Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce,comp.os.linux.admin,comp.os.linux.misc From: mdw@sunsite.unc.edu (Matt Welsh) Subject: Linux Distribution HOWTO Keywords: Linux, HOWTO, distributions, mail order Organization: Linux. It's not just for breakfast anymore. Followup-to: poster Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh) Archive-name: linux-faq/howto/distribution Last-modified: 6 December 1993 The Linux Distribution HOWTO -*-Outline-*- by Matt Welsh v1.1, Last Modified 6 December 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 0. Introduction There is no single distribution of the Linux software. Instead, there are many such distributions, available both via anonymous FTP and mail order on floppy, tape, or CD-ROM. This document is an attempt to present information on many of the available distributions of Linux. This document also contains information on many miscellaneous services and goods available for Linux, ranging from consulting and support to T-shirts and virtual beer. The purpose of this document is to provide short summaries of the many Linux distributions and mail-order services, and to provide pointers for the reader to find more information. You shouldn't base your decision of which Linux distribution to use based soley on this document. This is a PRELIMINARY version of the Distribution HOWTO. It is far from complete; there are many more Linux distributions and services than are listed here. Unfortunately, I have not received submissions from many of the organizations providing these services. Please see Section 5 at the end of this document for information on making a submission. It's easy and fun and won't take you five minutes. ** Organization The following is an index of each section in this document: * 0. Introduction ** Organization ** New versions of this document ** And so on... * 1. Linux Software Distributions ** MCC Interim Linux ** TAMU Linux Distribution ** SlackWare Linux v1.1.0 ** Debian Linux Distribution ** Linux from Nascent CD-ROM ** Trans-Ameritech Linux CD-ROM ** Unifix 1.01 CD-ROM * 2. Redistributors ** SLS on Diskettes (Takelap Systems Ltd.) ** SLS CD-ROM (Takelap Systems Ltd.) ** Yggdrasil Fall 93 CD-ROM (Takelap Systems Ltd.) ** SLS or Slackware on disk or tape (Clark Internet Services) * 3. Layered Software Products * 4. Consulting and Support Services * 5. Miscellany ** Unifix Custom Linux CD-ROM Mastering ** SLS and Slackware Diskette Labels ** Preinstalled Linux systems * 6. Submissions to this document ** New comp.os.linux.announce policy ** How to submit an entry for this HOWTO *** Types of submissions *** How to submit ** Acknowledgements This document should be compatible with Emacs outline mode, but I won't promise anything. :) Each section heading begins with the '*' character in the first column. ** New versions of this document New versions of this document will be posted periodically (about every month) to the newsgroups comp.os.linux.announce and comp.os.linux.misc. (Soon it should be posted to comp.answers and news.answers as well.) The document is archived on a number of Linux FTP sites, including sunsite.unc.edu in pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO. ** And so on... Please see Section 5 at the end of this document for information on comp.os.linux.announce policy and how to make submissions to this document. Feel free to mail any questions or comments about this HOWTO to Matt Welsh, . And now for the good stuff. * 1. Linux Software Distributions This section describes complete distributions of Linux software, available either via anonymous FTP or from mail order. Note that SLS is missing from this list. Peter hasn't sent me a submission for it. A few others haven't mailed in submissions (such as Yggdrasil) and I would really like to include them in this HOWTO (in fact, we probably won't accept submissions to c.o.l.a unless you are listed in this HOWTO). Please send in those entries! In each of the following entries, my own comments are followed by the information from the distributors themselves. You may safely disregard anything I say. :) ** MCC Interim Linux Last modified 31 Oct 93 The MCC-Interim Linux distribution is one of the "oldies but goodies". it has been around for some time, and my own Linux system was originally installed with MCC-Interim back in the 0.95/0.96 days. It is a very complete Linux system, and users rave about it. It has an easy installation mechanism and is very solid. New users will have very little trouble using MCC-Interim. The one thing that it doesn't include is X Windows, however, X is very easy to install on top of it. It also doesn't include a lot of other large packages like