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Last month's column looked at the basics of generating RPMs, including the format of the all-important .spec file. In theory, those principles should be enough to let you create .spec files and RPMs for a number of purposes. In practice, however, RPM generation is complex enough that some examples are sure to help. So, this month's column presents two examples: creating a non-program RPM and creating a program RPM.

Last month's "Extreme Linux" introduced MPI-2, the latest Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard. MPI has become the preferred programming interface for data exchange -- called message passing -- for parallel, scientific programs. MPI has evolved since the MPI-1.0 standard was released in May 1994. The MPI-1.1 standard, produced in 1995, was a significant advance, and the MPI-2 standard clarifies and corrects the MPI-1.1 standard while preserving forward compatibility with MPI-1.1. A valid MPI-1.1 program is a valid MPI-2 program.

In the previous three articles, I introduced my templating system of choice, the Template Toolkit (TT). Since those articles were intended as overviews, I didn't have much space to go into meaty examples. So, in this article, I'll look at how I'm using TT every day to help me manage the Stonehenge Consulting web site (http://www.stonehenge.com).

It's been fun being a columnist here at Linux Magazine, but when a full-time job as senior editor at my old publisher comes knocking, I have to answer. But before before I bid you a fond farewell, let me pull out my battered crystal ball and take a look at Linux ten years down the road.

One of your primary responsibilities as system administrator is communicating with the system users. You need to make announcements, such as when the system will be down for maintenance, when a class on some new software will be held, and how users can access the new system printer. You can even start to fill the role of a small local newspaper, letting users know about new employees, RIFs, births, the company picnic, and so on.

While it may not produce as bloody a match as the once-epic struggle between Microsoft and Sun did, JBoss Inc. and Gluecode Software Inc. are squaring off for a tussle over which of their open-source alternatives is more superior to proprietary J2EE-based middleware from IBM, BEA Systems Inc. and other vendors.

Five years ago, I.B.M. established a Chinese software development lab, which today has 500 engineers working on Linux projects alone. (I.B.M. is the leading corporate supporter of Linux, a free operating system that is an alternative to Microsoft Windows.) Warning: this is a business article looking at this corporation's global goals and methods, where Linux plays a decidedly subsidiary role!

Analysts from the Yankee Group said that corporations using Linux in their IT environment should review the terms and conditions of each of their individual licensing contracts with legal counsel to determine if they have adequate indemnification coverage. In the absence of indemnification or specific indemnification provisions, corporations could be the target of an intellectual property lawsuit - forcing them to use their own money and resources for their defense.

Firefox and Thunderbird represent that I call "transitional applications", Linux programs that run on other operating systems (eg: Windows) thereby offering an equivalent for users who haven't yet switched to Linux. Let's face it, change is difficult for people. As with any dangerous addiction, quitting cold turkey isn't easy which is why there are products like nicotine gum and the patch -- these are a smoker's transitional applications. So it is with moving from Windows desktops to Linux desktops. Quite honestly, a move to Linux isn't nearly as difficult as some would have you believe and most people will find themselves at home very quickly, but sometimes it helps to pave the way by introducing some Linux familiarity to the Windows desktop . . . and saving yourself a small fortune in the process.

Last week, Part 1 covered the basic configuration for a Debian FAI (Fully Automatic Installation) server. Today we'll configure the client installations--network server settings, what software is going to be installed, and the client boot methods. FAI supports network booting, which is fast and easy when it works. FAI also supports booting the clients from FAI boot diskettes.

Novell is lighting a fire under its desktop plans to face off against Microsoft's next generation of Windows in 2006. According to documents viewed by CRN, Novell plans to ship version 10 of its Novell Linux Desktop during the first half of 2006. The company plans another upgrade in 2007.

The EU Council is accused of 'last-minute manoeuvring' as it considers passing the EU software patent directive within an environment or fishery meeting.

A row has broken out in the Netherlands over a government proposal to install Microsoft software on 245,000 desktop computers.

Technical errors and already out-of-date advice mar the usefulness of this guide to wireless protocols.

Setting up an electronic greeting card site for your own purposes is easier than you think. There are at least two respectable well-maintained open-source-licensed applications that can help you get your holiday e-cards to friends, family, co-workers, or customers this season. Sendcard and Penguin Greetings can give you the bragging rights to say you run your own e-card service.

Perhaps I was over-zealous in my praise of Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in Part One of this article, “Free as in Freedom: GNU/Linux.” That would be unfair to many major corporations and the state of the world they’ve created. Lots of people, especially “successful” Americans, like the world just the way it is. Oh well. It was a history of “GNU beginnings,” the start of a movement that, unlike anything we’ve thus far seen, said “No!” to the corporate-defined order and created an alternative to corporate rule by “copyright,” and an operating system that challenged the way certain corporate monopolies have defined our desktops and how we use them (or go directly to jail).

Three versions of open source Solaris 10 are in the works, as Sun Microsystems Inc prepares to convert its entire middleware portfolio to a pay-per-use, open source stack.

For the past couple of weeks in the "NetWare Tips" newsletter, I've been talking about the soon-to-be-available (or maybe not) NetWare client for Linux. This is something that fans of NetWare and Linux have been kvetching about for at least the past half-dozen years.

MySQL announced the general availability of a set of graphical query and administration tools for its popular MySQL open source database. MySQL Query Browser, a toolset for creating and debugging MySQL database queries in a graphical environment, gives users an easy way to access and analyze information stored within MySQL database servers.

Sun Microsystems says there is growing interest among governments around the world in deploying open source software, particularly in Europe where the European Union has legislated that file formats must be open and interoperable.