Hi all,
Sorry for a bit of a delay in getting this out - there's been a small but
lengthy thunderstorm outside for a while now. And I don't yet have my UPS :(
I have have a number of comments and ideas for this draft:
* Quotes from Linus and possibly Alan Cox. Quotes from the two main
maintainers would be nice, and add to the belief and support behind
2.2.
* We need some more sites to go the the "Commercial Programs" section.
I had hoped that IBM or Compaq would have semi-specialised Linux sites
like those of Oracle and Corel.
* Translations of the Press Release. Linux is truely a worldwide entity; we need to back this up by announcing the release in multiple languages. I'm not sure how the translations would be done; perhaps possibly we
could borrow translators from the distributions.
* A templete front sheet that local Linux user groups could modify and
send to local magazines and/or newspapers. I hope to have one
finalised in the next day or so (by the 20/1 GMT). This would allow a
number of local contact points for the journalists. It could also
include meeting locations and times, and a web site.
* We need a technical press release. This is probably the more
important of these suggestions, as many (or some) of the industry
magazines still need to be won over. I'll help; and parts of the
press release that I have edited can be lifted, but it needs to
include more kernel aspects, and less newbie rhetoric. I'll have
a look at the changes to the kernel and their associated pages
(LinuxHQ, ACox's stuff).
Attached is another draft. I've changed some of the quotes, and will attach a
URL in the next draft. Some more web sites have been added. The bit about
downloading the kernel has also changed.
Bye for now,
--Ed Lang <Ed.Lang@pcug.org.au> denethor@sdf.lonestar.org 39 Urambi Village woot on #debian and #linuxaus Crozier Circuit Kambah on irc.linux.org.au ACT 2902 AUSTRALIA Phone: +61 2 6231 7353 Web: http://www.pcug.org.au/~edlang/
--r5Pyd7+fXNt84Ff3 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Description: Press Release Draft 5 Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="press.release.draft"
**** DRAFT **** PRESS RELEASE - LINUX KERNEL 2.2.0 **** DRAFT ****
LINUX KERNEL 2.2 Santa Clara CA, January XX, 1999
Today Linus Torvalds, leader of the Linux software development team, released a major new version of the Linux operating system. This update brings advanced scalability, broad support for newer hardware, and a large collection of low-level features.
Highlights include:
* Advanced network routing and WAN support, which gives Linux the ability to replace many expensive proprietary network devices. Users can take control of their intranet with priority traffic, usage limits, accounting, and virtual private networks. Strong 256-bit encryption is available as an add-on component.
* New Euro support and a tradition of Y2K readiness positions Linux 2.2 as an international operating system ready for the new millenium and beyond. * Enterprise-level network filesystem support, complete with data replication for performance, mobility, and reliability.
* Video capture support, TV tuner support, enhanced audio support, and other multimedia enhancements.
* Support for a large variety of parallel port devices including disk drives, tape drives, and other easy-to-use external devices.
* The already legendary linux performance is significantly enhanced. High end SMP scaling gives good performance on 12 processor machines. Linux 2.2 supports up to 64 processor systems.
* With compatibility for BSD and Windows NT filesystems, Linux 2.2 helps you leverage your existing UNIX and NT data today, and provides you with a strong upgrade path from your existing Windows NT systems tomorrow.
Advanced technical users are already using this update, available from the Internet. Linux vendors will begin shipping fully integrated systems using the new kernel in March. Business users will be able to obtain the update on CD-ROM distributions. The eager may wish to download Linux 2.2 from the Linux Kernel Archive <http://www.kernel.org/>. To cope with the massive expected deman for this upgrade, the Linux Kernel Archive has a whole heirarchy of mirror servers worldwide which are in place and ready to roll.
BACKGROUND
Linux is a secure network operating system for demanding users. It interoperates well with a wide variety of other systems. Linux can take advantage of modern PC and PowerMac hardware or give new life to older 386 and 486 based computers. Several other processors, including the 64-bit Alpha and UltraSPARC are also supported.Support contracts are available from vendors and due to the open source nature of Linux to numerous third party organisations. Linux is provided under an unlimited use license that lets users make in-house customizations to the system itself. Latest estimates suggest that Linux has up to 20 million users worldwide.
