Neowin.net

Thanks to Warp2search for the heads up on this one. For true Mandrake fans looking for an alternative to Windows (or people that just like to play with betas of Linux in general) we have a new one for you. MandrakeSoft S.A. has released the first beta of Mandrake Linux 8.2

What's new?

• The new MandrakeControl Center look and feel.
  
• A new reworked installation, with updates download, and a new minimal installation mode (with only basesystem).
  
• Drakbackup, a system backup tools.
  
• New scannerdrake and better printerdrake.
  
• New installation rescue mode, with an help menu to automatically mount your old system, rewrite lilo and more.
  
• Encrypted filesystem support.
  
• New diskdrake with encryption support, network filesystem support...
  
• New share function to export local files.
  
• New task-oriented menu.
  
• X session remote-control tools: rfbdrake. To take control remotely of an X session.
  
• Improved urpmi and its graphical interface, rpmdrake.
  
• New MandrakeOnline with updates warning feature, to signal any new updated package available.
  
• New msec, security focus will be one of the major point for 8

Download: Mandrake 8.2 Beta 1 (Paris Mirror)
Download: Mandrake 8.2 Beta 1 (USA Mirror)
View: Mandrake.com for additional info & mirror info

It seems Intel is about to run out of steam very quickly.

My place of work (name being with-held for obvious reasons), which deals in service and wholesale/retail sales, acquired a chip from AMD, as they were one of many picked to test the chip. Along with the chip came a specially designed XP motherboard, exclusively produced for the XP 3000+ Prototype.

There is something to be said for the color blue; dark, futuristic... if you want to go there, sexy even. AMD makes no mistake with this one, as soon as you look at the chip; you know you're gazing at pure processing power.

Clearly labelled on the core are, of course, "AMD Athlon™", and at the bottom, the "Palomino 3000+ PROTOTYPE" marking. Great thing about AMD is this; each time you buy a new processor, you generally don't have to buy a new motherboard. While normally that'd be the case, because this chip is so new, current motherboards do not have the BIOS updates to handle such a powerful specimen. AMD was nice enough to drop in a specially designed prototype motherboard for us to try it out. However, they didn't remember to send us a fan. No worries, we used one that we had in stock, the ThermalTake DragonOrb 1 running at 7000RPM. Applied some Arctic Silver II, popped the chip in, put the fan on, and booted up the machine.

Special thanks to Stu and his digital camera for grabbing this picture of the POST.



Pretty impressive stuff, as you can see. Athlon(tm) XP 3000+ brought a tear to my eye... just so beautiful.... 2666MHz is friggin' incredible (Doing the math, 133x20 is only 2660. The exact number is around 20.045). Intel, eat your heart out. Note the "XP-266/A AMD Chipset" at the top, denoting the exclusive AMD motherboard used for beta testing.

Thanks to M3DZone for these pictures.