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If there's a better system repair kit than the Gentoo-based SystemRescueCD Linux distribution, we haven't seen it yet. The new 0.4 version of SystemRescueCd was released on Oct. 4. This new edition focuses on disk partitioning, Vista support, and data rescue tasks. In the past, we've found SystemRescueCD to be the best of the best when it comes to repairing troubled systems. We see every reason to believe that this version will be even better.

So, how are you liking FreeBSD? Do you believe it's something you work with, live with day after day? If you find you've gotten used to it, maybe the time has come to get more acquainted with one of the best features of FreeBSD: It's relatively painless to update the entire system by rebuilding it from code. The emphasis is not so much slavishly chasing the cutting edge of BSD technology. Instead, our focus will be on security updates and optimization.

Has it been a while since you used FTP from the command line? While there are decent GUI-based FTP clients (such as gFTP), you can automate operations with the command-line version and handle file transfers with no user interaction at all.

It is Roktober time again at the Amarok Project and they are giving away an iAudio7 mobile music player to encourage donations. Roktober is the time to review the events of the past 12 months, start planning and do the fundraising for the next year. If you do not have the time to actively help with the project this is your call, for each €10 donated you will be given an entry into the prize draw. Amarok funds are spent on the webserver, travel & accommodation for developer meetings and event staff expenses. It has never been easier to help keep Amarok rockin'.

System and enviromental variables define parts of the system behavior so it’s worth knowing what they are, what they influence and how to adjust them to your needs. This is the last part of the “console basics” series.

I have a Perl script to check the outgoing links from blogs for me, via planet sites. Yes, the planets aggregate the blogs, and the script snarfs the links from the planets. I'm so meta it hurts. So I have a bunch of link data, going back a little more than a year. This particular list doesn't even indicate whether or not I read your blog, just whether or not enough people whose blog copy my Perl script grabs from aggregator sites link to you.

The Tux Project and REVELinux are declaring their support for the gamefest, including a couple of graphic artists Landy DeField (land0, author of the New Blue Amarok iconset) and Janet Theobroma (author of the KDE 3.5 default wallpaper). We have the official name now and a promotional web site is coming too. Stay tuned. :)

The Linux-based eX2 in-flight entertainment system (IFE) from Panasonic Avionics was the big winner at this year's Avion Awards, sponsored by an IFE trade group. The Best Overall IFE awards went to Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways, all running variants of eX2. This Red Hat-based system also is installed on Qantas Airways and on Boeing 777s operated by Delta and Continental. eX2, the newest version of Panasonic's in-flight entertainment systems, offers not the canned radio stations of yesteryear, but rather audio and video on demand, games, and even online books, depending on the carrier.

Will democratizing sustainable housing be enough to change Canada? It’s too early to tell, but there’s a start. Open source can make sustainable designs available. Nobody owns it, everybody can use it, and anybody can improve it. The Now House is one sustainable housing design project created by one small team. What would happen if one hundred teams created projects like this?

Nobody has done this before in a Free Software world, so we could cut this idea some slack and perhaps consider it a prototype of bigger events to come in years ahead. Be it 20 people or 200, this can still be a hell of a party. All we need is to set aside the prejudice and join in!

The way the computer industry functions today is a perfect illustration of all the faults and massive inefficiencies of capitalism, where the primary goal is not serving the interests of society. Developing, improving and distributing software takes place only where big profits can be made. This stands in sharp contrast to free software, where human knowledge and the produce of human labour is used to the advantage all of society.

PostgreSQL is not the first project to launch a live CD, but the concept is one many projects should seriously consider adopting as a marketing tool.

The IBM Dump Analyzer for Java is a tool that performs basic analysis against a formatted system dump and produces a concise report indicating what it thinks your next course of action should be. Cut through endless dump files to get to the heart of the problem.

I'd like to live in a tub of cream cheese icing. Sadly, that's not an option for me. It is, however, an option for Canonical/Ubuntu head Mark Shuttleworth. The open source advocate has plenty of cash - enough cash to build a breathing apparatus and waste removal system for a man-sized icing pool. I bring up the icing for no reason. I bring up Mark Shuttleworth because he's the star of Open Season Episode 4. Dave Rosenberg, Matt Asay and I reached Mark at Canonical's UK office for an hour-long chat covering all sorts of open source software topics and issues.

Michael D. Setzer II, the leader of the project once known as Ghost for Linux (G4L), recently received a cease and desist email message from a lawyer representing Symantec. The company is demanding that the project change its name because the use of "Ghost" violates a trademark held by Symantec for its Norton Ghost disk imaging software.

Following in the footsteps of the Great Cucumber and The Salad Sandwich comes Panacea, the Greek goddess of cures. That’s the codename for our latest Linux release, which went public today as Skype 1.4 for Linux. We’re very proud of our shiny new release and highly recommend you give it a shot. We tried our best to create a client that you will enjoy. Which is why it’s been written by long-time Linux users for Linux users.

This years class of nominees for the 2007 Linux Medical Freedom Award are a prestigious group indeed. The panel of judges has a difficult task ahead of it. The nominees are as follows:

• Herman Tolentino, MD Community Health Information Tracking System (CHITS)
• Web Reach, Inc. Mirth Project.
• Gerry Douglas, MD Malawi RHIO.
• Paul G. Biondich, MD, MS Regenstreif Institute
• WorldVistA for WorldVistA EHR CCHIT Certification.

The award will be given November 13th, 2007 at the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Fall Conference in Chicago. This is not an official AMIA award. Complete text of the nomination is within.

Another day, another Linux distro point revision. Honours this time go to OpenSUSE, available now in version 10.3 for free download at http://www.opensuse.org. You can also buy this open source operating system, which is based on Linux kernel 2.6.22, from some retailers and at shopnovell.com for $59.95 in real money. Or, rather, you can place your pre-order. Flash the cash, and you will at some undetermined but real soon time get a boxed version, a manual and 90 days installation support thrown in.

This two-day introduction to Linux broadens attendees horizons with a detailed overview of the operating system. Attendees learn how to effectively use a Linux system as a valuable tool. They get familiar with the architecture and various components of the operating system, learn both graphical and command line tools, and learn to do basic networking. This class is scheduled for October 25th - 26th, 2007 .

When the Linux Foundation emerged from the collision of the Open Software Development Labs (ODSL) and the Free Standards Group in January 2007, cynical observers described it, with some justification, as "yet another Linux knitting circle". Probably more than any other software phenomenon, Linux has generated a plethora of lobbying groups, alliances and standards organizations. This applies especially to what is growing into one of the most important development areas for Linux - mobile devices.