LINUX TIPS AND TRICKS --- October 26, 2001

Published by ITworld.com -- changing the way you view IT
http://www.itworld.com/newsletters
_________________________________________________________________

Red Hat Launches Version 7.2 of Linux OS
By George A. Chidi

Linux vendor Red Hat Inc. on Monday updated its Red Hat Linux 
operating systems for consumer PCs and for business 
workstations and servers. Both operating systems use the Linux 
2.4.7 kernel and the GNOME 1.4 desktop environment. Red Hat 
also announced pricing for its upcoming Red Hat Embedded Linux 
Developer Suite, setting the price at US$2,500.

The Linux 2.4.7 kernel makes the open-source operating system 
more scalable by improving its performance in computers with 
more than one processor, expanding its system memory up to 64G 
bytes and using Ext3 journaling and a logical volume manager to 
better manage large file systems. It also has advanced power 
management features. The 2.4 Linux kernel was released by Linux 
creator Linus Torvalds in January.

The updated Red Hat consumer Linux flavor, Red Hat Linux 7.2, 
comes with improved USB (Universal Serial Bus) support, the 
GNOME and KDE desktop environments, game demo software, a 
Nautilus file manager from Eazel Inc. and a Mozilla Web 
browser. It also comes bundled with Sun Microsystems Inc.'s 
StarOffice 5.2 office applications, and compilers for C, C++, 
Java, Python, Perl, and PHP interpreters.

The GNOME 1.4 open source desktop used by Red Hat isn't 
perfectly compatible with the version developed by open source 
software vendor Ximian Inc., said Marty Wesley, a Red Hat 
product manager. "We're both pulling from the GNOME base, but 
from a different point in time," he said. Ximian tends to use 
later versions of GNOME in order to stay cutting edge, while 
Red Hat tends to work longer on its GNOME products in order to 
improve stability, he said.

Linux isn't perceived as user friendly when compared to the 
Apple Computer Inc. or Microsoft Corp. desktop environments -- 
an issue the open-source community has tried to address with 
the GNOME project for an open-source desktop. Just as Red Hat 
banks on Linux, Ximian Inc. banks on GNOME, producing its own 
flavor of the Linux-compatible desktop.

As Red Hat's modifications to GNOME are published under the GNU 
General Public License (GPL), the two versions will grow more 
compatible, he said. "Ximian tends to stay a little closer to 
the tip of the tree ... but all of these branches eventually 
fold back into the trunk."

The updated operating sytem for business PCs and servers, 
called Red Hat Linux Professional, comes with everything in the 
consumer version, along with Web server applications software, 
application development tools, an e-commerce package, 
workstation applications including Adobe Systems Inc.'s Acrobat 
reader and IBM Corp.'s Java Run Time Environment. It also comes 
with system administrator software and two months of support, 
along with a six month subscription to Red Hat Network Software 
Manager for one system.

Red Hat plans to release an advanced server version of Red Hat 
Linux 7.2 for data center use within the next six months. A 
version of Red Hat Linux 7.2 for IBM's S/390 mainframe computers
and a version for Intel Corp.'s Itanium processor will be 
released by the end of the year, Wesley said.

Red Hat also reiterated its intent to release its developer 
suite for embedded Linux, but without giving a release date 
in the announcement.

Red Hat Linux 7.2 is priced at $59.95, while Red Hat Linux 
Professional is priced at $199.95. Both versions are available 
from Red Hat's Web site, http://www.redhat.com, at retail 
stores and through computer makers.
_________________________________________________________________

SPONSORED LINK

ENTER TO WIN A DELL DIMENSION DREAM SYSTEM 

Enter to win a fully-loaded 2GHz Dell Dimension dream system or 
$25,000 in cash. By entering, you are also eligible to receive 
any ITworld.com newsletter. CLICK HERE for your chance to win!

http://www.itworld.com/sweeps/
_________________________________________________________________

About the author(s)
-------------------
George A. Chidi is a correspondent for the IDG News Service.
_________________________________________________________________

CUSTOMER SERVICE

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE:
- Go to: http://www.itworld.com/newsletters
- Click on "View my newsletters" to log in and manage your
  account
- To subscribe, check the box next to the newsletter
- To unsubscribe, uncheck the box next to the newsletter 
- When finished, click submit

Questions? Please e-mail customer service at: 
mailto:support@itworld.com
_________________________________________________________________

CONTACTS

* Editorial: Andrew Santosusso, Newsletter Editor, 
  andrew_santosusso@itworld.com

* Advertising: Clare O'Brien, Vice President of Sales, 
  clare_obrien@itworld.com

* Career Corner: Janis Crowley, Vice President/General Manager,
  IDG Recruitment Solutions, janis_crowley@itcareers.net

* Other inquiries: Jodie Naze, Senior Product Marketing Manager, 
  jodie_naze@itworld.com
_________________________________________________________________

PRIVACY POLICY
ITworld.com has been TRUSTe certified 
http://www.itworld.com/Privacy/

Copyright 2001 ITworld.com, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
http://www.itworld.com