TeX; but again, those things are simple to install. MCC's real benefit is that it is a very solid base to start with; you are free to install other software on your own as needed. The current MCC-Interim release is based on 0.99.pl10, which is quite robust. If you are one of those people who demands to be on top of the current release, you'll need to upgrade your kernel (easy to do) and possibly your version of GCC and libraries. However, I see no reason why 0.99.pl10 shouldn't be good enough, at least to get you started. Distributor: LeBlanc@mcc.ac.uk (Dr. A. V. Le Blanc, Manchester Computing Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, England, +44 61 275 6035) Description: Base Linux installation. Complete sources and patches for all included software are available. Full details vary from release to release; see /pub/linux/mcc-interim/*/Acknowledgements at ftp.mcc.ac.uk. Roughly: this includes the kernel (with source), C, C++, groff, man pages, basic utilities, networking. The binaries fit on 6 or 7 floppies. It is also possible to have them on a DOS or Linux partition on a hard drive (plus one floppy) or on an NFS- mountable partition (plus two floppies). New versions appear at 2-3 month intervals, depending on various factors. Availability: By anonymous ftp from ftp.mcc.ac.uk; mirrored at tsx-11.mit.edu, nic.funet.fi, and elsewhere. At ftp.mcc.ac.uk, in /pub/linux/mcc-interim. Miscellaneous: Suggestions and contributions are welcome. ** TAMU Linux Distribution Last modified 31 Oct 93 TAMU is a very complete distribution of Linux including more or everything, including X. One of its great benefits is that it has a simple and complete X installation procedure. Users that I have spoken to about TAMU have spoken well. Distributor: Dave Safford, Texas A&M University, dave.safford@net.tamu.edu Description: TAMU.99p12+ is the latest release in the TAMU linux series. Unlike previous releases, this one includes both *integrated source* and binary sets, with the entire binary set created from a single top level source make. This ensures that all programs are compiled and linked with the same current tools and libraries, and guarantees availability of working source for every program in the binary set. In addition, the new boot diskette fully automates the installation process, including partitioning, lilo bootstrapping, and network configuration. Installation requires no rebooting, and requires the user to know only the host's name and IP address. At every step of installation, the program provides intelligent defaults, making it a snap for novices, while allowing experts full flexibility in setting installation parameters. Reliability has been improved over past TAMU installation by the use of labels on all disk images, so that the program can detect and recover from bad or misordered diskettes. This release is a full featured package, including XFree86-1.3, emacs-19.18, net-2, bootutils, and sources for all installation programs (without any use restrictions :-). Availability: The latest TAMU release is available by anonymous ftp from net.tamu.edu:pub/linux. ** SlackWare Linux v1.1.0 Last modified 5 Nov 93 The SlackWare release of Linux is the *only* release officially recommended by J.R. Bob Dobbs. Distributor: Patrick Volkerding Description: Slackware Linux is a full featured distribution of the Linux operating system designed for 386/486 computers with a 3.5" floppy. Slackware changes rapidly, but here's a current (partial) feature list: A series (14 disks): Base Linux 0.99pl13 OS and utilities. Networking, UUCP, gcc/g++ 2.4.5, libc 4.4.4, and more. E series (5 disks): Emacs 19.19. F series (1 disk): FAQs, HOWTOs, and other documentation. OI series (3 disks): ObjectBuilder 2.0 for X. X series (5 disks): Base XFree86 2.0 X windows system with fvwm. XAP series (2 disks): X windows applications such as seyon and ghostview. XD series (3 disks): X windows program/server development. XV series (2 disks): XView 3.2 release 5, Open Look Window Manager. Y series (1 disk): Games from BSD, such as "hunt". Availability: The home site is ftp.cdrom.com, where the latest distribution can be found in /pub/linux/slackware. To make it easy to download, the disks can also be found pre-zooed in /pub/linux/zooed_slackware. (Zoo is just a compression utility for MS-DOS). Ordering: FTP only, although various independent distributors provide it on disk, floppy, and CD. ** Debian Linux Distribution Last modified 31 Oct 93 Debian Linux is an attempt to create the ``Mother of All Distributions''. Sure, there are several such attempts out there, but no need to be competitive. Debian is currently under development, and an ALPHA version is