The weekly roundup for Linux users

Aug 17, 2009 08:41 GMT  ·  By

Welcome to the 58th issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!

The following Linux distributions have been announced last week: SAM Linux 2009, Slack Mini Server 1.4.5, PC/OS 2009.3, Finnix 93.0, SystemRescueCd 1.2.3, Parted Magic 4.4, Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 and Calculate Linux Scratch 9.8. In other news: The GNOME community announces GNOME 2.28 Beta; Quake Live offers support for Linux and Macintosh; Google hackers discover critical security vulnerability in the Linux kernel and Canonical releases the first standalone images for Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud. The weekly ends with the video clip of the week, the latest Linux distributions released/updated last week and the development releases.

dots Summary:

dots SAM LinuxOn August 10th, a member of the SAM Linux Team announced the release of SAM Linux 2009. This distribution is based on PCLinuxOS 2009.1 and is fully compatible with its packages, but later releases will be based on another distribution, unspecified at this moment. SAM Linux 2009 features the Linux kernel version 2.6.26.8, XFCE 4.6.1, enhanced WLAN hardware compatibility and support for the MSI Wind architecture. All upstream packages have been updated to the version they were at on the 18th of July, 2009. Also, Thunderbird has been dropped and now e-mail support is provided by Opera.

Highlights of SAM Linux 2009:

· Linux Kernel 2.6.26.8 · XFCE 4.6.1 · Mozilla Firefox 3.5.1 · Opera 9.64 · The GIMP 2.6.6 · Abiword 2.6.8 · Pidgin 2.5.8 · VLC Media Player 1.0.0

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SAM Linux 2009

Download SAM Linux 2009 right now from Softpedia.

dots Slack Mini ServerAlso on August 10th, the Slack Mini Server project team announced the 1.4.5 release of their Slack Mini Server operating system, which celebrated 2 full years of activity. The new release is based on Slackware Linux 13.0 RC2 and it brings Asterisk PBX, Samba 3.4.0, PHP 5.3.0 and many updated packages (see below for details).

Highlights of Slack Mini Server 1.4.5:

· Linux kernels 2.6.29.6 · Dovecot 1.2.3 · Dovecot-sieve 0.1.11 · Apache 2.2.12 · Apr 1.3.8 · Apr-util 1.3.9 · Fetchmail 6.3.11 · MySQL 5.0.84 · LibX11 1.2.2 · Pixman 0.15.18 · Samba 3.3.7 · Bind 9.4.3_P3 · Phpldapadmin 1.2.0 · Cxxlibs 6.0.10 · e2fsprogs 1.41.8 · Nmap 5.00 · getmail 4.9.2 · iwlifi-4965 228.61.2 · Gnupg2 2.0.12 · dirmngr 1.0.3 · libksba 1.0.6 · DHCP 3.1.2p1 · libXt 1.0.6 · Subversion 1.6.4 · GIT 1.6.4 · Testdisk 6.11.3 · Linux kernel headers 2.6.29.6 · Linux kernel source 2.6.29.6 · hal-info 20090716

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Slack Mini Server 1.4.5

Download Slack Mini Server 1.4.5 right now from Softpedia.

dots PC/OSAlso on August 10th, Roberto J. Dohnert announced the release of PC/OS 2009.3. This version improves the hardware compatibility of the 2009v2 series, featuring all the regular and security updates that appeared after the release of PC/OS Maintenance Pack 3.

Highlights of PC/OS 2009.3 OpenWorkstation:

· Linux kernel 2.6.24-24; · Mozilla Firefox 3.0.12; · Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0.0.22; · OpenOffice.org 3.1; · Pidgin 2.5.8; · The GIMP 2.6.5; · More application updates.

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PC/OS 2009.3

Download PC/OS 2009.3 right now from Softpedia.

dots SystemRescueCdLooks like August 10th was a big day for everyone, as François Dupoux announced the immediate availability of the SystemRescueCd 1.2.3 operating system. The new version of this tiny Gentoo-based Linux distribution for system administration and data recovery tasks comes now with the alternative Linux kernel 2.6.27.29, a few important updated packages (NTFS-3G, e2fsprogs, Gparted, Parted, dump) and a couple of other improvements. SystemRescueCd 1.2.3 also introduces initial support for Partclone 0.1.1.

Highlights of SystemRescueCd 1.2.3:

· Updated the alternate Linux kernel packages to version 2.6.27.29; · Updated dump to version 0.4b42, with better support for the EXT4 filesystem; · Updated Parted to version 1.9.0; · Updated GParted to version 0.4.6; · Updated e2fsprogs to version 1.41.8; · Updated NTFS-3G (Advanced NTFS-3G Features) to version 2009.4.4-AR16; · Added initial support for Partclone 0.1.1; · Missing firmware was added in this release.

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SystemRescueCd 1.2.3

Download SystemRescueCd 1.2.3 right now from Softpedia.

dots FinnixOn August 11th, Ryan Finnie announced Finnix 93.0, a small bootable Linux distribution that caters to system administrators. Based on Debian's testing branch, this version features an updated Linux kernel, version 2.6.30-5, which is only patched to add UnionFS, since SquashFS support is now included in Debian by default.

The other notable changes are the fact that all the packages have been synchronized with the upstream, with fixes applied to them to enable LiveCD functionality, Memtest86+ version 2.11 is now included, the main menu has been reordered, and the evms, unionfs-tools, cramfsprogs and ftp packages have been removed.

The evms and cramfsprogs packages aren't widely used and the operating system itself doesn't need them; unionfs-tools is incompatible with the current UnionFS version that Finnix uses and the ftp program can be replaced with lftp, which is included on the CD.

