The Linux Advocate

 

by Scott Dowdle
dowdle@icstech.net
ICQ UIN: 15509440


Linux Advocate
Column #56
August 6th, 1999

LOGIN:

Welcome again gang. I downloaded the Myth II demo and it sure was fun to play although I have to admit that I'm not much of a game player. Well, I do like games but I'm from that ancient Atari era of early arcade games... and of course games like Mahjongg keep me occupied. If you are like me, you go, "Oh, what the hell... one more game."

NEWS:

Item #1: Wonderful World of Linux 2.4 - Joe Pranevich gives us a glimpse at what is going to become the 2.4 kernel. I actually read that Linus has decided to freeze the 2.3.x development tree in an effort to release 2.4 sometime in the fall. To get the scoop, read the following URL: http://features.linuxtoday.com/stories/8191.html

Item #2: MS-AOL war heats up over Net access - Ok, first it was the browser war, then the email war, and the smoke hasn't even cleared on the Instant Messenger war... but it obvious to many that Microsoft is at war with AOL. The same kind of war they engaged against Netscape. This is going to be interesting. What does this have to do with Linux? Oh, noting obvious at this point, but trust me, it'll be dragged into the battle soon enough. Read one of the several stories I found at the following URL: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2309639,00.html?chkpt=hpqs014

Item #3: Tim O'Reilly answers about Linux IPOs - Tim O'Reilly runs "Ask Tim" columns from time to time. The most recent one deals with all of the IPO hoopla that has been going on in the Linux community. Tim should know what he is talking about so give him a read: http://www.oreilly.com/ask_tim/

Item #4: VA Linux Systems - Who is going to be the next Dell? From all indications, it's going to be VA Linux Systems, the company formerly known as VA Research. Just have a look at the following two articles and decided for yourself. Rumor is they are going to be attempting an IPO in the near future. Get informed now: VA Linux opens ten new offices http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,40052,00.html?st.ne.fd.mdh.ni

Linux computer sales top expectations
http://www.forbes.com/tool/html/99/Aug/0803/mu4.htm

Item #5: Cashing in on a revolution - Man, I've run across 101 articles about the Red Hat IPO. No one I personally know is going to be able to get the IPO stock because IPOs are just too hard to get unless you already are a wheeler/dealer on the stock market, and most of us geeks don't count. Anyway, since the following URL comes from Forbes, I decided that it would be the one I  mentioned. :) http://www.forbes.com/tool/html/99/aug/0805/feat.htm

Item #6: Penguin who likes dwarfs (Myth II review) - As mentioned in the LOGIN section, I actually downloaded the Myth II demo... and I thought it was rather good. I found an online review to present to you but oddly enough, they don't have any screenshots of the gameplay... just screenshots of some of the configuration stuff. Weird. Anyway, check out the review if games interest you at all. It is starting to get exciting with all of the games coming out for Linux. Here's a taste of things to come: http://linuxticker.com/artikel/131.html

Item #7: The Twisted Pair: Netscape and Linux - Matt Michie put together a story that contrasts Netscape and Linux. What went right and what went wrong... and how we can learn from it. VERY interesting reading, so read it at: http://www.linux.com/featured_articles/19990803/106/

Item #8: WordPerfect 8 for Linux, a review - Hmmm, is this becoming Review Link week or what? The guy who put together all of the reviews of the various Linux distros has taken a break from distros and has put together a decent review of WordPerfect 8 for Linux. If you are interested, check it out. Actually, Ralph talked to me voice a couple of months ago and told me I'd have a copy of the full  blown Word Perfect 8 for Linux coming to my door for review... and I even lined up two guys to review it for me (guys who have been using WordPerfect forever)... but alas, I haven't seen it yet so this review will have to do: http://www.cpureview.com/rev_wp8_a.html

Item #9: Interview with the leader of Project Magic, Håkon Wium Lie - Ok, so you are asking, "What's Project Magic?" Well, it's the effort to port the Opera Web Browser to various platforms including Linux. Check out the following interview to see how Opera is coming along on Linux: http://linuxpower.org/display_item.phtml?id=132

Item #10: Image is everything, a visit with three graphics programs - http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-07/lw-07-vcontrol_4.html

Item #11: SGI and Linux - If you go visit SGI's frontpage (http://www.sgi.com) you'll see an awesome looking new computer that comes pre-loaded with Linux or Windows NT. From the looks of their page(s), it appears they put Linux before Windows NT. I don't blame them. Take a look at some of the Linux and SGI related stories that popped up this week: SGI adds Wintel servers to lineup http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,410810,00.html

LINUX AND NT OPTIONS -- SGI Puts Intel Inside Servers http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?VAR19990802S0002

Irix takes back seat as SGI goes for Linux http://webserv.vnunet.com/www_user/plsql/pkg_vnu_news.right_frame?p_story=87942&p_type=

SGI's Linux strategy gets deeper but clearer http://www.performancecomputing.com/opinions/unixriot/990730.shtml

Item #12: PC-TEL announces new LinModem - ARRGGGHHHH. LinModems? Please say it isn't so. But alas, it looks like it is. I guess I've had about 20 different modems in my computer geek years... starting out with a 300 baud modem. Anyway, the crap that passes as a modem these days is terrifically horrible. WinModems are great if you don't have a problem with them but when you do (have a problem with them)... they suck royal. I don't care how well made any LinModem is, I ain't buying one. Hmmm, I guess my bias is showing here. Nahh, it's just common sense, right? http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-08/lw-08-linmodem.html

Item #13: ApplixWare News - Hey, I found a review of ApplixWare. I originally bought ApplixWare several versions ago and I've kept current with it. I must admit that I don't use it much because I don't have the need to do office application work very often, but when I do, ApplixWare is the one for me. I haven't seen the latest StarOffice so I can't comment on it. Anyway, take a look at the review from the pages of Linux Journal as well as the announcement of yet another update: Review of Applixware 4.4.1 for Linux http://linuxjournal.com:82/lj-issues/issue65/3525.html

Applix Announces Applixware Office Version 4.4.2 for Linux http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/990805/ma_applix__1.html

Item #14: VNC works miracles for system administrators - I wrote up VNC in LA #18 if I remember correctly... and I can't say enough good things about the product. I actually use it quite often and mostly over dialup Internet. What, you haven't heard about VNC? Well, regardless if you are a Windows Weenie or a Linux Lover, you'll want to check into VNC. The following link is a great place to start: http://www.idg.net/idg_frames/english/content.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunworld.com%2Fsunworldonline%2Fswol-08-1999%2Fswol-08-vnc.html&return=%2fidg_frames%2fenglish%2ffeatures%2ehtml


SPOTLIGHT: Myth II demo screenshots, just a couple

As mentioned in the LOGIN section above, I'm not much of a gamer... and what games I do play... well, they aren't RPGs like Myth II. I did find the Myth II demo to be rather fun and worth the 64MB download. Check out these screenshots. The first one is the opening screen and the second one is near the end of the tutorial. The screenshots might look a little ruff because I scaled them down to 8-bit color by saving them as .gif files. Let it be known that Myth II runs in a window and doesn't really eat up too much of the system resources. I was running Seti@Home while playing and didn't notice any lag. The sound is great too. Anyway, download it for yourself!

 

 


LOGOUT:

Ok, who had been installing Linux lately? Come on, fess up. I'd like to hear from you... so send me some email. As always, thanks for reading!

Scott Dowdle

 

 

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