available. For the full take on Debian, join the mailing list. See below. Debian features a smart installation procedure, easy upgradablity, a file system standard base on the FSSTND channel discussions, and an obscure name. It might be worth checking out. (I am including information on Debian here, even though it is currently in ALPHA, because it's important for people to aid the development of distributions. The thing that Linux lacks the most right now is a working, mature distribution. No distribution of Linux should ship with broken binaries. Period. Distributor: Ian A. Murdock Description: For those of you who are not familiar with Debian Linux, it is an effort to create a well thought-out, powerful, flexible yet complete Linux distribution. The effort has been underway since approximately August, and there is an ALPHA version of Debian available to developers and testers on the Debian mailing list (see below for details). Though still labeled 'ALPHA', Debian is quite stable in it's current state. It should move into BETA within the next few releases. I am truly hoping for a public release by the end of the year. Please 'finger imurdock@sage.cc.purdue.edu' for the latest announcements. It should be pointed out that Debian Linux is still ALPHA; therefore, if you have no intention of being actively involved in either development or testing, then please wait until it is publically released. It shouldn't be much longer now, anyway. Availability: Not yet publically available. To obtain Debian Linux you must join the Debian mailing list: For help, send mail to with 'help' in the body of the message. To join, send mail to with 'join debian' in the body of the message. The actual mailing list address is . No special keys (i.e., 'X-Mn-Key') are needed. Ordering: Not yet available by mail, but it will be eventually (specifically, when it is done). More details will be forthcoming when appropriate. ** Linux from Nascent CD-ROM Last modified 28 Nov 93 Yet another Linux Distribution with a bizarre name. Soon we'll be seeing CD-ROMs from ``Throatwobbler Mangrove Labs''. Note that there are many other CD-ROM distributions of Linux than those listed here. I have not received submissions from the maintainers of those CD-ROM distributions. Distributor: Nascent Technology Description: The Linux from Nascent CDROM is a new distribution of the Linux operating system which includes over 400 mbytes of source code, binaries, and documentation for Linux and applications. It features automated root, swap, package, network, and user account installation from CDROM. Linux can be can be run directly from the CDROM and floppy. The Nascent CDROM features Xwindows, Openlook, TeX, GNU compiler and utilities, Magic and Spice electronic design tools, and over 100 high resolution images translated from Kodak PhotoCD(TM). Each source archive is distributed with an associated notes file to allow you to browse and install applications using a consistent interface. A listing of the contents of the Nascent CDROM as well as a current copy of the CDROM announcement and order form may be obtained via anonymous ftp at netcom.com:/pub/nascent. Ordering: The Linux from Nascent CDROM, Version 1.0, is only $39.95 plus shipping and handling. Nascent also offers the Linux from Nascent Plus package for only $89.95, which includes six months of email support and a 30% discount off a future release of the CDROM with your CDROM purchase. Nascent accepts Mastercard, VISA, checks, and money orders as payment. To order your Linux from Nascent CDROM, mail, email or fax a completed order form to: Nascent Technology Linux from Nascent CDROM P.O. Box 60669 Sunnyvale CA 94088-0669 USA Tel: (408) 737-9500 Fax: (408) 241-9390 Email: nascent@netcom.com ** Trans-Ameritech CD-ROM Last modified: 20 Nov 93 This is a CD-ROM containing the SLS, Slackware distributions of Linux, as well as 386BSD. Name: Trans-Ameritech LINUX CD-ROM Distributor: Trans-Ameritech, a California based corporation. Description: CDROM with 2 versions of SLS distribution - a very stable 1.02 and a newer 1.03 and also the SLACKWARE distribution! Linux installs directly from the CD-ROM on almost any hardware configuration. It includes full X-windows environment, TCP/IP networking including NFS, several flavours of mail and news, full set of GNU tools and much more. Also Multimedia - sound board support, image viewers and HUNDREDS of MEGS of IMAGES and SOUNDS. In addition to the full SLS distributions we supply a "live" image of a configured system. Several versions of the Linux kernel precompiled to cover different hardware options including drivers for Sony-31A and Sound Blaster CD-ROMs. Availability: at Trans-Ameritech