Stan Seibert has written a piece addressing a very key issue in the Linux community. In the beginning there was Linus. Back then, 100% of the users contributed to Linux. As it grew, the percentage of programmers dropped as the number of 'end users' grew. This will only continue as Linux grows. This is great because it means that proves that Linux is more than just a hacker's OS. But the growing number of users unable to actively contribute puts more pressure on developers (email pleas for help, bugs discovered, feature requests etc). The Linux community needs to adapt to this in order to succeed. Hit the link below and read what Stan has to say about it.

Jason Boyles sent us A Link to ComputerWorld Hong Kong where you can read about Linux's use over there. It's a fairly positive piece- although it is a week old I figured I'd still run it. It touches on a lot of the key issues in a way that you don't see very often. Not an essential read for the hardcore, but it may be the sort of article you can forward to the PHB (Pointy Haired Boss) if you've been discussing the possibility of using Linux somewhere in the office.

Matthew Miller writes "ZDNet's 'InfoBeads' has an article about server hardware and software used at ISPs. They show Linux at 26.1%, and have a few interesting-to-hear-from-the-mainstream comments. " I wouldn't have guessed that high- I just assumed my immediatecircle of ISP Linux running friends were a more thinly scattered bunch.

Ok, I'm warning everyone right up front that this is the sort of editorial that might raise a lot of eyebrows, and might start tempers going. Kevin Forge has written a piece on the Crusher App- an application that is superior to its rivals. Specifically, he talks about the Crusher App, and why Oracle is staying away from Linux. What Kevin suggests strikes me as quite possible, not necessarily with Oracle, but with other companies as well, and that's why I'm posting it. Its a major obstacle for Open Source to overcome. Read Kevin's bit, and let's hear what you have to say.

ABeZ has written an editorial on a topic that is very dear to my heart these days- the Evils of Advocacy. Sometimes Linux users go to far in their efforts to support their idealizes free universe, and that very advocacy is what is preventing Linux from being the Mainstream Alternative that we know it can be. My biggest fear for Slashdot is that it is amplifying the problem instead of helping. Hit the link below to read ABeZ's words on the topic. Its a bit rough, but its important to read.

This has been a hot topic for some time now. but I'm curious what everyone has to say about it. We have an array of formats- .rpm, .deb, .tgz, and now .slp? We also have variations of each (Source, x86 Binary, Alpha Binary etc etc) and this is getting crazy. Each has pros and cons, but isn't this an issue that we need to resolve? Hit the link below to read some thoughts. (note:This is the first time I've posted an article with just something to think about, is this a good/bad thing? Should I instead write a whole editorial or is this enough to seed conversation? Email me)

Matt Wood writes "The Linux Development team is pleased to announce the latest release of the Stampede Linux Distribution, version 0.79. This release includes many bugfixes, more packages, later versions of software, and a much easier install (than previous versions.) " You can download Stampede 0.79, try one of the many Stampede mirrors, read The Stampede install guide , or grab Stampede Updates.

Steve Rojem sent us a Sm@rt Reseller article where you can read about Netscape and Linux. The main point of the article is that other companies haven't joined in. Well, Corel seems to be making a step with their VNC, but Oracle and Informix are holding back. The negative comments are typical: Accountability (unfair because RedHat and Caldera will support Linux systems) Demand (Considering there are as many as 10 million Linux Boxes, I question this) and Lack of Central Marketing Push (a valid pointy haired reason, but certainly not a real reason). Mike Saranga, Informix's senior VP, says they do 16 ports right now, but won't do another unless it makes sense. Considering Linux is the fastest growing Unix, and soon will be the largest *nix, I wonder if it will "Make Sense" in time to give Informix a chance against Mysql, mSQL and PostgreSQL. Is it to late for the normal Commercial Databases on Linux? I know you guys use databases... what do you think?

