Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter -- Issue #16

[ Thanks to Phil Lavigna for this link. ]

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             Issue #16    Wednesday, 3 October 2001

Welcome to the Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter -- dedicated to
keeping you up-to-date with the latest Mandrake-related news & info.

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This Week's Summary: First Look at Mandrake Linux 8.1; Mandrake in the 
News; What's Cooking at MandrakeSoft; Business Case of the Week; This 
Week's Online Poll; Security-related Software Updates; Headlines from 
MandrakeForum.


First Look at Mandrake 8.1
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Mandrake Linux 8.1 was released Thursday, September 27th. If you 
haven't yet had the opportunity to preview 8.1, the Mandrake website 
offers several chapters describing many of the new features:
Check out the updated version of the DrakX graphical installer;
Enjoy the latest eye-catching user interfaces of KDE 2.2.1 & GNOME 1.4
plus the wonderful suite of programs that these desktop environments
offer. In Mandrake Linux 8.1 you'll find 11 different window managers
and desktop environments to choose from.

Also included are thousands of the most up-to-date productivity
applications, Internet software, games & amusements as well as
developer's tools & utilities, and world-class server applications.

The updated Mandrake Control Center offers a comprehensive range of
tools & utilities to ensure that configuring & administering your
Mandrake system can be performed in a fast, efficient manner.

People interested in utilizing Mandrake 8.1 as a productive server will
be delighted to discover the many Server Configuration Wizards
included in this latest release. Configuring services has never been
easier -- Apache webserver, Samba file & print server, Postfix email
server, firewall, news, time servers and more are yours with just a few
clicks of the mouse.

Orders are now being accepted for cheap "3-CD Sets" as
well as complete retail packs with manuals, support and extra CDs
loaded with bonus software at MandrakeStore.
Or download Mandrake Linux 8.1 today.


Mandrake in the News
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Many stories about Mandrake Linux 8.1 appeared on various web sites:

Slashdot -- Mandrake 8.1 Released.
"Loke and several others wrote in with notes about Mandrake Linux 8.1. 
Release notes are available, or download an .iso, or just order it. 
Looks like it includes KDE 2.2.1, which is pretty impressive..."

The Register -- Mandrake revamps Linux distro
"The latest version of the most popular desktop Linux distro, Mandrake, 
is available for download today for Pentium-class PCs."

MandrakeForum -- Mandrake Linux 8.1 FAQ
Civileme, MandrakeSoft's Q/A Manager, hosts an extremely informative 
discussion regarding the new release. You'll find answers to many of 
the most frequent questions.


What's Cooking at MandrakeSoft?
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Unfortunately all software contains bugs, but MandrakeSoft is determined 
to solve the problems as soon as the appear. Beginning with Mandrake 8.1, 
all errata pages describing known problems, and how to solve them, 
will appear simultaneously on MandrakeForum (where they are likely to 
be spotted by forum readers), and on the Mandrake Linux website in 
order to make locating solutions easier. The first two "erratas" have 
been posted on MandrakeForum:

8.1 Errata -- Internet Connection Sharing doesn't work properly after 
rebooting the server.
Problem: If you set up Internet Connection Sharing from the Mandrake
Control Center in Mandrake 8.1, it works in the current session but the 
configuration will be lost after rebooting the machine. Tom describes 
an easy fix.

8.1 Errata -- Euro Currency Key In KDE Returns "?"
Problem: The Euro currency key combination (AltGr-e on most European 
keyboards for example) returns a question mark in KDE programs such as 
kedit, kword and others instead of the special "e" Euro symbol.
This problem only occurs if you choose a different theme for KDE from 
the MandrakeFirstTime Wizard.


Business Case of the Week
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DeadlyServers.com uses Mandrake 8.0 to host Game Servers.
Deadlyservers.com is a new game hosting company that specializes in 
hosting Half-life, Quake3 and their various mods. They use 
Linux-Mandrake 8.0 SMP-enterprise over all other options because of its 
ease of use and administration.

Read many more examples of Mandrake Linux in the workplace at:
MandrakeBizCases.com. If you use MandrakeSoft products in your business,
please share your story by submitting your own personal "Bizcase".


This Week's Online Poll
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How will you acquire Mandrake 8.1?

1) Burn your own CDs
2) From Cheapbytes (or similar)
3) 3-CD Set from MandrakeStore
4) DVD from MandrakeStore
5) Standard Edition (3 CDs)
6) PowerPack (7CDs)
7) ProSuite (7+2 CDs + 1DVD)
8) None of the above

Cast your vote in the Voting Booth and check the results.


Software Updates
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An update for lyx has just been released that fixes LyX segfaulting 
upon startup. This update is for Mandrake Linux 8.0 PPC only.
View the entire list.


Top Stories of the Week from MandrakeForum
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New Mandrake 8.1 and solving hardware problems.
Mandrake Linux 8.1 includes a great way to try alternative boot 
kernels with "Isolinux" -- Just insert the second CD in the CD tray, 
boot your machine, and the Isolinux bootloader will start up and allow 
you to boot from three different kernels, and to use any install method 
(e.g. installing from CDROM, Hard-Drive, or Network).

Download edition of Mandrake Linux 8.1 = 3 CDs.
Just a short note about a change which occured at MandrakeStore:
* The download edition for Mandrake 8.1 is no longer 2 CDs but 3 CDs (2
  installation disks plus 1 CD called Supplementary applications CD).
* Folks that already ordered the 2 CD set "Download Edition" will
  receive 3 CDs (you should get an email notification soon).

Cloning Disks the Unix Way.
Denis describes how the "dd" command can be used to copy entire 
partitions or hard drives to different media. Readers propose several 
alternative methods of doing the same task (and more).

Mandrake CD-Factory at work.
Have you ever wondered how come that we can ship 2CDs imediately, but 
can not ship boxes with more CDs, manuals and/or DVD before end of 
October? Curious? read on...

Read these and other stories at
MandrakeForum

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