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<html>
<head>
<link href="../lg.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen, projection" />
<title>News Bytes LG #97</title>
<style type="text/css" media="screen, projection">
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<body>
<img src="../gx/2003/newlogo-blank-200-gold2.jpg" id="logo" alt="Linux Gazette"/>
<p id="fun">...making Linux just a little more fun!</p>
<div class="content articlecontent">
<div id="previousnexttop">
<A HREF="lg_mail.html" ><-- prev</A> | <A HREF="defectors.html" >next --></A>
</div>
<h1>News Bytes</h1>
<p id="by"><b>By <A HREF="../authors/conry.html">Michael Conry</A></b></p>
<p>
</p><center>
<table cellpadding="7"><tbody><tr><td>
<img src="../gx/bytes.gif" border="1" alt="News Bytes">
</td><td>
<h3>Contents:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="#leg">Legislation and More Legislation</a>
</li><li><a href="#links">Linux Links</a>
</li><li><a href="#general">News in General</a>
</li><li><a href="#distro">Distro News</a>
</li><li><a href="#commercial">Software and Product News</a>
</li></ul>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
<strong>Selected and formatted by <a href="mailto:michael.conry@softhome.net">Michael Conry</a></strong>
</center>
<p> Submitters, send your News Bytes items in
<font size="+2"><strong>PLAIN TEXT</strong></font>
format. Other formats may be rejected without reading. You have been
warned! A one- or two-paragraph summary plus URL gets you a better
announcement than an entire press release. Submit items to
<a href="mailto:bytes@linuxgazette.net">bytes@linuxgazette.net</a>
<BR CLEAR="all">
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<a name="leg"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Legislation and More Legislation</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Jon Johansen
</FONT>
</H3>
The Register has reported on Jon Johansen's latest contribution to the
controversial arena of digital rights management. He has
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/34141.html">
created an open source software utility</a> that dumps the content of a
protected Quicktime encoded music track to a more easily handled format.
Some seemed to find these actions
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/34190.html">
upsetting</a>, though most Register readers seemed to be
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/34218.html">
more upset by the antics of the RIAA</a>.
<P>
Johansen is likely to remain in the news as his retrial on charges
relating to his involvement in the DeCSS code has
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34295.html">just
begun</a> in Oslo. Though acquitted in a lower court, the case (which
began five years ago) has been appealed.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Broadcast Flag
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
The Register has also reported that
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/33807.html">
the FCC in the US has approved the controversial Broadcast Flag</a>.
Though the FCC claims that the measure is necessary to prevent piracy,
<a href="http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/20031104_eff_pr.php">
the Electronic Frontier Foundation contends</a>
that the rules will
<blockquote>
"[force] manufacturers to remove useful recording features from
television products you can buy today"
</blockquote>
The archive of EFF documents relating to the Broadcast Flag regulations
can be browsed online at
<a href="http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/">
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/HDTV/</a>
<P>
It appears that there may be
<a href="http://importance.typepad.com/the_importance_of/2003/11/broadcast_flag_.html">
some loopholes</a>
in the detail of the regulations relating to export of non-DRM enabled
equipment. The full implications of the rules will of course become
clearer over time.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Diebold
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
Two contentious issues: electronic voting and the DMCA, have been at the
centre of a recent story regarding the Diebold company.
<a href="http://www.diebold.com/">Diebold</a> specialises in ATMs,
electronic voting systems and similar products. However, their voting
products have not been without their problems, the extent of which was
starkly highlighted in emails leaked from the company.
<P>
Once the emails started to circulate on the internet,
Diebold sought to lock down this embarrassing material by invoking the
dreaded DMCA. Happily for the American electorate, the Online Policy
Group, backed by the EFF,
<a href="http://www.eff.org/Legal/ISP_liability/OPG_v_Diebold/">
brought legal action against Diebold</a>
and forced the company
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34286.html">
to back down</a>.
<P>
This is an important win, as the integrity of the voting system (and
people's ability to verify it) is fundamental to the functioning of
any democracy. As Scott Granneman has pointed out,
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/34051.html">
e-voting has had a chequered history</a>, and it is imperative that it
be properly exposed to public and expert scrutiny. This is not just an
American issue, as electronic voting machines are being installed in
countries around the world. Some, such as those in Australia, use
<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,61045,00.html">
open-source software and operating systems</a>, but many (for example
<a href="http://www.p45blogs.net/blog_snorkeller/archives/000308.html">
the system being deployed in the Republic of Ireland</a>) leave a lot to
be desired in terms of transparency and openness.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">DMCA
</FONT>
</H3>
Three DMCA snippets from The Register
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34024.html">
Garage door DMCA case dismissed Remote uncontrol</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/33668.html">
DMCA exemptions boost archivists, disabled but not much else</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/33687.html">
Lexmark loses round 2 in DMCA chip case</a>
</li>
</ul>
<a name="links"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Linux Links</font></H3></center>
<P>
<a href="http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2003/11/20/knoppix.html">
Creating your own Knoppix CDs</a>
<P>
Basic concepts
<a href="http://linuxdevices.com/articles/AT4627965573.html">
or real-time operating systems</a> [courtesy LinuxToday].
