Auto-hardware Linux scheme launched

Mandrakesoft is push an open source project to make it easier for the Linux operating system to automatically detect hardware in a machine. The open source project, called Lothar, includes automatic hardware detection using the "detect" library and will pick up configurations of boards such as sound cards, SCSI cards and Ethernet cards. According to Mandrakesoft, many would-be Linux users are put off by the difficulty in detecting and configuring hardware. The company's software means that configuration files do not have to be manually edited, it claims. The Lothar initiative is an open source project published under the GNU general public licence (GPL) and Mandrakesoft is inviting programmers and others to participate. Go here for more information. ®