A very early drop of the Ute-Linux base release has posted at vger.timpanogas.org. This release is free if accessed from our FTP server and can be downloaded and redistributed under the terms of the GPL for any purpose. WEBMIN is has some problems that are being corrected, and majordomo also has some issues with this release, but everything else seems to work. The ute-backgrounds RPM has some great art of where we live here in Utah and has supports both KDE and GNOME. My favorite is the "Temple of the Sun" -- a holy place to Ute American Indians here in Utah. ISO images are also available and can be freely downloaded. We evaluated the different open source installers and selected anaconda due to it's use of python and the ease of maintaining a commercial release with this tool since it's just python scripts. Two other Ute-Linux releases will be posted within the month, Ute-Network-Linux (based on the NWFS File System), and Ute-Cluster-Linux (based on the M2FS clustered File System). We are about 11 days behind schedule, but are getting there. At present, the integrated NWFS in using the 2.2.17 kernel, and we are still making modifications to anaconda and hope to have ute-nwfs posted sometime this week. Updated RPM's with the 2.2.18 kernel will be avialable end of this week, but it's not stable at present so use at your own risk. We are also updating the RPM utilities to version 4.0 by Friday. Ute-Linux is based on a collection of open source components and RPMs from the Red Hat, and Open Linux releases. I had no idea how much work was involved in doing a Linux release until we actually did one -- I can tell you after going through this process, we have a much deeper respect and understanding for these issues and what the Linux guys in general deal with daily in this market -- it's an enormous amount of work and testing. TRG has created an automated build environment that now allows us to create a full featured commerial quality Linux release that can share components between the Open Source NetWare (MANOS) and commercial Linux distributions. We will be providing the MANOS/Linux versioning system and maintenance scripts so those folks interested in maintaining a complete Linux distribution tree and creating dual builds on MANOS and Linux with identical distributions trees of RPMs and applications can do so. We are using an RPM style tree structure for this system. This system will be posted late this year when the first MANOS distribution ships. The MANOS prototype integrated with Linux last month is instrumented as a unique processor port (/arch) in the current Linux tree in order to preserve exisiting code compatibility issues with a different kernel, but it builds everything as a module -- including the kernel. As tuning and development on MANOS progresses, we will be completing the NetWare style optimizations that will allow this Linux fork to kick the snot out of NT and NetWare for file and print. To date, we will be using most folks code, including the top half of Linus' scheduler for the Linux apps. NetWare style I/O paths and WTD paths are beneath this level, and there' also a separate NetWare style command console to process STARTUP.NCF and AUTOEXEC.NCF style NetWare commends so exisiting NetWare servers can be easily upgraded to the Linux/NetWare hybrib. This console uses W2K DLLs and NT PE EXEs instead of coff for the NOS kernel modules (the Linux kernel now loads on MANOS as a DLL -- heresy no doubt). We have opted for this approach because it will then be simple for Linux or whomever to simply use the MANOS optimizations as an /arch and /kernel option with exisiting Linux trees and a few patches -- the most inobtrusive way to do this, and one Linus is most likely to look at as an alternate /arch directory in the current build tree. TRG grants indemnification against infringement claims by Novell to any commercial Linux companies, customers, distributors, etc. who use patches, NWFS, THOR, Ute-Linux, MANOS or any TRG technologies in their releases. If you are contacted by Novell, and are a target of threats by Novell personnel, please contact TRG's litigation department at 801-222-9635, and we will be happy to greet Novell at the Courthouse doors on your behalf. TRG has a release granted by a litigation settlement that Novell agreed to in exchange for TRG dropping sexual harrassment charges filed by TRG against Novell's Executives and Board of Directors in 1998. This release provides immunity to TRG or any companies acting in concert with TRG against damages or patent infringement claims by Novell for use of NetWare core technologies, excluding trademark infringement (this is why we are out doing their file systems and they can't do sh_t about it -- just in case anyone was wondering). Copies of this release are available for review by companies interested in using or dsributing TRG technologies. Jeff Merkey CEO, TRG - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
