Just got word from Digital Oracle@Maxreboot.com about SuSE Linux 8.0 that will be available on April 22nd.

Here's a byte from his article.

Version 8.0 Features 3-step Installation, Security, Desktop and Multimedia features

SuSE Linux announces SuSE Linux 8.0, the company's latest Linux operating system and applications package highlighting increased security, KDE 3 desktop, seamless installation and expanded multimedia capabilities for professional and private desktop and workstation users.

Mandrake Linux is a powerful operating system that is available for many platforms: 32 bit processors such as Intel Pentium®, AMD Athlon®, PowerPC®; and 64 bit processors such as Intel Itanium®, SPARC®, AXP®. Mandrake Linux includes many graphical administration assistants & wizards that make it intuitive and fun to use while providing all the power and robustness of other Linux systems. Hundreds of included applications make it an ideal solution for both enterprises and individual users. Mandrake Homepage

I came across the website of Xi Graphics INC. They offer professional graphics card drivers which are OpenGL 1.2.1 compliant and run on 32 bit AMD/Intel platforms utilizing Linux or Solaris 8. They tested with a Radeon 8500 128MB. Available at a special introductory price of $129 (LOL) this driver will outperform a GeForce 3 Ti500 by 30 - 50% using the ViewPERF benchmark. Update: Thomas Bruckschlegel of ToMMTi-Systems informed me that he has a quick Windows/Linux comparison benchmark utilizing the Xi Graphics drivers. Check it out! Source: XIG Radeon 8500 Driver Page

Well this is the good news first: Transgaming Technologies - a Canada based company - is developing an API called WineX that ensures compatibility of DirectX 8 games in a Linux environment. WineX does not perform like an emulator it rather functions as a translation software for API calls. The first game to be succesfully ported was Max Payne by Remedy Entertainment. Still not working a 100% yet TransGaming's CEO and CTO Gavriel State is very enthusiastic about the latest WineX developments: "We're very excited about these advances and the ability for a game the calibre of Max Payne to function on Linux, " he said. "While the game isn't 100 percent yet, these developments demonstrate how rapidly our team is able to add support for new multimedia APIs. As we refine our technology, gamers can expect to be able to play more and more top-rated games on Linux." Read more...

plugnpray.co.uk have posted an article on how to share a dialup connection using SmoothWall, a free linux based firewall.

Nvidia Corp. released the first NForce Linus driver today broadening their support for most common OSes. Version: 1.0-0233 | Post Date: 2/13/2002
First nForce 220D/420/420D driver [Linux] The chipset includes hardware support for IDE disk control, ethernet networking, audio support, win modem support, and a USB controller. These packages have support for ethernet networking and basic ACI audio. USB and IDE hardware will work with standard Linux drivers. There is no win modem support. Nvidia nForce Linux driver page

plugnpray.co.uk (a new UK based modding/hardware/software site) has posted a Linux on the NT bootloader guide. Click read more for more info and the URL.

Savagenews.com have spotted that Mandrake Linux 8.2 beta 2 has been released.

Here are their words:

Red alert for all Mandrake Linux users: After several weeks of sleepless nights spent taming the cooker snapshot, Mandrakesoft's developers had to take a short nap. The half-finished distribution immediately spotted its chance, escaped from captivity, and nested itself on a public FTP server under the name 'Mandrake Linux 8.2 (beta1).

MandrakeSoft S.A. has released the first beta of Mandrake Linux 8.2
What's new?

id Software has now released the Linux version 1.31 patch for Quake III Arena and Team Arena.

Whats New

fixes a sound crash and some incompatibilities, a Driver Info crash and a few minor issues, as well as adding a quake3.xpm icon

Download Quake III Arena Linux v1.31 Patch

The latest stable version of the Linux kernel is: 2.4.17
Changelog

The latest prepatch (alpha) version appears to be: 2.5.2-pre1
Changelog

The latest ac patch to the stable Linux kernel series is: 2.4.13-ac8
Changelog

Big Thx To Savagenews.com

VIA have setup a new Linux User Guide where u can find Linux drivers for VIA chipsets and Help! :D

1. (new! 12/14/2001 Ver 0.91A) Red Hat Linux 7.1 PLE/KLE Display Driver Installation Guide.