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Finnix 93.0

Download Finnix 93.0 right now from Softpedia.

dots Parted MagicOn August 12th, Patrick Verner announced the release of Parted Magic 4.4, a Linux distribution that aids users in hard drive partitioning and data rescue. This version features a special program for dial-up networking, sound support through ALSA, Unionfs compression to reduce RAM usage, SSH server initialization upon boot and, last but not least, Super Grub Disk to take care of bootloader problems.

Highlights of Parted Magic 4.4:

· Linux kernel 2.6.30.4; · PCMan File Manager svn878; · FSArchiver 0.5.8; · Clonezilla 2.3.3-68; · safecopy 1.5; · GPT fdisk (gdisk) 0.3.1; · Diskless Remote Boot in Linux 1.9.4-47; · Parralel gzip 2.1.5; · Mozilla Firefox 3.5.2; · Many other software updates.

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Parted Magic 4.4

Download Parted Magic 4.4 right now from Softpedia.

dots UbuntuOn August 13th, the Ubuntu development team unleashed the Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) Alpha 4 operating system. As usual, we've downloaded a copy of it in order to keep you up to date with the latest changes in the Ubuntu 9.10 development.

What's new in Ubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4? Well... the good news in this release is that Firefox 3.5 replaced the old Firefox 3.0 as the default web browser! The actual version of Mozilla Firefox in Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) Alpha 4 is 3.5.2.

Another interesting addition in this release is the Palimpsest Disk Utility software, available under the Applications -> System Tools menu. The Disk Utility is a S.M.A.R.T. testing/monitoring tool, showing you the temperature and uptime of the driver, and also a partition management tool that allows you to mark as bootable, delete or label a hard disk partition. Palimpsest Disk Utility is created by Red Hat.

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Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) Alpha 4

Download Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala) Alpha 4 right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is an alpha release and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended to be used for testing purposes only.

dots Calculate LinuxAlso on August 12th, the team behind the Calculate Linux operating system announced the first release of Calculate Linux Scratch 9.8. This LiveCD distribution is intended for the creation of customized Calculate Linux derivatives that can be recorded later on to a CD or transferred to a live USB flash drive. When the system build is complete, users may opt to install the system after testing it.

The system build process is optimized for low resource consumption and works in a layered unionfs environment. The base level consists of a minimal Scratch system, upon which a "Delta" layer is added, which allows for quick changes or rollbacks to and from the base system. On top of that is a "Workspace" layer, including all the other software appended to the initial system. Scratch enables its developers to speed up 2 to 5 times the build process for the Calculate Linux Desktop release.

It also enables them to create a version of the operating system that features GNOME as a desktop environment. There is an added ability to modify the squashfs system image on a USB flash drive, no hard disk required.

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Calculate Linux Scratch 9.8

Download Calculate Linux Scratch 9.8 right now from Softpedia.

dots Other NewsOther News:

· The GNOME developers, through Lucas Rocha, announced on August 13th that the first beta version of the upcoming GNOME 2.28.0 desktop environment was available for testing. Since the developers used odd minor version numbers to mark development releases, they tagged this one 2.27.90. The GNOME developers are working hard these days to bring you the GNOME 2.28 release in late September. Read more about it here.

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· Todd Hollenshead, id Software president, announced during the QuakeCon 2009 press conference that Quake Live would soon be adding support for Linux and Macintosh operating systems. Users who want to catch an early glimpse of the enhancements can do that at QuakeCon, since both versions of the plugin are available for testing on the show floor. Non-attendees will have to wait for the update that is scheduled to come on August the 18th, tomorrow. Read more about it here.

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· Tavis Ormandy and Julien Tiennes, two security specialists from Google, reported on August 13th that they had discovered a critical security vulnerability in all Linux kernels (2.4 and 2.6) since 2001, for all architectures. The CVE-2009-2692 vulnerability allows regular users to get root rights on the affected system(s). For more technical users, the actual problem is a Linux kernel NULL pointer dereference due to incorrect proto_ops initializations. The vulnerability is only local. Read more about it here.

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· While scouring the Ubuntu FTP server, in eager anticipation for the Alpha 4 release of the Karmic Koala, the Softpedia team made an intriguing discovery on August 13th, which later proved to be the first images of Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud for Karmic Koala. Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud uses Eucalyptus, an open-source implementation of the emerging EC2 standard proposed by Amazon, to deliver a cloud computing infrastructure that can be implemented by anyone, from individuals to businesses of any size. Read more about it here.

dots Video Clip of the WeekVideo Clip of the Week: Clever windows

· For this week we've posted a very cool video clip that showcases new way of a manipulating windows in the upcoming GNOME 3.0 desktop environment. This demonstration is only a mockup! The video has 50 seconds and it was posted by crantisz. Enjoy!

Download from SoftpediaNew Distributions:

· Scentlinux Alpha 3 · Zencafe Lite Edition 2.0.d · Zencafe 2.0 · BrowserLinux 200908 · VESTA KeyBoot 09.2 · ArchOne 090809 · VESTA 0.92 · VESTA Oracle.JDeveloper 0.92 · VESTA HttpStart 0.92 · Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud 9.10 Alpha 4 · Nexradix 1.16

Download from SoftpediaDistributions Updated Last Week:

· SAM Linux Desktop 9 · Clonezilla LiveCD 1.2.2-27

Download from SoftpediaDevelopment Releases:

· GoblinX 3.0 RC1 · Astaro Security Linux 7.5 Beta 4 · m0n0wall 1.3 Beta 17 · Ubuntu Studio 9.10 Alpha 4 · Xubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 · Kubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Alpha 4 · Kubuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 · Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.10 Alpha 4 · Ubuntu Server 9.10 Alpha 4 · Mythbuntu 9.10 Alpha 4 · Jolicloud Alpha June 2009

See you again next Monday, August 24th, for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.