REDHAT you suck the big one
Dear Red Hat Linux user,

We are approaching the published end of life date for errata support
for our final Red Hat Linux distribution. We'd like to remind you of
this date and the options available to you for migrating your Red Hat
Linux implementations: Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the Fedora Project.

Red Hat Linux 9 distribution will reach its end-of-life for errata
maintenance on April 30, 2004. This means that as of May 1, 2004
we will not be producing new security, bugfix, or enhancement updates
for this product.

There are a variety of options available for migration. Red Hat
offers Red Hat Enterprise Linux as well as the new Fedora Project.
Our Red Hat Linux Migration Resource Center can help you find the Red
Hat solution best suited for your needs:

http://www.redhat.com/solutions/migration/rhl/

The errata support policy, as well as our current errata and
advisories, are available from:

http://www.redhat.com/apps/support/errata/
--the Red Hat Network Team

Sharp ships Linux new Wi-Fi PDA in US
Sharp has launched the latest member of its Linux-based PDA family in the US, but European users are still being left in the cold.

The Zaurus SL-6000 was announced in Japan last November. Yesterday, Sharp's US wing launched the PDA Stateside. Over there, it's being pitched firmly as a corporate 'mobile data terminal', rather than the more mainstream markets it targeted with the SL-6000's predecessors, the SL-5500 and SL-5600.

The new - well, four-month-old - model contains a 400MHz Intel XScale CPU backed by 64MB of SDRAM and 64MB of Flash ROM, but Sharp is particularly proud of the PDA's 4in 480 x 640 colour display.

The SL-6000 also features integrated 802.11b wireless networking. Expansion comes courtesy of CompactFlash and SD Card slots, and Sharp said it will offer a cellular data card for the unit. However, the unit lacks Bluetooth support, unlike its Japanese counterpart.

The corporate push includes bundling IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Connection Manager software on the device and touting the handheld's Java support, its integrated slide-out micro QWERTY keyboard and the 'stylish yet durable' rugged casing, designed to survive a drop from up to a meter above the ground. The Zaurus also includes IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Multimodal Environment, which allows end users to run voice command-based applications.

The SL-6000 ships with a removable 1500mAh battery that can be augments with an optional battery-equipped expansion jacket.

The device measures 15.8 x 8.0 x 2.0cm (6.3 x 3.2 x 0.8in) and weighs 262g (9.2oz). It will ship for $700, through 'select' "
The Register

Gateway to close all retail stores
Gateway Inc. plans to close its 188 retail stores, including four in metro Atlanta, on April 9.
The Poway, Calif.-based consumer electronics and computers company (NYSE: GTW) said the move comes after reviewing strategic options. As a result, approximately 2,500 total retail positions will be eliminated during the month as store operations wind down.
Gateway also said it will pursue wider retail distribution of its products in the United States and abroad. The company will continue direct sales of Gateway products to consumers and businesses through its web site and by phone order.
In 2003, the company reported a net loss of $526 million on $3.4 billion in sales, compared with a net loss of $309 million on $4.2 billion in sales"
Gateway to close all retail stores - 2004-04-02 - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Wal-Mart Selling PCs With Sun's Java Desktop System, Linux
I don't know if I would buy a computer from Walmart but I am wondering if the Sun Linux has the CDE desktop. Redhat had the powerpack for it's 5.2 version.
Sun has finally found an American partner for its Java Desktop System (JDS), the company's Linux-based alternative to Microsoft Windows: uber-retailer Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart on Tuesday began selling low-cost Microtel PCs pre-loaded with JDS, offering several systems at prices ranging from $298 to $698.

Java Desktop System, which runs oInternet Week > E-Business / Open Source > Wal-Mart Selling PCs With Sun's Java Desktop System, Linux > March 31, 2004n Linux, includes the Gnome desktop, StarOffice productivity suite, Mozilla Web browser, and the Evolution e-mail client, and is Sun's pitch as a replacement for Windows and Microsoft Office in both the consumer and enterprise arenas.

On Tuesday, Sun said that it was seriously considering Wal-Mart as the sole PC supplier for JDS-equipped computers.