<P>
<a href="http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/grid/library/gr-design.html?ca=dgr-lnxw02DesignGrid">
Design an application for GRID</a>
<P>
<a href="http://www.smartmobs.com/archives/001961.html">
Hardware for P2P Radio</a>
<P>
<a href="http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-knopx.html">
Knoppix as a system rescue tool</a>
<P>
Linux Weekly News reports on
<a href="http://lwn.net/Articles/56377/">
the fork of Linux Gazette</a>.
<P>
Ian Murdock,
<a href="http://ianmurdock.com/archives/000068.html">
rethinking the Linux distribution business model</a> (courtesy
LinuxToday)
<P>
<a href="http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-murray.html?ca=dgr-lnxw03LinuxNotebook">
Tips from veteran Linux programmer Spence Murray</a>
<P>
Joe Brockmeier on
<a href="http://linuxdevices.com/articles/AT8047723203.html">
how to build Debian packages</a>.
<P>
At O'Reilly-net
Joe Stump has taken readers through
<a href="http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2003/09/25/advanced_mail_server.html">
start</a>
<a href="http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2003/10/09/advanced_mail_server2.html">
middle</a>
and
<a href="http://linux.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2003/10/23/advanced_mail_server3.html">
finish</a>
of setting up an advanced
mail server, configuring delivery, webmail, secure POP3 and IMAP,
and spam and virus checking.
<P>
<a name="general"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">News in General</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Kernel Exploit
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
As
<a href="#debreport">
mentioned below</a>, several Debian project machines were recently
compromised by an attacker who took advantage of an exploitable flaw in
the 2.4 series of kernels. Though this integer overflow in the brk
system call was not initially thought to have serious security
implications, now that an exploit is loose in the wild it is very
important that sysadmins patch their systems. The problem has been
fixed in the 2.4.23 release of the kernel.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Kernel Backdoor Closed Before it Opened
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
A recent attempt
<a href="http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=03/11/06/1532223">
to insert backdoor code</a>
into the Linux kernel has been thwarted by the vigilance and openness of
the open source development process.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Linux in Libraries
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.ohio.lib.in.us/staff/atate/lil/">
Linux In Libraries (LIL)</a>
is an electronic mailing list/user group dedicated to utilizing the
Linux operating system in academic, public and special libraries as an
alternative affordable solution for public access computing.
<a name="distro"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Distro News</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">2-Disk X Window Embedded Linux
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/linux/floorzat/2diskXwin.htm">
2-Disk X window embedded Linux</a>
is a tiny net-centric Linux that aims at portable secure remote system
usage. It contains many utilities including: X Windows, vncviewer,
rdesktop, a Web browser, a file manager, a text editor, a terminal, a
window manager, a menu system, a dialog system, X scripting facilities,
and many others. It aims to work from 1 or 2 floppy disks in any remote
location.
The FAQ is
<A href="http://www.angelfire.com/linux/floorzat/faq.htm">
particularly good</a>.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">ADIOS
</FONT>
</H3>
<P> NewsForge
<a href="http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=03/11/25/1552234">
recently reported on the ADIOS boot CD</a>.
It includes some features not so common on boot CDs, such as User Mode
Linux and Security Enhanced Linux.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Debian
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.debian.org">
Debian GNU/Linux</a> has been updated. The new version, Debian GNU/Linux
3.0 (r2), mainly adds security updates to the stable release, along with
some corrections of serious bugs.
<P>
<hr width="20%" noshade>
<P>
<a name="debreport">
Several Debian servers were
<a href="http://www.debian.org/News/2003/20031121">
recently compromised</a> by a local kernel exploit. Fortunately, the
attacks were noticed and it has been confirmed that the archives were
not tampered with. The
<a href="http://lists.debian.org/debian-announce/debian-announce-2003/msg00003.html">
investigation report</a> makes for interesting reading.
<P>
<hr width="20%" noshade>
<P>
<a href="http://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2003/46/">
From Debian Weekly News</a>
Jonathan Oxer
<a href="http://articles.linmagau.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=451">
wrote about caching Debian packages</a>
in order to save bandwidth when updating or installing
multiple Debian machines.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Linux From Scratch
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.linuxfromscratch.org">
The Linux From Scratch community</a>
has announced the release of
LFS-5.0. This release features a new method with strong emphasis
on building a correct compilation environment and base libraries
independent from the host system. Release 5.0 features the Linux kernel
version 2.4.22, the GNU C Library (glibc) 2.3.2, the GNU Compiler
Collection (gcc) 3.3.1 and a bootloader change from LILO to GRUB,
amongst other package upgrades. The book's explanatory texts have also
been enhanced, providing an even richer learning experience while you
build your own customised, hand-crafted Linux installation.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Mandrake
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
Mandrake Linux 9.2 ISOs are now
<a href="http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3">
available for download</a>, including
the new LG CD-ROM fix.
<P>
<hr width="20%" noshade>
<P>
Mandrake has also released
<a href="http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mandrakemove/?wslang=en">
MandrakeMove</a>
"...a new product based on Mandrake Linux 9.2 that provides a complete
personal desktop operating system on a bootable CD".
