bobalu writes "There's a bit in PCWEEK's Spencer Katt column about a handheld unit from Compaq that runs Linux and is designed as a platform for developing new speech and other interfaces." Yeah we've mentioned itsy before, but someone submits that darn thing about every 3 days, so it's probably worth reposting it now just because not all of the readers who have joined us in the last 6 months are gonna read the 4 thousand or so back stories *grin*.

Prothonotar writes "Kernel 2.2.0 pre4 is out." www.kernel.org being overloaded use a mirror. Mirrors are expressions of the form ftp.country.kernel.org or www.country.kernel.org, such as ftp.us.kernel.org.

libtech writes "S.u.S.E. has just released v. 6.0 of their linux distro... Its a german only release but the english version will be out later this month."

specht (Karl Heinz Kremer) was the first to write in and tell the world that yet another pre2.2 kernel has hit the wire. Go snag it quick and hammer on it.

Happy New Year! Ed Schlunder wrote in with 1999's first Ask Slashdot. He asks: "Our school district is playing with the idea of video conferencing and I'm wondering if this can be done on Linux. My home computer has a bttv card and a full duplex sound card. This should be the necessary hardware for doing video conferencing. On the software side, Linux supports IP Multicast and IGMP, so the kernel seems to be up to the task. But what about the actual video compression and distribution system? So far, everything I've looked at seems about 1-2 years old and no longer maintained (vic, nv, etc). Is there a cross platform video conferencing application out there for Linux that is actively maintained?" The school is currently looking into Microsoft NetMeeting, but Ed worries (and rightly so) that Microsoft might be positioning itself to dominate in this market, allowing them to determine the standards later on. What do you all say?

Kristin DeAngelis wrote in to let us know that LinuxWorldExpo has posted a PDF copy of their brochure to the Web. It has all the latest information, and they are ready for more registrations.

Carl wrote in to to quote Linus regarding the 2.2.0pre2 release:"If you haven't had problems with pre1, there should be no major cause to look at pre2. But if you haven't even looked at pre1 yet, please consider looking at the pre-2.2.0 kernels before it's too late. I'm going to be extremely rude to people who knew better but didn't test out the pre-kernels and then send me bug-reports on the released 2.2.0." An anonymous reader also wrote in to say that gnome.org has updated and announced the 0.99.1 release of several of the relevant packages. Lot's of stuff to download and compile if *cough* you don't have plans for New Years.

Nicholas Petreley explains his recent InfoWorld statement that "Should Microsoft ultimately win the case, however, I guarantee vendors will abandon Linux faster than a rat out of an aqueduct". While his point that the war is not won is valid, he has missed some crucial details: home computer prices are collapsing making Microsoft's software a very expensive component. In the business world, Windows-terminals save money by reducing administration costs and reducing the number of software licenses that must be bought. Windows-terminals can run other OS's than Windows -- for instance, Linux with the Citrix client. Finally the enormous emerging market is the consumer appliance market which needs an idiot-proof UI -- not Windows compatibility. Some links from LT.

Donnie Barnes wrote in to say " LinuxExpo apologizes for the confusion and does intend to provide several booth spaces to non-profit organizations on a first come, first served basis. " Interested folks should contact stacy@linuxexpo.org.

An anonymous reader wrote in to send us a link to your basic ZD article that asks Is the Linux Desktop DOA? It's basically some bits about Corel and Red Hat where they talk about Linux's dominance in the server realm and its struggles on the desktop. My favorite part is the line that says that in 1998, Linux captures only 2.5% of the market. Up from like what, .0001? Grin. 1999 is gonna be sweet.

Nick asks: "I'm looking for a great statistical package to use under linux. Unfortunately, I use SPSS for WinNT, and I can't afford to cough up cash to upgrade as a student. If anyone could point me to statistics programs, I'd be much appreciative! "

Gopal Sarma asks: "Hi, I am a relatively new linux user, and recently a friend called me asking me if I knew of any Windows alternatives, because he is sick of it. I naturally recomended Linux, but I have a problem. He uses AOL's Instant Messenger, and I can't seem to find any clones on Linux. I found gaim, but i don't know how stable it is. Does anyone have any ideas?"

Steen Suder wants some answers to this interesting question: "A couple of friends and I are talking about starting a LUG. Now we're discussing what to do and what's important. Mailing lists, homepage, facilities, budget, locations, meetings, etc. What are the important things to remember when starting a Linux User's Group?"

Charles Bronson writes "To give credit where credit's due, I got this off of LinuxToday, but I thought it might stand a chance at Slashdot. It's the same routine OSS article we've been seeing, only it has a quote I haven't seen before. The excerpt: Microsoft executives dismiss open-source as hype. ``Complex future projects to add such functions as automatic translation of e-mail require big teams and big capital,'' said Ed Muth, a Microsoft group marketing manager. ``These are things that Robin Hood and his merry band in Sherwood Forest aren't well attuned to do.'' I just thought that was hilarious. " All I wanna know is who's Little John?

Geek of the Week writes "Alan Cox has posted a hint sheet listing common problems with switching to kernel 2.2.0pre1 along with solutions. " In other pre2.2 news, haaz wrote in to say that LinuxPPC has a 2.2pre1 kernel running on a machine that's also using the LinuxPPC R5 beta. He also says they will have an installer for the R5 beta by December 30.

James LewisMoss writes "Debian would like to participate in the Linux Expo being held in Raleigh in May. Unfortunately, non-profits are only offered a 20% discount on the cost of a booth. $1200 is still needed. Debian is not able to come up with this money to attend. We are currently seeking companies or individuals who would like to sponsor a Debian booth at Linux Expo. Partial or Full sponsorship would be gladly accepted. Any sponsor would, of course, get a notice at the booth that they had helped sponsor it. " Email James if you can help.

Jeff Glover writes "An AP wire story is out about how hot Red Hat is despite being open source, and other obstacles. More of the same that's been coming out of late, but it's nice to see. " This is about as mainstream as you can get I guess. It's a swell little typical article.

Jesda Gulati wrote in to plug his Linux based iMac Rival. It's from Infinital Spacial Technologies and it's called the Infinital One. It costs more ($1500) but it has an LCD screen, it weighs less and is smaller than the iMac. I'm not quite sure why, but the press release says you have to add $10 for Linux, but Win98 is free. Has ethernet, PCMCIA, USB etc. It's also better looking than the iMac, although it's a P233 so I suspect a LinuxPPC iMac will outperform it. I still want one. one.

peyote wrote in to say Linus has finally released 2.2.0pre1. A good mirror for kernel.org is ftp.tux.org. The file is in the v2.2 directory. See below for Linus's note.

mackga writes "Nick Petreley seems a bit put off by Linux advocates. A slight dig at the OSS movement? This one is interesting, seeing how Nick P. is involved w. Linux World. " Overall, I'd say it's a fairly good natured jibe at things.