we ship the same day as we get the order! Our address is: 2342A Walsh Avenue Santa Clara, CA 95051 Ordering: You can order by phone (408) 727-3883 or by FAX (408) 727-3882. Or by sending e-mail to: roman@trans-ameritech.com Shipping and handeling for overseas (as in UK and Germany) is $8. In US is $5. Pay by cheque or credit card. COD in continental US is $4.50 extra if you want it. The price for a single CD-ROM is $30. California residents, pleaseinclude tax. PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. Miscellaneous: we answer technical questions about our distribution by e-mail sent to: roman@trans-ameritech.com within 24 hours! Trans-Ameritech is a well established company with efficient organization to guarantee on-time printing and shipping of this product. If you have a 3.5 inch boot floppy and have ftp access, please look on sunsite.unc.edu in /pub/Linux/distributions/TransAmer for a new boot floppy image with support for many CDROM drives. ** Unifix 1.01 CD-ROM Last modified: 6 Dec 93 Name: Unifix 1.01 Distributor: Unifix Software GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany Description: This is a Linux CD-ROM distribution with emphasis on easy and fast installation. Though it is possible to install everything on the harddisk, we do not recommend so, because it runs fast enough from CD. For example starting emacs the first time (in text mode) takes: From single speed Mitsumi: 24 s From double speed Mitsumi: 11 s From Toshiba 3401: 7 s The dynamic buffer cache of Linux takes care of the second and subsequent times a program is started, which needs less than one second. Our system requires about 5 MB on the hard disk for configuration files and system management tools. Additionally we recommend a 16 MB swap partition. The CD contains most of the standard programs in current versions, e.g. Linux 0.99.13r, XFree 2.0, emacs 19.21 and gcc 2.5.4. Full preconfigured source for everything is included. Because Unifix is a european distribution it provides full support for iso8859-1 character sets. From the shells and emacs through ls, TeX and the print system everything supports 8-bit characters. Printing is supported through System V compatible printer drivers which can be controlled through lp's -o options. Printer drivers are included for dumb text mode printers, for postscript- or ghostscript- compatible printers and for networked printing. These drivers know how to guess the type of the files so e.g. compressed man pages or DVI files can be printed directly. Ordering: Unifix is available only on CD. It comes in a Unifix/Linux binder with two boot floppies and about 60 pages of installation instructions in german. An english version will be available Dec 15. The price is 159 DM (about $100) and includes taxes and shipping; Eurocard/Mastercard/Visa are accepted. Telephone +49 (0)531 515161 Fax +49 (0)531 515162 Mail Unifix Software GmbH Postfach 4918 D-38039 Braunschweig Germany * 2. Redistributors This section lists re-sellers or re-distributors of the Linux distributions listed above. In other words, the people selling the below software more than likely do NOT maintain or support the software itself. ** SLS on Diskettes (Takelap Systems Ltd.) Last modified 31 Oct 93 SLS is one of the most popular distributions of Linux. In recent months it has grown to be the canonical Linux distribution, but that could change. Check out sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/distributions/SLS for more info on SLS. This is a mail-order distribution of the SLS release on diskettes from Takelap Systems. Note that they do not maintain the SLS release; they only distribute it. Distributor: Takelap Systems Ltd., info@ddrive.demon.co.uk Description: The SLS 1.04 distribution on diskettes. 25 3.5" or 30 5.25" diskettes including 0.99.13 kernel, X11R5, TeX, doc (WYSIWYG), GNU s/w development tools and more. Availability: Takelap Systems Ltd., The Reddings, Court Robin Lane, Llangwm, Usk, Gwent, United Kingdom NP5 1ET. tel: +44 (0)291 650357 fax: +44 (0)291 650500 email: info@ddrive.demon.co.uk Ordering: price ukp42.00 +ukp1.50 p&p + VAT. Visa and Mastercard accepted. Miscellaneous: Free catalogue of CDROMs and books (mostly UNIX related) on request. ** SLS CD-ROM (Takelap Systems Ltd.) Last modified 31 Oct 93 This is a redistribution of the SLS 1.04 CD-ROM from Takelap Systems. Distributor: Takelap Systems Ltd., info@ddrive.demon.co.uk Description: The SLS 1.04 Linux Distribution on CDROM. 