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To make computers relate to the real world, we need sensors and analog-to-digital conversion. An exercise bicycle is a great example of how to interface a computer and a DB2 database to sensor data. All the steps are presented in an easy-to-follow format.

Web-based automatic translators such as translate.google.com are great for getting the gist of what a document is saying, but it can be cumbersome to have to open a new tab in your browser, load that URL, and copy and paste the text you want to translate into your browser. The twandgtw project allows you to get language translations directly from the Linux command line using either local dictionaries or online services.

I generally don't run beta releases, let alone review them, but I'm having a hard time waiting to find out what Ubuntu 8.04 LTS -- nicknamed Hardy Heron and set for an April 24 release -- is all about.

For the up and coming distros of our time, publicity can be a wonderful thing. With that, I am announcing a way to make it easier to get the publicity needed so that they can gain interest from other potential users. Best of all, waiting periods are very slim.

In an ironic twist of fate, Microsoft's own End User License Agreement could force the software giant to pay taxes in India for selling their software due to their products being "licensed, not sold."

Gernot Heiser, professor of operating systems at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has stated that Windows and Linux will remain as the future of desktop and server operating systems. In an interview at the recent Linux.conf.au in Melbourne, Heiser said "the operating systems of the future will be called Windows and Linux, no matter what they look like". "You can't really introduce new operating systems in the desktop and server space", he added.

If you ask yourself 'What am I supposed to do when I want to find a file, if I am using XFCE, and Thunar is my conscious choice as the file manager?', then ask no more and easily find stuff in Thunar using Catfish!

European public administrations that want to use software that is offered for free, such as Open Source software, do not need to organise a call for tender. This is the conclusion of the Dutch government project NOIV, after studying European rules on tenders. The NOIV published an English translation of its guide for ICT buyers in the public and semi-public sectors, 'The acquisition of (open-source) software', on its website this week.

In my previous post about last week’s Microsoft Technology Summit, I talked a little bit about the structure of the event and the overtures that Microsoft seems to be making towards the Open Source community. Some of my esteemed industry colleagues feel that Microsoft is never to be trusted, that they are a snake in the grass and a dangerous aggressor, and they are out to crush anyone who opposes them at any cost.

KDE e.V and Wikimedia Deutschland have opened a shared office in Frankfurt, Germany. As two organizations that share similar goals and organizational challenges, they hope that working out of the same space will strengthen and expand their links to the Free Culture community, as well as allowing them to share resources, experience and infrastructure.

Ubuntu Linux was the only system left unscathed in a multi-platform hacking competition last week, but does that mean it is more secure? Apple's Leopard OS lasted 30 second, Windows Vista Ultimate lasted until the third day, but Ubuntu's Linux distribution alone was left secure at the end of the "Pwn to Own contest" at CanSecWest security conference held in Vancouver. James Turner, a security analyst from IBRS said that "in this particular instance, which supports the conclusion that Ubuntu is more secure".

Ever since I wrote "It's Time to Get Over Microsoft," people have demanded in blogs and emails how I could ignore the obvious threat that Microsoft represents to free software. Usually, I ask them to read the article more carefully, and note that it suggests that free software has grown strong enough to take care of itself. The fact that so many free software supporters persist in a negative identity -- that is, one defined by not being a Microsoft user -- frankly puzzles me when the community has so much to be proud of in its own right.

When I thought Microsoft was going to extend XP's lifetime to better slug it out with Linux on Ultra Mobile PCs and Mobile Internet Devices, I was afraid Linux was going to have to fight hard for the low-end of the desktop. Now that we know that only XP Home is going to have a longer life and Microsoft is going to have to contort itself over what systems can and what systems can't get it, I'm much happier. XP Pro was much more troublesome in my mind.

Google's Android platform is designed to drive fragmentation of mobile operating systems, creating an industry in which Google's cross-platform applications will thrive. Why? The search-engine giant wants to ensure there's no equivalent of Microsoft Office in the mobile phone world. So says Sanjay Jha, chief operating officer of Qualcomm's chipset division QCT. "Google wants fragmentation in the industry [and] is putting a lot of resources behind Linux" he told us.

Ever run into the issue that you saw a cool new app on KDE-Apps.org and could not find a binary package for your favourite KDE version on your favourite KDE distro? The openSUSE Build Service allows creation of binary packages quite easily, so you can do the work yourself and help other KDE users who run into the same problem. If you are interested in learning how, the openSUSE community are organising Packaging Days II, which starts tomorrow.

Already known for its development of a free Flash player, the Gnash project is now the nucleus of a much larger effort. Called the Open Media Now Foundation (OMNF), the group's goal is to encourage the development "of an open media infrastructure," according its home page. Registered as a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization in the United States, the new organization is actively seeking corporate members, although it accepts donations from individuals as well.

Ok, as you probably know by now I'm a Gentoo geek and immediately setup my new ZaReason UltraLapSR with Gentoo. Since my UltraLapSR has a discreet video card, it's only fitting that I should bling it out to show off the power of my laptop and Compiz-Fusion to people. :)

Recently I looked in on the project Web site for a small application I use, only to find the wiki completely filled with spam. The project itself was clearly in disrepair, and the code abandoned for six months or more. I wondered: how many other apps that I use have halted development without my realizing it? I decided to look back at the projects I've written about over the past year to see which ones are no longer with us.

Reuters is now reporting that Sun is the first of the world's major server computer makers to certify that its hardware works with Ubuntu Linux. The only problem with the Reuters report in my personal opinion is that it's not exactly accurate and is somewhat misleading.

The LiMo Foundation has announced the first version of its Linux based mobile alternative to Google's Android is "complete". Except that it isn't. Although release 1.0 - announced at CTIA in Las Vegas, Nevada - provides a basic mobile Linux platform, it comes with limitations. It includes C and C++ versions of the middleware software development kit. Those who want Native, Webkit and Java SDK's will have to wait until later in the year.