30 bazillion readers wrote to say that kernel 2.3.1 is out: a ChangeLog is available here. Standad warnings, everyone-don't play with what you don't know, and expect to have everyone bail you out. In related news, Linus will be appearing at the Lotus DevCon 99' - more information is availible.

netstat sent us the story about the big networking companies and Linux. Much the same story as elsewhere, they already support NT and Solaris, and don't see the user base for Linux there yet. Much of the comments are candids taken from Networld Interop. As you would expect, most of them want to see more users before rolling out support.

rohirrim was the first to let us know that the hit hot single 2.2.9 has made its debut on the usual FTP sites. So if you're the type that desires a newer stable kernel, get to it.

kelvin asks: "How do I get a digitizer tablet, specifically the Calcomp Ultraslate, to work in Linux?" What is the overall digitizer support like under Linux? I would expect this kind of support is crucial if Linux wants to eventually break into the professional graphics markets.

db asks: "I am looking for clear and up to date information on Linux firewalls for the suits at my job. I am looking for performances, advanced feature, and third party support information. I have reviewed a number of HOWTOs, but what I need is something my CIO will believe. "

Peter Hernberg writes "Linuxtoday has a interesting little tidbit from Linus about 2.3. " Talks about the last fixes in the 2.2.8 patch as well as what is happening first in the 2.3.0 series. And just a note to help curb future flamage directed towards me and my mediocre website from appearing on the kernel mailing lists: 2.3.x is the devel series kernels. Don't touch them unless you are a kernel developer, a mental patient (or both)

wiggles asks: "I have a 486 100MHz running Red Hat 5.2, acting as an internet gateway running IPMasquerade. What I want to be able to do is to allow someone to dial in to the box, then talk IPX to the rest of the machines on the network. The reason I want to do this is so I can have people inside the network playing Starcraft with someone from outside the network by way of the outsider dialing in to play over the network. Any suggestions?"

Beret was the first to report that the new 2.3 directory that was appearing on the kernel mirrors now contains what looks suspiciously like a 2.3 kernel. Also includes patches from 2.2.8 if you want 'em. No word on what is new.

KrON writes "Linux 2.2.8 Is being upp'ed to mirrors as we speak... " A few people have noted that a 2.3 directory has appeared on some of the mirrors, although it is empty.

Anon Y Mouse writes "Click here for the press release." Toshibia has gone ahead with their plans and certified the entire Magnia line of servers, for use with Red Hat Linux, according to the press release.

bearded.duane writes "America Online is considering the Linux operating system as one option for running an inexpensive Internet access device, according to sources familiar with the project. "

Christopher Cashell writes "Everyone knows about Beowulf High Performance clusters, but it's often remarked that these are impracticle for most business uses, and that High Availability Clustering is still lacking. It looks like the guys at TurboLinux are working on fixing that. First seen on freshmeat"

Mark Wright sent us a link to some benchmarks over at ZD Net that examines assorted NOS Options. NT is benched, as is Solaris, Netware and Linux. Linux holds up quite poorly in this review.

Ektanoor writes "Found this today on "Linux Today". Michels "retracts" several earlier citations attributed to him and clarifies his position regarding Linux. " Man - and I thought I have been misquoted (well, assuming Doug was, of course)! Hopefully, this will ease some of the furor regarding Michels supposed earlier comments.

Anonymous Coward writes "The Financial Times reports today in its Lex column that, due to the increasing commercialisation, linux riskes loosing it soul. " I've felt that way on several occasions (usually after a rough day at a conference where I watch as big corporate entities perform ruthless and evil acts that make me so sad) but then someone else turns around and surprises me by doing something really wonderful and reminding me that there is still a lot of soul in there. I'm optimistic, but we still need to be careful.

Mike wonders about the following issue: "I am working on development of a Linux hosted web server that will allow users to edit their own web spaces. I realize that there is FTP for file/web-page management purposes, but for many of my users, this would be a disaster, since they don't understand the in's & out's of managing a site thru FTP. Are there some kind of extensions for Apache (or any other Linux-based servers) that allow me to do live & in-place editing?" I wonder if something like this is necessary with the difficulty of FTP becoming less of an issue with the better of the graphical clients out there. It allows users to use better Web Development tools on their own machines as well. What do you all think?

An anonymous reader wrote in to send us The Practical Manager's Guide to Linux. With a title like that, how much explanation do you need? It refutes all the usual FUD- hopefully it does what it says.

PowerPC sent us a post from 3dfx.glide.linux asking for someone interested in working at 3dfx. Specifically to work on developing, evangelizing and maintaining 3dfx under Linux. Glad to see another vendor joining the fray. I've attached the full request and contact information below.

ramkal asks: "I would like to know if there are any good "pure" object databases (free or commerical) for Linux. No I don't have Oracle 8 (or Informix IDS) in mind. I would hear from those who have succesfully implemented ODs in a decent project (100k + lines of c++ code). True, ODs are no longer as hot as they used to be a couple of years ago but they have their own advantages as I have seen in a financial industry setting."

yuri-g sent us a link to the transcripts of last nights ABCNews Chat with Linus. While he doesn't say what Transmeta does, he talks about the Cult of Linus, Linux on Consumer Electronics, Distributions, and the ever popular LiGnuX debate. Somewhat lengthy, but a good summary, with some new info too.