The Week in Linux News

Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks

RAID is a very hot topic right now. These two articles explain what it is, how it works with Linux, and just how simple and powerful it can be.

• Using RAID With Linux -- Installing, Configuring RAID With Current Kernel
  Byte.com columnist Moshe Bar shows how easy it is to install and configure RAID (Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks) technology with the current breed of Linux kernels.
• Software RAID
  RAID is defined as the process of combining two or more partitions to create a single logical device. This logical device is then used in place of the combined partitions.

Distribution Reviews

Looking to buy the latest Red Hat or Caldera distribution? These reviews of the popular distributions might just help you decide.

• Red Hat 6.2 vs. Caldera 2.4 eDesktop
  Eric Lee Green writes: "It is rare that Linux distributions rev on almost the same day, but that's what happened with Red Hat 6.2 and Caldera 2.4. Both are tasty, but in different ways. Having tired of reading shallow distribution reviews by people who have no idea of the enterprise environment, I decided to remedy that situation..."
• Red Hat 6.2 preview
  LinuxWorld contributing editor Joe Barr offers a "drive-by review" of the Red Hat 6.2 preview release.

X Stuff

Here are a few recent articles on X-related stuff, from Enlightenment basics to creating icons for your KDE apps.

• Enlightenment Basics
  Linux Journal contributor Michael J. Hammel writes: "Enlightenment consists of a core package, a set of libraries upon which it is dependent, and add-on packages known as "epplets," which are not required to get E (Enlightenment) running..."
• What does startx really do?
  Linux Magazine contributor Lou Grinzo writes: "Don't worry if you use a graphical login screen and never issue startx -- I'll get to you before the end of this column. But for now it's probably a good idea for everyone to read through at least this much of the labyrinth that is X initialization, to get a flavor for what's going on and how you can tweak it."
• KDE Application Icons
  "In KDE, application icons are simply text files with an extension of kdelnk. These icons can be created almost anywhere, and are relatively easy to create and edit. You can create a kdelnk for any application regardless of whether its a KDE app or not."

Other Tidbits

These fine articles didn't quite fit into any of the categories.

• Where's the RAM?
  The purpose of this document is to help you get Linux to recognize all of your RAM. It tries to be as complete as possible, covering all the questions and answers posted on LNO about this problem.
• Shell loop constructs
  Did you know that you can do loops at the bash command prompt? This is a handy feature if you need to perform operations on many files, like compressing or renaming a certain group of files from a large number.

Baiju Thakkar is the O'Reilly Network's Linux Bureau Chief.

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