To prove the point, Wal-Mart's online and retail stores have begun selling systems like the Microtel SYSWM8001, which uses an AMD 1.6GHz Duron processor, comes with 128MB of memory, and a 40GB hard drive for less than $300. The 8001, as well as four other Microtel models, come standard with JDS."

Internet Week > E-Business / Open Source > Wal-Mart Selling PCs With Sun's Java Desktop System, Linux > March 31, 2004

Google Gets the Message, Launches Gmail

User Complaint About Existing Services Leads Google to Create Search-Based Webmail

Search is Number Two Online Activity – Email is Number One; "Heck, Yeah," Say Google Founders

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - April 1, 2004 UTC - Amidst rampant media speculation, Google Inc. today announced it is testing a preview release of Gmail – a free search-based webmail service with a storage capacity of up to eight billion bits of information, the equivalent of 500,000 pages of email. Per user.

The inspiration for Gmail came from a Google user complaining about the poor quality of existing email services, recalled Larry Page, Google co-founder and president, Products. "She kvetched about spending all her time filing messages or trying to find them," Page said. "And when she's not doing that, she has to delete email like crazy to stay under the obligatory four megabyte limit. So she asked, 'Can't you people fix this?'"

The idea that there could be a better way to handle email caught the attention of a Google engineer who thought it might be a good "20 percent time" project. (Google requires engineers to spend a day a week on projects that interest them, unrelated to their day jobs). Millions of M&Ms later, Gmail was born.

"If a Google user has a problem with email, well, so do we," said Google co-founder and president of technology, Sergey Brin. "And while developing Gmail was a bit more complicated than we anticipated, we're pleased to be able to offer it to the user who asked for it."

Added Page, "Gmail solves all of my communication needs. It's fast and easy and has all the storage I need. And I can use it from anywhere. I love it!"

Today, a handful of users will begin testing the preview version of Gmail. Unlike other free webmail services, Gmail is built on the idea that users should never have to file or delete a message, or struggle to find an email they've sent or received. Key features of Gmail include:

* Search: Built on Google search technology, Gmail enables people to quickly search every email they've ever sent or received. Using keywords or advanced search features, Gmail users can find what they need, when they need it.

* Storage: Google believes people should be able to hold onto their mail forever. That's why Gmail comes with 1,000 megabytes (1 gigabyte) of free storage – more than 100 times what most other free webmail services offer.

* Speed: Gmail makes using email faster and more efficient by eliminating the need to file messages into folders, and by automatically organizing individual emails into meaningful "conversations" that show messages in the context of all the replies sent in response to them. And it turns annoying spam e-mail messages into the equivalent of canned meat.

According to Page and Brin, Google will make the preview test version of Gmail available to a small number of email aficionados. With luck, Gmail will prove popular to them – and to the original user who sparked the idea.

Those interested in learning more about Gmail can visit http://gmail.google.com

Google Gets the Message, Launches Gmail

Vonage Sues AT&T
You say tomato, I say toh-mah-toe. It all comes down to pronunciation, you see.

Well, a promising start-up in the voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) services space didn't take too kindly to Ma Bell playing rhymes when choosing a name for its own VOIP service. Privately held Vonage slapped AT&T (NYSE: T) with a lawsuit for referring to its newly launched VOIP service as CallVantage. The company claims that the name sounds a little too close to Vonage.

The association of the two service names is not all that Vonage is concerned about. Apparently, AT&T has also reserved the Web address www.callvontage.com (no, that's not a typo) and several similar names that are almost indiscernible from the start-up's own site, www.callvonage.com. The company claims that AT&T is diluting its trademark and harming its business by purposely confusing potential customers.

Vonage derived its own name from a popular acronym that generally refers to VOIP services: voice on the 'Net (VON). Vonage literally stands for "The age of voice on the 'Net" and was a company spawned early in 2001 by an elite group of Internet visionaries.

The lawsuit comes at a critical point as competition in the VOIP sector is heating up. Vonage and several other early movers, such as 8x8 (Nasdaq: EGHT) and deltathree, have carried the torch in the early stage of the race to offer VOIP calls for the masses. But in the last six months, the major telecoms, such as Verizon, SBC Communications, and AT&T, have announced their own suites of VOIP services.