[COMMENT - This next bit is a new section. I think that it should be placed here, but I am not too firm on its revelance. It can't hurt to mention what these projects are. Gee, it'd be nice if the 2.2 release could coincide with the GNOME 1.0 release (hint hint, nudge nudge :-)]
Projects such as GNOME (GNU Network Orientated Model Environment), KDE (K Desktop Environment) and Enlightenment allow users to completely customize their Graphical User Interface (GUI), allowing quick and easy interaction with hardware and software through desktop icons, menus, and keyboard shortcuts. As an alternative, users can chose the window manager fvwm95, which is ready made to simulate the look and feel of recent releases of Microsoft Windows.
One satisfied user, Scott Hamm, said that "Linux is technically far superior to any OS created across the earth. It is a robust operating system built to be a reliable server. Bottom of the line, Linux is the future."
Josh Cohen and Vinod Valloppillil, in a competitive examination of Linux issued by Microsoft Corporation, wrote that "Linux represents a best-of- breed UNIX, that is trusted in mission critical applications, and - due to it's open source code - has a long term credibility which exceeds many other competitive OS's."
[COMMENT - Is this editing quotes too much? I feel that the people reading the PR are going to feel a little short changed. However, what has been cut I, and others, consider too geeky. The above paragraph also mentions the word "UNIX" (gasp!). I know this was cut earlier. Perhaps I'll cut the above paragraph altogether, and just use Vinod.]
Valloppillil goes on to say, in an analysis of the Linux development process, that the model Linux uses "poses a direct [...] platform threat to Microsoft, particularly in the server space. Additionally, the [...] free idea exchange in [open source software] has benefits that are not replicable with our current licensing model." He continues, stating that "Linux has been deployed in mission critical, commercial environments with an excellent pool of public testimonials.
Linus Torvalds, originally from Finland, lives with his family in Santa Clara CA, USA. He and others created Linux as an alternative to proprietry operating systems after becoming disillusioned with the poor quality of commercial alternatives.
Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. PowerMac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. UltraSPARC is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc. Alpha is a trademark of Compaq corporation. UNIX is a trademark of the Open Group. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For more information on Linux, open source software and Linux distributions, see some of the many Linux internet resources.
Linux web sites
Linux Online http://www.linux.org/ Linux Resources http://www.linuxresources.com/ Linux International http://www.li.org/ Linux Standard Base http://www.linuxbase.org/ LinuxHQ http://www.linuxhq.com/
Linux Help
Linux Help Online http://www.linuxhelp.org/ Linux HOWTOS http://metalab.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTOS/
[COMMENT - What's the new www.linux-howtos.com URL? If someone could tell me, I'd greatly appreciate it.]
Open Source Software
The GNU Project http://www.gnu.org/ Open Source Initiative http://www.opensource.org/ Free Software Foundation http://www.fsf.org/ The Linux Kernel Archive http://www.kernel.org/
Linux Distributions
Caldera Systems http://www.calderasystems.com/ Debian GNU/Linux http://www.debian.org/ TurboLinux http://www.pht.com/ Red Hat Software http://www.redhat.com/ ROCK Linux http://www.rock-projects.com/linux-e.html Slackware Linux http://www.slackware.com/ Stampede GNU/Linux http://www.stampede.org/ S.u.S.E Linux http://www.suse.com/
[COMMENT - We need more in the commercial bit.]
Commercial Programs
Corel http://linux.corel.com Oracle on Linux http://www.oracle.com/linux/
Linux Press
Linuxberg http://www.linuxberg.com/ Linux Journal http://www.linuxjournal.com/ Linux Today http://www.linuxtoday.com/ Linux Weekly News http://lwn.net/ LinuxWorld http://www.linuxworld.com/
Other Open Source Projects
The Apache Project http://www.apache.org/ The Mozilla Organization http://www.mozilla.org/ The SAMBA Team http://www.samba.org/
-----------------------------------------------------------
**** DRAFT **** PRESS RELEASE - LINUX KERNEL 2.2.0 **** DRAFT ****
--r5Pyd7+fXNt84Ff3--
- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/