XFree86 4.3.0 hit the streets a few months ago. With enhancements to video and input drivers, library updates, and True Type improvements, you may be thinking about upgrading to this latest version of X. Today's GnomeTWEAK sketches out some of the details for making this ultimate tweak to your Linux system.

By far, the easiest and most effective way to upgrade your X system is to use the Xinstall.sh script provided at XFree86.org or one of its mirrors. Using this script, it's possible to find out which binaries are necessary for your distribution.

sh Xinstall.sh -check

At a minimum, you'll need to download twelve files. These are the core files for the XFree86 distribution, required for every install:

1. Xinstall.sh: The installer script
2. extract: Extraction utility
3. Xbin.tgz: Clients, utilities and runtime libraries
4. Xlib.tgz: Run time data files
5. Xman.tgz: XFree man pages
6. Xdoc.tgz: XFree86 documentation
7. Xfnts.tgz: Base fonts
8. Xfenc.tgz: Base font encoding data
9. Xetc.tgz: Configuration files
10. Xvar.tgz: Run time data
11. Xxserv.tgz: The XFree86 server
12. Xmod.tgz: XFree86 server modules

Download these files, placing them in a single directory on your system. Run Xinstall.sh with the -check option as above, and download any additional files the installer script might recommend. You can also download eleven additional optional files, found on the XFree site.

Bear in mind that the re-installation of the X system on your Linux box can, at worst, leave you completely without a graphical interface. With that possibility in mind, kill your current xserver (usually with the command killall xdm). Installing a new xserver from within a running xserver isn't the best idea. Then, feel free to change into the directory containing your binaries and run the Xinstall.sh script again as root, this time without the -check option:

sh Xinstall.sh

The script will issue a few warnings: if you're overwriting an existing X installation or, if you've ignored my previous warning and are installing from within your current X Window installation.

Once the installation has started, you'll be prompted with questions to resolve some configuration issues. For many of these, the default will be fine. For a better view of the questions and what they mean, see the installation notes on the XFree site.

When the install is complete, you'll configure your new xserver using:

XFree86 -configure

Finally, with the installation and configuration complete, it's advised that you reboot your machine.

There you go. Hopefully, you'll be able to use today's GnomeTWEAK to make the deepest tweak to your Linux system - upgrading your XWindow server.

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GnomeCORE

Get your favorite Linux flavor on CD: Pick your favorite Linux flavor and get it on CD for as low as $1.95. Find Linux gear, books, and software for Linux at Linux Central . Check out the selection today!

One of the great core functions in Linux is the ability to create links to other files. It's similar in theory to the idea of shortcuts in Windows. symlinks (or symbolic links) are a great way to reduce keystrokes, create a name for a file that's more easily remembered, or execute a program that's not in the PATH without entering the full path name.

First, it's important to understand that files on a Linux system (whether you're using ext3, ReiserFS, or some other filesystem) are accounted for in your system using inodes. These are references to the meta data of each file: file name, size, location, etc. Each file on your system has an inode file containing this meta data. The inodes occupy the space on the filesystem behind the superblocks. They're 128 bytes in size. To see the current inode use on your system, use the df -i command.

These inodes can reference more than one file using a symbolic link. Now step back for a few and think about this: if the inode contains the metadata for more than one file, there's fundamentally no difference between the two files. Occupying the same inode, in an abstract way, allows two files to be represented as one. That's the purpose of a symlink.

To create a symlink on your system, use the following:

ln -s linking-to-file new-link

Let's look at how this works. If, for example, I create the following ...

ln -s /usr/local/src/mozilla/mozilla /bin/mozilla

... I've created a link at /bin/mozilla to the file at /usr/local/src/mozilla/mozilla. Your system now sees the link (/bin/mozilla) and the file (/usr/local/src/mozilla/mozilla) as one and the same. In other words, you could launch the mozilla program from either location. Since /bin is in the PATH, creating this link has a nice effect - I don't need to enter the full path to the actual program to launch mozilla. Simply entering mozilla will launch the program. Does it launch the link or the actual program? It doesn't matter, as sharing an inode makes them one and the same.