Companies in the sector that sell advanced equipment and software that enables voice-calls-over-data networks are in a similar nascent stage. Smaller players Sonus Networks (Nasdaq: SONSE) and Tekelec are jockeying for position against equipment giants Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT), Lucent (NYSE: LU), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), and Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR).

The stakes are high as sales of next-generation equipment and services are increasingly displacing what is now quickly becoming legacy gear and offerings. In this game, any little competitive edge counts, especially for those rising against the establishment. And in the area of consumer services, a strong brand goes a long way, so Vonage is wise to protect it.
Fool.com: Vonage Sues AT&T [Motley Fool Take] March 31, 2004

Dell not offering Windows Mobile 2003 SE to existing Axim customers

Could this be true:

"Dell will deploy Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition in future Axim products. We have no plans at this time to offer Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition updates for current Axim X3 or Axim X5 products."

From AxminSite.com: http://www.aximsite.com

AT&T starts ruining the VOIP for us
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. (nyse: T - news - people) said on Monday it was launching an Internet-based local phone service in northern New Jersey, part of a drive to have 1 million subscribers for voice-over-Internet services by 2005.

The largest U.S. long-distance company is counting on Internet-based phone service to help staunch a steady decline in its traditional businesses. AT&T has forecast a 15 percent to 17 percent decline in consumer revenues this year, and doesn't see the trend reversing before 2006.

Internet phone services have been hailed as a cheaper alternative to traditional phone calls. Typically, long-distance telephone calls are charged access fees for connecting to and from the public telephone network. A similar call made from or received by a phone on an Internet service is usually treated as a local call, avoiding such fees.

Such services often require a broadband Internet connection, something only about 20 percent of U.S. homes have. Several companies, such as Vonage and Net2Phone (nasdaq: NTOP - news - people), already offer Internet-based phone service, while a few companies are exploring Internet voice services that bypass telephones entirely.

AT&T has set a goal of rolling out its Internet service in 100 markets by the end of this year. An AT&T spokesman said the roll-out would spread gradually to areas with high rates of home broadband access.

The company said it would offer the service, which includes unlimited local and long-distance calls, for $19.99 a month for six months until the end of May. The regular price is $39.99 a month.

Buy me my Xbox, it's cheaper.
SEATTLE — Microsoft Corp. is hoping to draw a broader audience to its Xbox game console -- and away from rival Sony's PlayStation 2 -- by cutting its price by $30.

The Redmond-based company said Monday it would begin selling its Xbox for $149.99 in the United States. It is making a similar price reduction in Canada and dropping the Xbox price by about $45 in Mexico.

Microsoft also said it was dropping prices on several games and on its Xbox Music Mixer software, which turns an Xbox into a karaoke machine. The cuts take effect Tuesday.

The company said it wants to attract a wider variety of potential buyers, beyond just hardcore gamers. Microsoft, better known for its business software and operating systems, is competing fiercely with Sony's PlayStation 2, the industry leader.

Teresa Weaver, a spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment America, said Sony has not announced any price reduction plans for PlayStation 2, which sells for about $180.

"Considering that we are the market leader we are not inclined to react to competitive moves," she said.

Sony says it has shipped more than 70 million PlayStation 2 game consoles worldwide. That compares with 13.7 million Xbox consoles shipped worldwide as of the end of last year.

Microsoft's other main rival, Nintendo, said it has sold almost 15 million units worldwide of its GameCube, which costs about $100.

The Xbox originally was priced at $299 in the United States.

Microsoft is more likely to attract the more "casual gamer," such as women and men who are older than 25, by cutting the cost of the console, said Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director with industry analysts Jupiter Research.

Microsoft needs to build popularity for its console now if it wants to eventually make money on Xbox, he said.

"At this stage for Microsoft it's all about doing better than expected in the marketplace," Gartenberg said. "They know they're not going to be No. 1 in this generation. ... The question for them is, can they do well enough and set the stage for (later)?"

Microsoft to Reduce Price of Xbox by $30