Robert Owens wrote in to tell us to check the Kirc Page for a rant by Aaron Granick, creator of Kirc, who is going through something to many of us have experienced. With a flood of email complaining about problems, and no chance to make any money back, sometimes an Open Source developer can get really burned out. (I wish I had more time to fix all of My Stuff, it really gets disheartening sometimes). He also talks about lack of standardization of X tool kits, as well as the downside of KDE. It's a heartfelt bit that a lot of us can sympathize witih.

Simon Karpen sent us a link to Nick Petreley's Latest InfoWorld Column. It is a moderately cheesy detective story, but I guess since Dvorak just did a stage play, this is normal behavior for mainstream computer press columnists. Petreley is cool: he has written a lot of positive Linux stuff before, so I tend to cut him a lot of slack... Anyway, he talks about something that many of us have gone through- trying to debug some crazy kernel device driver problem. (In this case, its a 3com 3c905b). There's a even a nice happy ending. Oh, and I've decided that my next editorial will be instead be a Performance Piece- I'll dance suspended by chains 6 feet above a stage to protest the suffering I've had with my laptop's sound support and 2.1.99 kernels. Gotta do something to keep up... *grin*.

Oliver Maruhn writes "I would like to use Slashdot to announce the recent improvements, I have done to Linux Ftp Watcher. Now lfw monitores more than 100,000 different files sorted in over 100 sections. It shows the newest files of each day and it has two powerful search engines for filenames and file descriptions. If you are searching for some file, you will probably find it here"

David F. Skoll writes "ISDMag has another editorial about Linux and electronic design automation -- the second in a row. In the article, editor Jonah McLeod says that "Readers are speaking out loud and clear for Linux, but the EDA software and hardware vendors are hearing-challenged." It's a great read. If anyone is going to the 35th Design Automation Conference in San Francisco, maybe we should have a Linux EDA BOF session? "

thi wrote in to give us This link where you can read about a Internet Aware fridge. The prototype runs win95, but the next version will adopt Linux. Shell prompts on your home appliances? Uber cool.

Linus, keynote speaker at this year's Linux Expo, coughed up a nice tarball of kernel 2.1.99 and put it in the usual place. A few changes in this big patch include: major documentation updates for many, many things, some x86 IRQ updates, a quick sparc memory management fix, and some scheduling updates

Conor writes "It seems the Linux Advocacy HOWTO may be working, Columnist Mark Tebbe at infoworld was forced to reconsider his dismissal of Linux as a 'Renegade OS' when he heard about the number of large corporations relying on it for large parts os their IT infrastructure. See his article for more details. "

Jeff Grady writes "I requested technical information from Plustek in order to write a Linux driver for my OpticPro 4800P scanner, and I received this response: "Unfortunately we do not give out that type of information pertaining to our scanners. However, we are planning on writing LinuxUnix drivers hopefully by the end of the year. " Looks like mainstream companies are really starting to support linux! Cool, man. " I wish companies would be more open about releasing specs, but if they can't do it, its cool that they'll at least code drivers. Linux is becoming more of a viable alternative every day.

Sam Rowe writes " Bootnet has 12 steps to installing Debain, with some nice words about Linux. They've also inclded Debain on their magazine CD. " I love when companies do that. It's one thing to get a CD of free software, but to get a CD of free software, it's just a warm fuzzy day.

LinuxFreak writes "Faximum has released the second Linux beta of their commercial fax server product. Go here for the details. " Faximum is commercial code, but its still nice to see commercial linux software becoming more common.

Chris Thompson writes "I've created a mailing list to discuss Linux Hardware Hacking a-la the mp3mobile story. To subscribe, send a message with the subject and body containing the word "subscribe" to linuxhw-request@x4.net. "

Torgo Jr writes "devx.com (a Windows development site) has daily polls, today's being "Do you think Linux will be a threat to Windows NT?". So far Linux only has 21% "Yes"... " when I went, Linux was at 22%, but their server felt like a 486 running PWS. Anyway, vote quick before its gone... :)