This document describes two methods---the OS built-in and VIA's drivers---of enabling the integrated display controller in VIA's VT8601T, VT8601A, VT8601, VT8361 chips. The former should suffice for many users, while the latter is recommended for users who require additional features such as overlay and TV-out. We also cover how to revise the XF86Config and XF86Config-4 files to customize display resolution, screen refresh rate, frame buffer size, and color depth.

So if u need Some LINUX Drivers or need help with your VIA Chipset warp on over to Via Linux User Guides

Linux users rejoice. A new driver build is ready for your downloading pleasure. Release Highlights for 1.0-2313: nForce 220D/420/420D Integrated GPU support (see products supported list) OpenGL® 1.3 with NVIDIA extensions Support for accelerated offscreen rendering via SGIX_pbuffer and SGIX_fbconfig extensions Improved Viewperf and Quake performance Enhanced mobile support Improved AMD support Performer mulit-threaded support Cause the installation procedure seems rather tricky to me I'll just post a link to the Nvidia Linux page.

A new kernel version has received the GO from Linus Torvalds. Cryptic changelog: - David Miller: sparc/scsi scatterlist fixes
- Martin Mares: PCI ids, email address update
- David Miller: revert TCP hash optimizations that need more checking
- Ivan Kokshaysky/Richard Henderson: alpha update (atomic_dec_and_lock etc)
- Peter Anvin: cramfs/zisofs missing pieces
Direct Download

Version 2.4.13 has received a go from Linus Torvalds. Improvements on power management, USB, Firewire and on the support of file systems mad it into this release. Further driver updates concern: - Network
- Sparc
- Sound Direct Download or visit Kernel.org home.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.?October 22, 2001?Red Hat, Inc. (Nasdaq:RHAT) today announced that Red Hat Linux 7.2 and Red Hat Linux Professional are now available in stores, through computer resellers and direct from Red Hat. The latest version of the market leading Linux distribution adds significant new capabilities, both for use as a workstation and use as a server. Red Hat Linux 7.2 and Red Hat Linux Professional will also be available through hardware partners in the coming weeks.

"Red Hat Linux has built an unmatched reputation in terms of reliability, security, cost effectiveness and service - and as a result, we are seeing more and more software developers choose Red Hat Linux as their Linux development platform of choice," said Paul Cormier, Executive VP of Engineering, Red Hat. "We are pleased that for the first time in the open source space, Red Hat Linux 7.2 will provide both developers and customers a unified code base for a full spectrum of computing platforms, from small, embedded devices up to the largest mainframe computers."

Matrox have updated their Linux drivers for the following cards G550 , G450 , G400-TV , G400 MAX.

Powerdesk 1.00-7beta
Beta 1.3.3 & 1.4.3 drivers
So warp this way to Matrox. Dance little penguin, dance...

As we informed our readers yersterday a kernel release 2.4.11 was available for download. According to reports from Chip & other major internet sites there lies a potential data corruption bug in the .11 release. Therefore the Linux developer community has been working hard on the fixed version 2.4.12. Grab it @ Kernel.org.

And again a new Kernel for Linux has been released. What´s updated: ReiserFS
ACPI
USB ( inclusion of USB 2.0 prepared)
NTFS
NFS
Get more information about the new features over here and grab it @ Kernel.org.

What the hell....
My buddy Phoenix send me some interesting news from Microsoft. Here is what they say:
Microsoft Linux brings a new level of productivity to Linux, without sacrificing flexibility, performance, and control. In addition to features like My Home Directory and My Configuration, Microsoft Linux contains greatly improved support for Web and Enterprise development... Are this good or bad news? Decide for yourself and leave a comment! Check out the article over @ Microsoft: M$ Linux.