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Red Hat
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.newsforge.com/software/03/11/03/1657205.shtml?tid=150&tid=2&tid=82&tid=94">
News that Red Hat will discontinue maintenance and errata support</a>
for Red Hat Linux 9 from the end of April 2004. This also marks the end
of the Red Hat Linux product line. To some extent,
<a href="http://fedora.redhat.com/">
the Fedora Project</a>
will carry the torch from now on.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">SuSE
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
It has
<a href="http://www.novell.com/news/press/archive/2003/11/pr03069.html">
been announced</a>
that Novell is to
<a href="http://www.suse.com/us/company/press/press_releases/archive03/novell_suse.html">
acquire</a>
<a href="http://www.suse.de/en">SuSE Linux</a>.
This is
<a href="http://www.newsforge.com/business/03/11/04/1854241.shtml">
an interesting development</a>, to say the least.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Vector
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=5009">
Vector Linux 4.0 review</a>.
<a name="commercial"></a>
<p><hr><p>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<center><H3><font color="green">Software and Product News</font></H3></center>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Distcc
</FONT>
</H3>
<a href="http://distcc.samba.org/">
Distcc</a> is a distributed C/C++ compiler.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Vorbis
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
The Ogg Vorbis CODEC project
<a href="http://newsvac.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=03/11/21/2150251">
has released new versions for all its tools and software</a>. Libogg
1.1, vorbis-tools 1.0.1,
libvorbis 1.0.1 and OggEnc 1.0.1 are included.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">QicsTable for Qt
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
<a href="http://www.ics.com/qt">
ICS</a>
has announced the release of QicsTable, a sophisticated grid/table
GUI object. With QicsTable, developers can present large tables of
information using a familiar spreadsheet-like user interface paradigm.
This makes their applications easier for end users to understand and
use. Built on the Qt framework from Trolltech AS, applications written
with QicsTable run without changes on Windows, MacOS, Linux, and UNIX
based systems. QicsTable is being released under both the GNU Public
License (GPL) and a commercial license that includes access to source
code.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Apache 2.0.48 Released
</FONT>
</H3>
The
<a href="http://www.apache.org/">
Apache Software Foundation</a>
and the Apache HTTP Server Project have announced the eleventh public
release of the Apache 2.0 HTTP Server. This version of Apache is
principally a bug fix release.
<P>
Also recently released is an update to the Apache 1.3 codebase, the new
version is denoted 1.3.29.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Linux on FPGA Design and Verification Board
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
Semiconductor distributor The Memec Group and embedded Linux and eCos
consulting firm Mind have
<a href="http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=03/10/27/2217235">
collaborated on a port of Linux and RedBoot to Memec's Virtex-II Pro
Development Board</a>. The board is used to design and
verify applications based on the Xilinx Virtex-II Pro Field Programmable
Gate Array (FPGA) family.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">Mod_python 3.1.2 Beta
</FONT>
</H3>
<P> The Apache Software Foundation and The Apache HTTP Server Project are
pleased to announce the 3.1.2 Beta release of
<a href="http://www.modpython.org/">
mod_python</a>.
<P> Some feature highlights:
<ul>
<li> Server-side sessions with memory or dbm-based storage and
session locking support. </li>
<li> PSP - a fast flex-based scanner which allows embedding Python
code within HTML. </li>
<li> Native cookie support, including support for automatic
cryptographic cookie signing and marshalling. </li>
<li> Compatibility with Python 2.3, as well as many other
enhancements.</li>
</ul>
Also available is the stable version 3.0.4.
<P> <hr> <P>
<!-- =================================================================== -->
<H3><IMG ALT=" " SRC="../gx/bolt.gif">
<FONT COLOR="green">EduWave
</FONT>
</H3>
<P>
The Middle East's e-learning platform, EduWave, is
<a href="http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=03/10/27/0417214">
to be made available</a>
on the Linux platform following a deal between IBM
and Jordanian IT company Integrated Technology Group(ITG).
</p>
<!-- *** BEGIN author bio *** -->
<P>
<P>
<P> Mick is LG's News Bytes Editor.
<!-- *** BEGIN bio *** -->
<P>
<IMG ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="top" ALT="[Picture]" SRC="../gx/2002/tagbio/conry.jpg"
WIDTH="128" HEIGHT="158">
<em>Born some time ago in Ireland, Michael is currently working on
a PhD thesis in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University
College Dublin. The topic of this work is the use of Lamb waves in
nondestructive testing. GNU/Linux has been very useful in this work, and
Michael has a strong interest in applying free software solutions to
other problems in engineering. When his thesis is completed, Michael
plans to take a long walk.
</em>
<br CLEAR="all">
<!-- *** END bio *** -->
<!-- *** END author bio *** -->
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Copyright © 2003, Michael Conry. Copying license
<a href="http://linuxgazette.net/copying.html">http://linuxgazette.net/copying.html</a>
</p>
<p>
Published in Issue 97 of Linux Gazette, December 2003
</p>
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