0.99.13 kernel, X11R5, TeX, Andrew, GNU s/w development tools. May be installed and optionally run from CDROM mounted remotely. Many installation and operational options. Availability: Takelap Systems Ltd., The Reddings, Court Robin Lane, Llangwm, Usk, Gwent, United Kingdom NP5 1ET. tel: +44 (0)291 650357 fax: +44 (0)291 650500 email: info@ddrive.demon.co.uk Ordering: price ukp66.00 +ukp1.50 p&p + VAT. Visa and Mastercard accepted. ** Yggdrasil Fall 93 CD-ROM (Takelap Systems Ltd.) Last modified 31 Oct 93 The Yggdrasil Linux/GNU/X is a CD-ROM distribution of Linux which is just about as complete as you can get. I have a copy of it and it's very good. Again, Yggdrasil Computing hasn't sent me an entry for this HOWTO, but this is a redistribution of the Yggdrasil CD-ROM from Takelap Systems in the UK. Check out /pub/yggdrasil on netcom.com for information on the LGX CD-ROM. Distributor: Takelap Systems Ltd., info@ddrive.demon.co.uk Description: The Yggdrasil LGX Fall 93 Linux distribution on CDROM. 0.99.13 kernel, X11R5, TeX, Andrew 5.1, Postgres 4.1, GNU s/w development tools. Availability: Takelap Systems Ltd., The Reddings, Court Robin Lane, Llangwm, Usk, Gwent, United Kingdom NP5 1ET. tel: +44 (0)291 650357 fax: +44 (0)291 650500 email: info@ddrive.demon.co.uk Ordering: price ukp40.00 +ukp1.50 p&p + VAT. Visa and Mastercard accepted. ** SLS or Slackware on disk or tape (Clark Internet Services) Last modified 31 Oct 93 This is a distribution of SLS and the SLS variant ``Slackware'' Linux distribution on diskette or tape. This is a very affordable distribution. They also sell printed copies of my book on installing Linux. Distributor: Clark Internet Services, C/O Stephen Balbach Description: The latest version of Linux on disk and tape direct from the net at affordable prices. 120MB installed on 3.5" disks. 90MB installed on 5.25" disks. Ordering: Slackware 32 3.5" disks $50 (USPS 2nd day) SLS 32 5.25" disks $40 (USPS 2nd day) "Installation and Getting Started" (c) Copyright Matt Welsh 150+page laser printed, professional bound manual. Everything to get installed and running in one easy book. $15 if ordering set (at cost price!). $20 seperate. Availability: For more complete information, including a multipage description of Linux, a hardware compatibility sheet, and more detailed package descriptions send mail to linux-all@clark.net for auto-reply info (~30k of text). Ordering: Check, money-order Stephen Balbach 5437 Enberend Terrace Columbia, MD 21045 Credit Card orders call 410-740-1157 (Visa, MasterCard, AmXpres) * 3. Layered Software Products This section contains information on layered commercial software packages that are available via mail order only. Linux of course has much, much software available for free via anonymous FTP; this section only lists those few commercial software products that you can't get via anonymous FTP. * 4. Consulting and Support Services A number of organizations and companies provide commercial support for Linux. Unfortunately, this version of the HOWTO doesn't contain any of this information; hopefully a future release will contain this information. * 5. Miscellany This section is for all of those services and products which don't fall into any of the above categories. This includes things like T-shirts, Linux-specific documentation sales, and so on. If you provide any kind of Linux-specific mail order service, please see Section 5 below for more information. Thanks. ** Unifix Custom Linux CD-ROM Mastering Last modified: 6 Dec 93 Name: Unifix custom CDs Distributor: Unifix Software GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany Description: We use our own (Linux based) premastering system to make custom CDs which include the customer's programs in addition to our Linux distribution. (See Section 2 for a description of the Unifix CD-ROM distribution). This enables our customers to sell their Unix based applications together with operating system tested and ready to run. Our CD recorder makes it possible to create prototypes and very small series at interesting prices. Availablility: Ask us for more information or prices: Telephone +49 (0)531 515161 Fax +49 (0)531 515162 Mail Unifix Software GmbH Postfach 4918 D-38039 Braunschweig Germany ** SLS and Slackware Diskette Labels Last Modified 11 Nov 1993 These are printed disk labels for your SLS or Slackware diskettes. Name: Laser Printed Linux Disk Labels Distributor: UPython Computer and Network Services Description: Labels for Softlanding and slackware disks Availability: The labels that we print for you are available in several formats at sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/linux/distributions/SLSlabels Ordering: For order information, send mail to DGray@uh.edu Cost is $6.50 per set and domestic shipping in included. Overseas orders must send payment in US funds and add $1 for shipping. Texas residents add sales