Linux also uses hard links, though we won't cover them in detail in this article. Just know that the . and .. symbols used to represent "this directory" or the parent directory are actually hard links.

Symlinks aren't appropriate in every case. But for most, learning to create and use symlinks on your Linux system can make your computing time significantly more efficient.

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GnomeFILE

DSPAM 2.0

http://www.networkdweebs.com/products/dspam/

"DSPAM is an anti-spam project with the purpose of creating an agent capable of intelligently filtering unsolicited commercial email on both a per-user and community scale. It is designed to intelligently learn the patterns of behavior for a particular user by using a Bayesian algorithm to assign a particular token a value, and then using combination probabilities. Email is broken down into the most interesting tokens, which are used in creating a statistic probability of whether a message is spam."

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Linux and Exchange
Scribbled by Various Penguin Shell Readers

A few suggestions in response to Barry McQuillan's inquiry about Exchange functionality for Linux.

From Wim Wolters:

I'm currently in the same squeeze that Barry McQuillan finds himself in.

I've investigated this issue and there is currently no production ripe Open Source alternative to Exchange. There however good commercial alternatives:

Stalkers CommuniGate Pro (they claim a dropin replacement for Exchange) - 50 users $499 (can't beat that)
Samsung Contact the former OpenMail with the same features as Exchange and a better implementation of standards
IBM Lotus Notes

Suse OpenExchange

From Chris Sommer:

In response to your Exchange Server challenge!

The only thing that would worry me is that your boss wants ALL of the functionality that comes with Exchange. Exchange offers mail, tasks, calendar, and LDAP integration all wrapped up in one. As far as a simple plug-in open source product, you won't find one today with ALL of the functionality. You can, however, get pretty close. Use the links below at your own risk and good luck.

Here is a good link to The Exchange Server Replacement HOWTO:

here

A link to the Binary Exchange Replacement HOWTO on LinuxJournal.com

here

From Christopher Foss:

For Barry McQuillan, he might want to look at Lotus Domino. It is an intensive administrative learning experience, but it does provide what he is looking for.

We have a Linux server here that has been running Domino for about 6 months. It has all of the usual hallmarks of Linux. The R6 release has webmail, calendaring, To Do lists and has the ability to expand into web enabled databases. It also includes anti-relay settings to prevent spam relaying.

While it is not free, it is definitely a good enterprise product.

The Domino site:

here

An IBM Redbook for installing Domino on Linux:

here

From George Clark:

Check out http://www.stalker.com/.

Their product, CommuniGate Pro is the only thing I've heard about that seems to offer full, 100% compatibility (including the Journal). It is commercial software, but many, many times less expensive than Exchange. I also like the idea of getting away from the MS Jet database engine in Exchange. The other obvious benefit is that the Linux platform underneath it is far more stable than any Windows server platform.

Personally, I haven't made the switch, yet, but in my migration to open-source or Linux based solutions, my Exchange 5.5 mail server will be the next to go. At the present, I'm planning on going with CommuniGatePro.

From Paul Howes:

I just saw the "Linux and Exchange" GnomeVoice, and wanted to throw my two cents into the argument.

If this systems administrator will only use open-source software in the network, then his options are probably limited to IMAP and LDAP. IMAP works like POP3, but allows the messages to be maintained on the server, rather than being downloaded to the client workstation. This affords the flexibility of being able to log in on any system, and read e-mail with any mail reader.

LDAP would provide the server-managed "contacts" functionality in Outlook. All corporate information can be entered into the LDAP server, which could then be looked up and queried by everyone using an LDAP-aware e-mail client.

I hope this helps!

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Linux Timeline

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=6000

From August 2002, this LinuxJournal article lays out all the important developments in the Linux world since its beginnings in 1991. Some of the often-missed notable events include publication of Matt Welsh's Linux Installation and Getting Started, the formation of Linux International, the Bliss virus, the Cobalt Qube, and the Gore 2000 Volunteer Source Code Project. This is an interesting look at the history of our favorite OS. Whether you're a novice or a guru, the Linux Timeline will fill in details you probably didn't know.

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