diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 76ed0cd863c442afacd8c412ce28c116bbe80cb7..7e2024c013f6a736cac7c2e5fdf55ba8de680b62 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,44 +1,84 @@
-2007-01-09
-	ALBERTA-2.0 UNRELEASED
+2008-11-19
+	ALBERTA 2.1-Beta
+
+	- per default ALBERTA installs itself into the directory
+          hierarchy below "/usr/local/". Previous versions of ALBERTA
+          installed themselves into the build-directory.
+
+	- separate graphics and "core" ALBERTA libraries, and a
+          global configure-time graphics kill-switch
+          "--disable-graphics".
+
+	- BLAS is not used by default, but can optionally be enable by
+          running configure with the "--enable-fortran-blas" switch.
 
         - easy-to-use (iso-)parametric meshes, up to piecewise polynomial
-          degree of 4
+          degree of 4. The coordinate vectors are now dumped to disk
+          along with the mesh-structure when calling write_mesh().
 
         - parametric meshes for arbitrary co-dimension for 1d/2d/3d meshes
           (computations on embedded 3-manifolds are now possible, e.g.)
 
         - periodic meshes; with non-periodic and periodic finite element
           spaces on the same mesh, definition via geometric or
-          combinatorial face transformations
+          combinatorial face transformations.
 
         - support for non-oriented meshes; affects mainly 2d (think,
-          e.g., of a Klein's bottle or a Moebius-strip)
+          e.g., of a Klein's bottle or a Moebius-strip).
 
         - sub-mesh hierarchies, with proper mapping of
           trace-spaces. Sub-meshes inherit the parametric and/or
-          periodic structures of their master-meshes.
-
-        - get_fe_space() can be called at any time, formerly it had to be
-          called before doing any mesh-refinement.
+          periodic structures of their master-meshes. Sub-meshes 
 
         - _optional_ per-element intializers for basis functions and
           quadratures, for extensions which require more complicated stuff
           than is provided by ALBERTA.
 
-        - fast (i.e. caching) quadratures for faces
+        - fast (i.e. caching) quadratures for faces.
 
-        - (a little) improved quadrature rules for 3d
+        - (a little) improved quadrature rules for 3d.
+
+	- discontinuous orthogonal basis functions up to degree 2.
 
         - extended demo-program suite, with example programs for parametric
           meshes (iso-parametric, but also higher co-dimension),
           non-orientable surfaces, stationary Quasi-Stokes with stress
-          boundary conditions, periodic meshes
+          boundary conditions, periodic meshes.
 
-        - improved GRAPE interface, interfaces to GMV, Silo, Geomview
-          (with varying degree of completeness, usability)
+        - improved GRAPE interface, interfaces to GMV, Silo, Geomview,
+          Paraview (with varying degree of completeness and
+          usability).
 
-        - global configure-time graphics kill-switch
-          "--disable-graphics".
+2007-10-XX
+	ALBERTA 2.0
+	- support of submeshes, DIM constant removed
+	
+	- support of iso-parametric meshes up to p.w. polynomial degree 2
+
+	- more generalized node projection mechanism
+
+	- graphics output interface to GMV
+
+	- discontinuous basis functions up to degree 2.
+
+	- get_fe_space() works at any time
+
+	- INDEX macro only available for ALBERTA_DEBUG=1
+
+	- NEIGH_IN_EL, EL_INDEX macros removed
+
+	- former SOLVER package incorporated into "alberta_util",
+	  "PLOT_ANSI" package removed
+
+	- ALBERTA_DEBUG=1 introduces additional safety checks
+
+	- changed "preserve_coarse_dofs" mechanism
+
+	- changed "fe_space" entry in DOF_[DOWB_]MATRIX into a
+	  "row_fe_space" and a "col_fe_space". Fixed issue with
+	  dof_compress() and different fe_spaces.
+
+	- added a "DOF_PTR_VEC" type.
 
 2004-12-07
 	ALBERTA 1.2.1