tax (6%). ** Pre-installed Linux systems Last modified: 20 Nov 93 These folks sell complete desktop and notebook systems pre-installed and configured with Linux. Name: Pre-installed Linux systems (desktops and notebooks) Distributor: Fintronic Linux Systems Description: Linux is a wonderful OS. But installing it can be trying to even experienced UNIX hands. Shopping for compatible hardware takes time as well. Configuring all of the parts to work together at optimal performance is just plain hard. It can easily take weeks. We save you from all of that. We sell fully installed, custom configured Linux systems for about the price which you'd pay for the hardware alone. We offer desktop and notebook machines. We ship worldwide and accept payment by check and credit cards. If you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list send mail to linux-sales@fintronic.com Our installation of Linux includes is built from the lastest stable releases of standard Linux distributions (like Slackware) available at the time your machine ships. We test the software to ensure that the appropriate libraries are there. We add software that the distribution may leave out. But most importantly we configure things so they work. Your monitor and video card will be configured for opt imal performance. Your hard drive can be partitioned to allow dual boot (DOS/Linux). If you buy a modem from us it will be configured to allow dialin and dialout. In short, you will have a fully working Linux system with none of the pain of configuring it yourself. [Boy, that takes all of the fun out of it! :) -mdw] Availability: For our latest pricelist, finger linux-sales@fintronic.com Prices change frequently as we are constantly looking for the best deals for our customers. Ordering: email: linux-sales@fintronic.com fax: +1.415.325-4908 Mail: Fintronic USA, Inc. 1360 Willow Rd., Suite 205 Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA * 6. Submissions to this document Here's information on how to make submissions to this docuement, and on the policy that we are using for postings to comp.os.linux.announce regarding commercial and mail-order announcements. ** New comp.os.linux.announce policy One of the purposes of this document is to present short summaries of the many Linux distributions in a compact form for new users to browse over. This document is not merely a concatenation of the various announcements of Linux distributions and the like. Another purpose of this document is to remove some of the `advertisement' traffic from the newsgroup comp.os.linux.announce. The moderators of c.o.l.a (as well as many of the readers) feel that those people who are re-distributors of Linux distributions which they do not maintain should not be allowed to post periodic advertisements in c.o.l.a... after all, c.o.l.a is for announcements important to the Linux community; it is not a moderated sales board. Therefore, if you are distributing Linux software which you do not maintain, the only way that you will be allowed to post information to c.o.l.a is through this HOWTO. Information on submitting entries to this HOWTO is given below. (To submit a posting for c.o.l.a, mail it to linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu. Please include a `Keywords' line in your header.) Exceptions are given below. Here's an example. If you are, for example, reselling the SLS distribution of Linux on floppies via mail order, the first time that your mail-order service is available, you may post an announcement to c.o.l.a. Thereafter, you must submit an entry in this HOWTO, which will be periodically posted to the newsgroup. Only in the event that you do something dramtically new with your service will you be allowed to post to c.o.l.a about it. (`Dramatically new' does not include changing your prices or the versions of the software that you distribute. The moderators have the final say on just what consititutes `dramatically new'. :) ) The purpose of this is to reduce the number of periodic postings from people who are using c.o.l.a as an electronic billboard. However, if you maintain and organize your own distribution of Linux (whether it be available for anonymous FTP, mail order, or both), then you will be allowed to post to c.o.l.a whenever you release a new version. You will not be allowed to make periodic postings about your distribution, in order to `advertise' it every month; only when a new version is released will you be allowed to post to c.o.l.a about it. Of course, you should include information on your distribution in this HOWTO. I hope that this policy is not too confusing; the one basic rule is that we won't permit postings to c.o.l.a which are