Xinetd runs with umask 0 - this means that applications using the xinetd umask and not setting the permissions themselves (like swat from the samba package), will create world writable files. This update sets the default umask to 022. Also, the Web interface for linuxconf did not work in Red Hat Linux 7.1. Other minor issues have also been addressed.

Intel is finally shipping production quantities of its revolutionary 64-bit Itanium chip. More than 10 OEMs–including Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM–have announced plans to release Itanium servers and workstations. Instead of Wintel, early Itanium adopters will be running Linux on Intel, or Lintel, as some insiders call it. Linux platform firms Red Hat, SuSE, and TurboLinux have announced the release of Linux 2.4 based Itanium Linuxes in mid-June. So, where are the Microsoft operating systems?

The Hague Convention defines a set of provisions for the execution of foreign judgements in the event of international disputes. Current drafts include industrial property and intellectual property within the potential scope of the proposed Convention. EuroLinux feels very concerned by the eventual enforceability of foreign Internet & software patents in Europe.

Sharp has started providing more details about its forthcoming handheld, which will combine a Linux platform with extensive Java support. Expected to ship this fall, it will feature an integrated sliding keyboard, a color screen, both CompactFlash and Secure Disk expansion slots and extensive multimedia capabilities.

kmLinux is a complete Linux distribution for schools. Its new version, kmLinux-2.0, comes with a new installer which is able to automatically resize an existing windows partition (fat16/32). The software collection is very uptodate: kernel-2.4.4, XFree-4.0.3, KDE-2.1.2, kOffice-1.1beta2.

The companies are trying to agree on how to include each other's software in each's own products and services. But a significant and unresolved area of dispute is Microsoft's demand that AOL agree not to challenge Microsoft in court over antitrust matters, according to people close to both sides of the talks.

GNOME-DB/libGDA are a complete framewok for developing database-oriented applications, and actually allow access to PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, Sybase and ODBC data sources. Apart from this development framework, they also include several applications and utilities which make them quite suitable for many database-related taks.

Version 1.0.3 is still based on kernel 2.4.5. A nasty memory leak in 1.0.2 was fixed (which occurred under certain circumstances when migrating a process to another node). Everybody running a pre-1.0.3 is well-adivsed to upgrade soon. The reference CPU speed as been revised to 1Ghz from 400Mhz. The installer adds a few more options.

XFree86 4.1 has been released. Currently, the project has made only source tarballs available: binaries and patches will be made available over the next few days.

Matrox PowerDesk for Linux is an open source GUI-based utility, providing users with a faster more efficient means of managing their desktops. Now, Matrox Linux users can easily configure Matrox DualHead features such as Multi-Display, Clone, and TV Output, as well as make monitor adjustments to resolution settings, pixel depths, and refresh rates. Using this they can now avoid the errors that can occur when configuration files are entered manually.