Stacy Doster from Linux Expo wrote in to tell us about LinuxExpo 99, coming this may. I've attached her blurb after the link where you can read who's gonna speak and other stuff. Check out the website for information and registration.

woot wrote in to send us a new ZDNet article on Win2000 vs Linux. It's a pretty good article all things considered. Good to read.

Marc Merlin writes "I put a quick web page with a report of the event, along with pictures I took. More updates and info are available on the main svlug page" Looked like a lot of fun. I don't think MS is opening a branch in Sticksville, MI any time soon, so I'll just wish I was in CA... *grin*.

Dan Zahn(Stumpy) has sent a review of Mark G. Sobell's A Practical Guide to Linux. This is not a book for the power-users amongst us, but is perfect for introducing people to Linux, or taking your casual relationship with Linux to the next level. So, if you want to advance, or you want to get someone on the bus, click below to read more.

David Gregory wrote in to send us a link to what will definately be an interesting event. Starting on Nov 16, Bob Young (Red Hat) will debate Ed Muth (manager of MSs Enterprise Marketing Group) on the merits of their OSs. It'll happen on Network Fusion, and you'll need to create a free login to read it.

A reader has been zooming emails with me for awhile about Lotus Notes & Linux. He has created an alias that you can email him with (not his real address). He's looking for feedback about Linux and Notes. Hit the link to read his request.

As usual, when the new kernels get released, a torrent of people submit it. 2.1.128 Is at the expected spot. This one is a 200k patch. No go forth and download, and may your fresh kernel be stable.

Jon DeNardis wrote in to tell us that Slackware 3.6 has made an appearance. Then FRaNKy wrote in to say that AmigaLinux 5.1, based on RH5.1 is also available for those of you still in the amiga clan.

Peter Neves was the first of many who wrote in to tell us about an article in Salon Magazine that describes an "...analogy between MS and the Catholic Church, and Linus and Martin Luther. "

The SVLUG, as usual, has all the really cool Linux events. Anyway, for those of you out there (and for that matter, for those of you who aren't out there, but are looking for your own ides ;) they are having a Tea Party at the opening of the new Silicon Valley MS office. They'll be wearing shirts, passing out CDs, and maybe someone will cover that RMS track that was on all the charts awhile back. It's tonight, so if you're out there, hurry. Thanks to Chris DiBona for letting us know.

karl ward writes "A Columbia student has written a very clear and insightful piece on the role of open source in 1) subverting the microsoft monopoly, and 2) bringing the downfall of global industrial capitalism. Check it out here. "

A number of you wrote to let us know that Hewlett-Packard will be supporting Red Hat Linux. This support comes from their Firehunter product. Firehunter is HP's version of Internet service-management solutions, and is targeted for the ISP community. They will be supporting Red Hat, in addition to their prior support of Solaris and NT. It's good to see this-although this does seem like a natural place for this to take place.

xgray writes "The good folks at LinuxPPC.org have announced LinuxPPC Lite, a scaled down distribution of LinuxPPC. They have cut down their usuall 600MB CD-ROM back to 75MB, which is ideal for booting from a Zip disk. The goal seems to be to entice more Mac users into giving Linux a try without having to make a major configuration commitment. " Sweet idea. I seem to remember a time when any distribution could fit in 100 megs. Times have changed. But this a great way to lure folks in without much of a hassle.

Paul Ammann writes " CNNfn has an interview with Robert F. Young, CEO of Red Hat. It shows Linux as a free operating system and that it is gaining support - and threatening Windows. If I may quote CNN, ** Linux is looking lovely. ** "

Unknwn writes "RedHat has announced that they are now splitting Powertools into three separate products. One is RedHat Variety Pack which has RedHat 5.2 for Alpha, Intel, and Sparc along with the source code. Linux Off-Line is mirrors of sunsite, mozilla, GNU, and X. The third product is the Powertools 5.2 which contains many software packages in RPM format. "

Jacob Lundqvist wrote in to tell us that a report about Linux was shown on prime-time Swedish television. Hit below to read his report.

Chris Rogers writes "There is another pro-linux article on CNN talking about how Linux is up and comming to the desktop market. Check it out Here " Swingman wrote in to say that CNNs Headline News did a spot on the air of Linux as well.

Mr_E writes "Check out www.forbes.com - not a bad review of Linux. It's focused on building a PC without any 'help' from good 'ol Bill. " One of the better articles I've seen. Worth a look if you like reading those "linux is good" articles that seem to be appearing on just about every site on earth.

An anonymous contributor advised us of the following: "Eddie is a suite of three software applications that together make web sites robust and scalable. It consists of a load-balancing DNS server, an admission control front-end and an IP migrating facility. It contain lots of goodies but the best things are that it works on Linux and that it is Open Source. " Interestingly it was initiated by Ericsson Telecom AB, and the NT version will only be available later. I guess this also means Erlang works on Linux!

Oracle is to release Oracle 8i with the new iFS filesystem tomorrow. As this article argues, iFS will lead to a commoditization of the operating system (in particular NT): iFS goes beyond traditional filesystems by adding database capabilities, enabling better search and revision control management. However, these iFS' can be mounted like a traditional NFS server, reducing complexity for IT staff, while keeping the improvements transparent to users who don't want to know. Interestingly, the low cost of Linux would be an advantage to Oracle which is not interested in promoting OS capabilities. This leads the author to speculation of further Oracle-Linux announcements. Link found on Linux Today.