Ubuntu 8.10 final release, Free CrossOver, Damn Small Linux 4.4.7, Puppy Linux 4.1.1 and much more!

Nov 3, 2008 19:11 GMT  ·  By

Welcome to our 18th issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!

Here’s what you can read about in this edition: Jeremy White loses a bet and gives CrossOver for free (for one day); Robert Shingledecker releases yet another minor bugfix version of Damn Small Linux 4.4; the most awaited Linux distribution arrives, Ubuntu 8.10 (dubbed Intrepid Ibex); Linux kernel regression found in Ubuntu 8.10 kernel packages, right after the official release; Ubuntu developers announce the release schedule for the next release, Ubuntu 9.04 (dubbed Jaunty Jackalope); Barry Kauler announces the first maintenance release of Puppy Linux 4.4. Also, don't forget to check out the Linux distributions released/updated last week, at the end of the article!

Summary:

Believe it or not, CrossOver, a software that lets Linux users install popular Windows applications and games, was free for download (yes, FREE)... but only for one day! That day was October 28th, 2008. How did this happen? Long story short, three months ago, Jeremy White (CodeWeavers CEO) launched the Great American Lame Duck Presidential Challenge, to "force" George W. Bush into achieving a major political or economic goal. Jeremy White stated that if one of the six goals was accomplished, he would give his CrossOver application for free to customers worldwide, for one day. Well, this happened on October 14th, when the average price of gasoline dropped below $2.79 per gallon.

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CrossOver Installer

Download CrossOver Office and Games installers right now from Softpedia.

Robert Shingledecker announced on October 29th yet another minor update of his DSL Linux distribution. The new release, Damn Small Linux 4.4.7 (the versatile mini-desktop Linux distribution), includes the following additions since the previous version:

· The mount.app and fluxbox dock app were added; · wmswallow was removed; · fluxter was moved into slit (for better restarts of the window manager); · An rc file for the Sylpheed mail client was added in .sylpheed/sylpheedrc. It includes file associations for: Firefox %s, xmms %s, editor %s, and xzgv %s; · The .fluxbox/menu and .jwmrc files were fixed; · The backup function was greatly improved. Also, the /opt/powerdown.sh script was removed; · A new option was added in order to restore the boot code.

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Damn Small Linux 4.4.7 showcasing XMMS

Download Damn Small Linux 4.4.7 right now from Softpedia.

After six alphas, a beta and a release candidate, Ubuntu 8.10 was released, as expected, on October 30th. It all began on February 20th, when Mark Shuttleworth announced the Intrepid Ibex, also known as Ubuntu 8.10, the next major release of the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system. Ubuntu 8.10 is also the ninth release of Ubuntu OS, and the fourth anniversary of the first release, Ubuntu 4.10. Highlights of Ubuntu 8.10:

· GNOME 2.24 · Linux kernel 2.6.27 · Guest session · DKMS · X.org 7.4 · Network Manager 0.7 · PAM authentication framework · Totem BBC plugin

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Ubuntu 8.10 a.k.a. Intrepid Ibex

Download Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) right now from Softpedia.

A Linux kernel regression was discovered on October 30th in Ubuntu 8.10, right after the launch. Do not be alarmed, as this was not a security flaw! It was actually a bug in 2.6.27 Linux kernel packages. What happened? Well, long story short, the order of options in the TCP headers was changed by the new version of the Linux kernel. Even if the change was RFC-compliant, it was discovered that some old DSL modems and routers could not route the traffic. However, this occurred only when the TCP timestamps were enabled! "This update restores the previous ordering of TCP options, and reenables TCP timestamps. We apologize for the inconvenience." - said the Ubuntu development team.

The regression can be fixed if you update your system today to the following packages:

linux-image-2.6.27-7-generic 2.6.27-7.15 linux-image-2.6.27-7-server 2.6.27-7.15 linux-image-2.6.27-7-virtual 2.6.27-7.15 procps 1:3.2.7-9ubuntu2.1

Don't forget to reboot your computer after this update!

The Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) release schedule was announced on October 31st. The development will start on November 6th, and will conclude next year on April 23rd, with the final release. For the Jaunty Jackalope, the development team will focus their efforts to fulfill certain tasks that are intended to make Ubuntu 9.04 the reflection of the most efficient understanding of the open source ensemble. The first one is the boot time decrease, mostly when the OS is tailored to a specific device, but also in the standard case. Another declared goal is the intention to blur desktop tools and web services, so that the former better integrate the web. And last, but certainly not least, all of Ubuntu will migrate to Bazaar, giving developers the unprecedented possibility to publish their changes and branch any Ubuntu package with a simple bzr command.

Read more about it here.

Barry Kauler, the father of Puppy Linux, announced on November 3rd the immediate availability of Puppy Linux 4.1.1, which is just a minor bugfix version that also includes some small improvements. Here's what has changed since the 4.1 release:

· Better mouse detection; · Touchpad tapping support; · Added ability to load extra SFS files; · Added DVB USB firmware; · Added old Network Wizard; · Added GPRS message; · Renamed and realigned the desktop drive icon; · Added the ability to check dependencies of installed PET packages; · ALSA shutdown; · Improved support for wide screen resolutions; · Improved remaster-CD; · Network setup fixes, in particular for wireless (including ndiswrapper).

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Puppy Linux

Download Puppy Linux 4.1.1 right now from Softpedia.

Distributions Released Last Week:

· TurnKey Drupal 6 Live CD 2008.10.28-hardy-x86 · TurnKey MediaWiki Live CD 2008.10.29-hardy-x86

Distributions Updated Last Week:

· Toorox 10.2008 · Toorox 10.2008-KDE4 · Tin Hat 20081025 · SimplyMEPIS 8.0 Beta 4 · Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 Beta · Ulteo Applications System 2.00 Alpha · XtreemOS 0.10.0 · Freezy Linux 2.0 · Edubuntu 8.10 · Kubuntu 8.10 · Ubuntu Studio 8.10 · nUbuntu 8.10 Alpha · Absolute Linux 12.1.12 · Xubuntu 8.10 · MythBuntu 8.10 · DAVIX 1.0.1 · Weasel GNU/Linux 2.0.1 · Slack Mini Server 1.3.13