http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/ PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/images/logo.gif http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/ webmaster@linuxformat.co.uk http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=684 This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on how to install Xen on an Ubuntu Hardy Heron (Ubuntu 8.04) server system (i386). You can find all the software used here in the Ubuntu repositories, so no external files (apart from a fixed Ubuntu Xen kernel to enable networking for the virtual machines) or compilation are needed. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=683 ReiserFS filesystem creator Hans Reiser has been found guilty of the murder of Nina Reiser, his estranged wife. Nina disappeared in September 2006 - but a body was never found, leading to speculation that she had moved back to Russia. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=682 Yes, the Hardy Heron is here! This is the new Long Term Support (LTS) release of Ubuntu, and is possibly the most eagerly anticipated distro of all time. Read on for our hands-on look at the new features, with screenshots galore... http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=681 In 2003, Red Hat halted its regular Linux distro in favour of RHEL and Fedora. To some users, this was a sign that Red Hat had given up on the desktop market. But now the company has announced Red Hat Global Desktop, a distro "designed exclusively for small, reseller supplied, deployments in emerging markets (e.g. primarily the BRIC countries)". http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=680 A freshly baked kernel is cooling on the Linux windowsill: see Torvalds's announcement, and this page for a comprehensive list of new features. If you're feeling particularly daring, you can download the source code from kernel.org and build it! http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=679 A new version of the newbie-friendly Mandriva distro is available, featuring a new media centre, audomatic codec installation, Eee PC support, better parental control options, and KDE 4.0.2 in the package repositories. You can buy a boxed set online, or download from here. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=678 This opinion piece on Newsvine states so, arguing that developers can't be forced to work on something if they're not passionate about it. The article also points out that competition is a good thing, and leads to innovations in all the desktop environments. Has the author got this spot-on, or is he looking at the situation through rose-tinted specs? http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=677 Here's a comprehensive set of 3DMark tests pitting CrossOver Games against Wine. Like Cedega, CrossOver Games is a commercial version of Wine tailored for entertainment software, and supports many popular titles including World of Warcraft and Guild Wars. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=676 Greg Kroah-Hartman has posted a status update for the Linux Driver Project, which aims to improve hardware support in Linux. From the update: "The Linux Driver Project (LDP) is alive and well, with over 300 developers wanting to participate, many drivers already written and accepted into the Linux kernel tree, and many more being currently developed." http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=675 Starting in September, 9000 PCs currently dual-booting Ubuntu Linux and Windows will shift full-time to Linux, according to this story. One of the advantages touted is that students will be able to use the same software at home as they do at school, which "strengthens equality of opportunity". http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=674 Deep breath: a new version of the GNUstep Live CD is available; Slackware 12.1 is on the way; Gentoo Linux 2008.0 beta 1 has been released; betas of Firefox 3 are coming in thick and fast; and the Qt 4.4 release candidate is ready. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=673 While the Linux world awaits KDE 4.1, promising some major new features, those early adopters who installed 4.0 aren't being left in the dark. KDE 4.0.3 addresses various bugs in the desktop environment, and has some minor improvements to the KHTML rendering engine and KWin window manager. See this page for the release notes. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=672 OpenOffice.org (new website!) announces the official release of version 2.4 with 9 new chart features, 5 PDF export enhancements, text to columns in Calc, rectangular selection in Writer, bug fixes, performance improvements, improvements supporting the growing library of extensions such as 3D OpenGL transitions in Impress, and much more. Downloads are available either direct or P2P. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=671 Both distros are churning out new development snapshot releases: Fedora 9 beta includes Gnome 2.22 and KDE 4.0.2, while Ubuntu 8.04 beta paves the way for the full Long Term Support release in April. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=670 Over at Linux.com, Robin 'Roblimo' Miller has described his experiences of switching desktops. As an early KDE user, he switched to Gnome in 2006 when Ubuntu became the hottest new distro, but kept trying KDE to see if his old chum had changed. An interesting read if you're used to toing-and-froing between desktops. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=669 It may be five months away, but OpenOffice.org 3.0 promises to be a major upgrade, as this OOo Ninja article illustrates. New features include a proper opening dialog (instead of a blank screen), multi-page view in Writer, and Microsoft Office 2007 file format support. And yes, it'll be a wee bit faster too. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=668 The first full release of MonoDevelop, an open source C# IDE, is now available -- see the release notes. MonoDevelop can also be used for writing C/C++ programs, although some of its features aren't accessible when using these languages. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=667 ASUS's Eee PC, a micro and cheap Linux notebook, has been a hit in the world of open source. But is there a new challenger on the horizon? The Norhtec Gecko laptop, with a 7" screen and 1GHz CPU, could give the Eee a run for its money. Running Linpus Linux Lite, the Gecko is expected at around the $300 USD price range, although the Eee was originally announced at $199 so we'll have to wait and see... http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=666 So says this Softpedia article on the upcoming desktop release. It looks at some of the new programs and utilities, such as the Cheese webcam tool and remote desktop app. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=665 A new major release of GCC, the defacto standard compiler suite for GNU/Linux systems, is now available. See the release announcement, and this page for a comprehensive list of changes. Highlights: experimental support for the upcoming ISO C++ standard, C++0x; optimisation improvements; and better control over warning messages, http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=664 One of the biggest new features in Ubuntu 8.04, due in April, is Wubi. This tool lets you install the distro in a Windows folder, eliminating the need for partitioning -- a complicated procedure for many newcomers. Ars Technica has an overview of Wubi, seeing how it works in the latest Ubuntu snapshot release (8.04 alpha 5). http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=663 ONLamp.com has an article on the new features and performance improvements in FreeBSD 7.0, which is due any day now. Various FreeBSD developers describe the underlying changes -- network performance, wireless drivers and security. In a future issue of LXF we'll have an interview with FreeBSD's Kris Kennaway! http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=662 GNU founder Richard Stallman has stepped down from the position of Emacs maintainer. Stallman wrote the first version of the Emacs text editor in 1984, and although he will stay involved with the project, he plans to spend more time in other areas. http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=661 As a thank you to all our subscribers, we've just uploaded over 30 issues of PDFs to the magazine archives section of this site - that's almost 1000 articles ready for your reading pleasure! But the new PDFs are only available if you visit www.linuxformat.co.uk/subsarea and enter your subscriber number and surname. If someone else bought your subscription for you, you may need to enter their surname instead, but the subscriber number is on the carrier sheet that gets mailed to you with your issue every month. Please keep in mind that the new subscriber authentication system is brand, spanking new - we'll try to iron out any bugs in it in the coming weeks. We'll also be adding new PDFs monthly, so check back regularly! http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=660 Just when you thought it was all over, SCO has received a $100M investment to battle on (although Darl McBride is leaving). Meanwhile, Phoronix has an article showing how Ubuntu's boot speed has gradually improved in recent releases. Lastly, Mandriva 2008.1 Beta 2 and Gnome 2.21.91 have been released.