still sounds like a good book to check out for users who aren't sure which FM to R, no matter what their level of experience.

bodin writes: "Now that new-year's parties are over things are getting boring again. For those who want to see and perhaps even try something more complex, Ingo Molnar is announcing this patch that is a pretty radical rewrite of the Linux scheduler. This is big stuff!"

gk4 writes "The LSB has updated and published the gLSB v1.1 draft for review. The LSB has also published for review the new psLSB for IA32 v1.1 draft and the completed LSB v1.0.1 Test Suites. Review ends Friday January 4th; however, the LSB welcomes comments from the community at any time."

alphabet26 writes "I just received Lindow's 2001 Wrap-up e-mail, and it looks like they're still forging ahead regardless of the lawsuit Microsoft filed against them. In the update, CEO Michael Robertson included a letter in response addressed to Bill Gates, and also some screenshots of what the new LindowsOS will look like. He predicts the retail version will be available in the early months of 2002."

freakboy303 writes "ZDNet has a short article that can be found here , It basically talks about what the last couple of year of gloom and doom mean for the linux world in general. It seems to me it would make it more appealing to .coms to use the free software but..."