Software News

SLACKWARE 10.1

Slackware Linux, Inc. has released Version 10.1 of Slackware Linux. Slackware bills itself as the oldest Linux distribution still in active development. The Slackware distribution is sometimes called the "most Unix-like" Linux. The focus is on producing a Linux distribution with the look and feel of Unix. Of course, Slackware still comes with contemporary Linux desktop enviorments such as KDE 3.3.2 and Gnome 2.6.1. Also included in Version 10.1 is the Xfce 4.2 desktop. (See the entry on Xfce 4.2 in this Sofware News.) Slackware 10.1 comes with the 2.4.29 version of the Linux kernel from ftp.kernel.org. According to the official announcement, "Special kernels were prepared to support hardware such as SCSI controllers, SATA controllers, USB keyboards and mice, parallel-port IDE devices, IBM PS/2 machines with the Microchannel bus, and even speech synthesizers providing access to Linux for the visually impaired." Slackware 10.1 also includes Linux kernel 2.6.10 as an alternative choice. This latest release boasts major enhancements to the printing system, with new versions of CUPS and LPRng, as well as support for hundreds of printers through HPIJS and Gimp-print. You'll also find an upgrade to the Slackware package management system, improved support for portables, new and better tools for encrypted communication, and a large collection of packages not found on previous Slackware releases. Slackware 10.1 includes development tools such as Qt Designer, KDevelop, Glade, and the Java 2 Software Development Kit Standard Edition, as well as Perl 5.8.6 and Python 2.4. Or if you're looking for something a little lighter, the Slackware team likes to remind users of their nifty ZipSlack installation option. ZipSlack is a complete text-based Linux installation in a 48 MB Zip archive. http://www.slackware.org

Opera For Linux Beta

Opera Software released a beta version of the Opera browser for Linux. Opera is a commercial product available for several platforms, including both desktop computers and mobile devices. According to Opera CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner, "We were preparing for the 7.60 release, but the work progressed and we kept adding improvements and functionality; it became very evident that we now have a browser that is so powerful, secure, and easy to use that it exceeds the next logical version number and warrants a major release." The beta reflects improvements such as enhanced support for RSS news feeds, including an RSS icon and integration of RSS with the Opera mail client. This version also provides a collection of new usability tools, including a Start bar, an automatic update tool, and utilities for resizing images. According to the company, the beta also includes several changes under the hood for better speed, security, and page handling. Despite the enhancements, the Opera browser still weighs in at under 4 MB. The beta for the latest Opera for Linux is available for download at www.opera.com. The final version is scheduled for release in early 2005, so by the time you read this, it may be coming soon. http://www.opera.com/

lamAV

Version 0.81 of the Open Source anti-virus tool ClamAV is available for download. ClamAV is an Open Source solution for scanning email attachments at the mail server. The package includes a command line scanner, a multi-threaded daemon, a milter interface for sendmail, and an automatic update utility. The ClamAV virus scanner detects over 3000 viruses, worms, and trojans, and it supports virus checking with a large collection of file types. Because ClamAV is Open Source, you can use the ClamAV library and other components with your own software projects. This latest release of ClamAV includes improvements to the mail scanning engine and support for multi-part or partial messages. ClamAV 0.81 also includes several bug fixes and minor improvements. http://www.clamav.net/

Xfce 4.2

The Xfce project announces the release of Xfce 4.2. Xfce is a full-featured but lightweight desktop environment for Unix-like systems. The goal of the Xfce project is to create a desktop environment that is light and fast, but powerful and easy to use. Xfce comes with a session manager, file manager, settings manager, application finder, desktop manager, an easily customizable panel, and a collection of useful utilities. Version 4.2 includes a platform-independent graphical installation wizard that automatically compiles and installs Xfce, along with any supporting packages. Other changes with the latest release include improved support for Cygwin, improved Xinerama support, support for kiosk mode, and enhanced compliance with Freedesktop specifications. 4.2 also provides CUPS supprt, a new icon theme, a graphic desktop menu manager, and a compositing manager for supporting the X.org Composite extension. If you want to try Xfce without installing it on your system, check out the Xfld 0.2 live CD. Xfld, which is distributed by a company called os-cillation, is a Knoppix-based distribution that uses Xfce as its primary desktop. The Xfld website gives three reasons why they chose to use Xfce: 1) Xfce is lightweight, 2) Kfce is highly usable, 3) Xfce looks good. http://www.xfce.org/ http://www.os-cillation.com/

Firestarter

Version 1.03 of the Firestarter firewall is now available. Firestarter is a Linux firewall with an easy-to-use graphic interface. The Firestarter firewall provides event monitoring and Internet connection sharing. Version 1.03 reportedly has a feature for blocking malware. Also included are improvements to Samba support and a connection test feature. Binary packages are available for Fedora Core 2 and 3, SuSE 9.2, and Debian. The wizard-based installer automatically loads the necessary libraries for most distributions even if a package is not available. http://www.fs-security.com/