merely advertisements for your distribution or mail order service. The posting must include new information which is of interest to the Linux community at large. Remember that c.o.l.a postings are archives on sunsite.unc.edu; once your posting is out of the news spool it is not gone forever. ** How to submit an entry for this HOWTO I encourage anyone and everyone who maintains a Linux distribution or mail order service (or consulting service, and the like), to submit information on their service to this HOWTO. It's easy and fun, and it's free advertising. This document is posted to many places and is archived (see the next section). *** Types of submissions We are interested in submissions for: * Complete distributions of Linux software, available either via anonymous FTP, UUCP, or mail order. By `complete distribution' we mean any set of software which can be used to build a complete Linux system from scratch. * Layered products or individual software packages available only via mail order. If your software package is available via anonymous FTP, chances are people can find it. Software products only available via mail-order include commercial things such as Motif, and any other commercial software ported to Linux. * Any other LINUX-SPECIFIC goods available via mail order, such as Linux-specific books and documentation, T-shirts, and assorted paraphrenalia. * LINUX-SPECIFIC services such as telephone or e-mail consulting and technical support. This category also includes miscellany such as development contracts. If the number of submissions for services and layered products is large, I'll create a separate HOWTO for these items. *** How to submit To submit an entry to this HOWTO, please send mail to mdw@sunsite.unc.edu with the following information. This `format' is not machine-parsable; any of the fields may be any length that you wish, but I'd like to keep each entry down to, say, 50 lines. Name: Distributor: Description: Availability: Ordering: Miscellaneous: Please keep your entry as short as possible. If you need to include extensive information, please make a reference to where one can FTP or mail to get more information on your distribution; these entries are only meant to be POINTERS to where one can find information on your service or distribution. Please mail entries to mdw@sunsite.unc.edu. If you provide more than one service or distribution, please use SEPARATE ENTRIES for each. Some things (such as books, t-shirts, etc.) won't fit exactly into this entry; just be sure to include all relevant information. In other words, this "entry form" is simply the bare minimum that you must include in your submission to the Distribution-HOWTO; feel free to change, add, or leave out "fields" as you see fit. Here is an example entry: Name: ShoopWare Distribution v1.0 Distributor: Virtual Pizza, Inc., goober@shoop.vpizza.com Description: The ShoopWare distribution is an all-new distribution of the Linux operating system together with the "vpizza" software development platform. This software allows you to develop applications for pizza delivery services on the Internet. The distribution itself is based on MCC-Interim 0.99.pl10 and uses Linux kernel version 0.99.pl13. Other software included in the release includes XFree86 1.3, Emacs, TeX, TCP/IP networking, and more. The release is distributed on 42 floppies (for the full system), each floppy may be installed optionally. Availability: ShoopWare v1.0 is available via anonymous FTP from shoop.vpizza.com in the directory /pub/ShoopWare. Ordering: n/a (this is only an FTP distribution) Miscellaneous: Mail goober@shoop.vpizza.com if you have questions or comments about this release. I will more than likely edit your entries to some degree if I find any irrelevant information, or if the entry is overly verbose. Otherwise the content should remain the same. When making submissions to the Distribution-HOWTO, you grant implicit permission for me to use the entries in other materials, such as books from the LDP, and other online documents. For example, information from the Distribution-HOWTO may be included in a published Linux book. If you do not want me to include your entry in materials other than the Distribution-HOWTO, please say so. ** Acknowledgements Thanks to Bill Riemers, who produced the first version of the Distribution HOWTO and provided helpful advice. Also, thanks to all of the people who have contributed to this document. I hope that future releases of this HOWTO will be useful to the Linux community; unfortunately, gathering information on the many services out there is a difficult task. Your contributions make this task much easier. -- Matt Welsh, mdw@sunsite.unc.edu